The Chace Center, above, as it looked on Jan. 3. Below, views of the building site on Jan. 11, 2007.

Courtesy of The RISD Museum of Art / Erik Gould

PROVIDENCE In some quarters, the imminent arrival of a new building by a major international architect would be reason enough to get excited about the Rhode Island School of Design’s new Chace Center complex on North Main Street. After all, the building’s designer is Rafael Moneo, an acclaimed Spanish architect whose work earned him the 1995 Pritzker Prize, considered architecture’s highest honor.

But if that’s not enough, here’s another reason to celebrate: To mark the Chace Center’s expected Sept. 27 opening, RISD officials have invited one of the school’s most famous alumni — glassmaker Dale Chihuly — to create an installation inside the center’s 6,000-square-foot main gallery.

Though details are still being worked out, school officials said the installation will feature as many as 2,500 pieces of glass attached to the gallery’s floors, walls and ceilings. That would make it comparable to previous installations that Chihuly has created in cities such as Venice, London and Las Vegas.

“It’s going to be big — big and beautiful,” said RISD Museum director Hope Alswang. “To think that we can welcome people to the Chace Center with this kind of exhibit is just amazing.”

Alswang said “Chihuly at RISD,” as the installation will be known, will fill the Chace Center’s main gallery, a cavernous third-floor space that has been designed to accommodate large-scale artworks and exhibitions. In addition, the museum is organizing a smaller exhibit of glassworks from local private collections. That exhibit will highlight Chihuly’s role as a teacher and mentor and will feature works by a number of Rhode Island artists, including Howard Ben Tre, Toots Zynsky and Steven Weinberg.

“Even if you don’t follow contemporary art, there’s a good chance you’ve heard the name ‘Chihuly’,” Alswang said. “And there’s a good chance you’ve seen some of his work, especially if you live in Rhode Island, where Dale worked and taught for many years. But his contributions as a teacher and role model for younger artists probably aren’t as well known. That’s what the second exhibit is all about.”

For those who don’t know Chihuly or his work, here’s a quick summary:

A native of Tacoma, Wash., Chihuly graduated from the School of Design in 1968 with a degree in ceramics. (At the time, RISD didn’t offer a degree in glassmaking.) After graduation, Chihuly joined the RISD faculty, where he established the school’s first permanent glassmaking program. Over the next few decades, his unique combination of technical skill, artistic talent and flair for showmanship helped transform glassmaking from a niche medium of interest mainly to specialized collectors into an international phenomenon.

In particular, Chihuly is known for his flamboyant blown-glass sculptures, which can suggest everything from exotic flowers to brightly colored corals and sea creatures. (And those sea references are no accident; in interviews, Chihuly has often cited growing up near scenic Puget Sound as one of the formative influences on his work. “Sea Forms,” in fact, is the name of one of Chihuly’s most famous sculpture series.)

In recent years, Chihuly has focused on creating large-scale installations involving hundreds, even thousands, of individual pieces. One of his best-known projects — at Las Vegas’s Bellagio Hotel — features more than 2,000 blown-glass sculptures suspended above the hotel’s main lobby.

Though Chihuly now lives in Seattle, he still has strong ties to Rhode Island. Many artists who came to study with him at the Rhode Island School of Design wound up settling in the Ocean State. And owning “a Chihuly” has long been a cherished goal for local collectors and museums. Still, the Chace Center shows will mark the first time Chihuly’s alma mater has exhibited his work on a grand scale.

“It’s long overdue,” Alswang said. “I mean, here you have one of the most famous and influential artists working today — and he’s a RISD grad. It’s a no-brainer.”

At the same time, Alswang sounded just as excited about other events and activities surrounding the Chace Center opening. In addition to Chihuly, for example, the museum is planning a smaller exhibit devoted to another notable RISD alumnus: author-illustrator David Macaulay.

The show, which will also open on Sept. 27, will focus on Macaulay’s creative process and will include material from popular books such as Cathedral, Castle and The Way Things Work.

Both the Chihuly and Macaulay shows follow a pattern that has become familiar during Alwang’s two-year tenure at RISD. It’s a pattern that goes something like this: mount accessible, broadly popular exhibits that appeal both to RISD’s academic community and to the wider public.

A good example was the museum’s recent “Fabulous Fakes” exhibit, which showcased the work of famed costume jewelry designer and RISD grad Kenneth Jay Lane. Alswang said such exhibits are likely to continue and may even increase after the Chace Center’s opening in September.

“One of the great things the Chace Center gives us is a front door to downtown,” she said. “As a practical matter, that means that visitors will be able to enter the museum from both the traditional entrance on Benefit Street and the new Chace Center entrance on North Main. But it’s also a chance for us to increase our connections to the wider Rhode Island community through innovative programming and exhibits.”

Once complete, the $46-million Chace Center will serve a variety of functions. The museum, for example, will occupy the building’s middle floors, with the main gallery and exhibition spaces on the third floor and offices for the museum’s print and photography department on the fourth floor. Museum visitors will also be able to connect to the museum’s Radeke and Farago wings through a third-floor sky bridge.

Students, meanwhile, will have the run of the building’s second floor, which will feature a new student gallery, and the fifth (top) floor, home to a new suite of classrooms and studios.

On the first floor, a glass-enclosed lobby will feature a new ticket and information desk for the museum, along with a 200-seat auditorium. The popular risd/works store is also expected to move from its present location on the edge of Providence’s Financial District. It will occupy slightly smaller space in the Chace Center lobby, facing North Main.

During a tour of the Chace Center last week, many of the interior spaces were still under construction, with lights, paneling and other finish details still to come. The exterior, on the other hand, is nearly complete. Though slightly smaller than originally envisioned — a planned sixth floor was cut for budget reasons — the building cuts a striking profile along North Main Street. That’s especially true of the Chace Center’s upper floors, which are covered in bands of frosted glass separated by narrow metal rails.

From a distance, the building suggests a giant piece of modern sculpture, craggy yet elegant.

For art lovers who can’t wait until September, the museum is also planning to open a new suite of galleries this June. Located on the lower level of the museum’s Radeke Wing, the new galleries include a space for video and multimedia works, as well as prints and photographs.

Most of the new gallery spaces, however, will be used to display the museum’s collection of 20th-century art and design. Alswang said the display will follow the same mix-and-match approach used for the museum’s recent “Re-Viewing the Twentieth Century” exhibit. In that show, paintings by the likes of Jackson Pollock and Pablo Picasso were displayed next to an Issey Miyake dress and an Olivetti typewriter.

Ann Woolsey, the museum’s assistant director and the leader of last week’s Chace Center tour, said the show reflected a new approach to displaying the museum’s permanent collection.

“Rather than segregating objects based on the old fine art versus craft and design categories, we’re trying to take a more holistic approach,” Woolsey said. “After all, we are the Rhode Island School of Design.”

bvansicl@projo.com