Pleasing pedestrians

08:42 AM EDT on Wednesday, August 4, 2004

BY TIMOTHY C. BARMANN
Journal Staff Writer

Journal photo / Mary Murphy Al Spagnoli, above, lead architect for GTECH's headquarters construction project, discusses plans at a meeting of the Capitol Center Commission's design review committee yesterday.

PROVIDENCE -- The Capital Center Commission's design review committee appeared pleased yesterday with the latest designs for GTECH Holding Corp.'s planned world headquarters in Providence.

The lottery giant presented the panel with designs for the building's landscaping, drawn up by architect William D. Warner.

Warner is best known for designing many of the city's key projects, including Waterplace Park, which is adjacent to the site of the GTECH project.

"It's a wonderful execution of a walk-around," said Leslie A. Gardner, chairman of Capital Center Commission, which oversees development of the 77-acre district around the State House.

GTECH is building the $88.5-million corporate headquarters as part of a deal with the state that calls for GTECH to run Rhode Island's lottery for 20 years. The agreement calls for GTECH to occupy the building by December 2006.

The project is significant because it will bring the first new corporate headquarters to Providence in 14 years. And it will be one of the first things motorists see as they enter the city, since the building will stand across from downtown exit ramps for Route 95.

The Waterplace park side of the building.

The site, which is now an empty dirt lot, is at the corner of Francis Street and Memorial Boulevard, across the street from Providence Place mall.

The tentative design calls for a 13-story office building, with views of Waterplace Park to the east and the State House to the north. Nearly the entire first floor -- about 32,000 square feet -- will be devoted to retail space.

At yesterday's meeting, Warner and project architect Glen S. Fontecchio showed illustrations of a walkway around the perimeter of the building, which Warner said was key to making the site pedestrian-friendly.

"The site plan is designed to take the pedestrian by the hand and to guide and entice the pedestrian around the entire building," Warner told the design committee.

That enticement would be created by using brick, granite and concrete on a walkway adorned by trees in stone planters.

Terraces, 2 feet or 3 feet high with a concrete wall, a stone cap and railing, would provide a dining area for restaurants and views of the State House and of Waterplace Park.

The focal point of the building would be the southwest corner, which is set back from the rest of the building. Surrounding that corner would be a concourse made with granite paving and a seat-high planter wall with four small trees. At the center would be a circle of five planters to hold flagpoles that would fly the GTECH flag, Rhode Island flag, the U.S. flag, as well as flags of nations from which GTECH visitors come.

The Francis Street side of the building.

The entrance to GTECH's offices would be about 40 feet east of that corner, on Memorial Boulevard, which some commission members said might create some confusion to those trying to enter the building.

The Francis Street walkway would be about three times as wide as a typical city sidewalk and offer access to the river walk at the northwest corner of the building. Pedestrians would walk under a bridge that serves as an entrance to a parking garage inside the complex.

Members of the design committee, meeting in the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce building in the former Union Station complex, were generally positive about the landscaping designs in the comments to the architects.

"I think in many ways it enriches the project quite nicely," said Derek Bradford.

There were some criticisms and concerns. Bradford wanted to see more illustrations of the transitions between the different aspects of the landscaping. He also didn't like the idea of stand-alone street lamps on Francis Street, and said he would prefer lighting from planters or from the building itself.

Several raised questions about the side of the building that abuts Memorial Boulevard. Some 50 feet east of the main entrances is a loading dock.

The project's lead architect, Al Spagnola, said that a dock was necessary, and that it was designed to be set back some 25 feet from the sidewalk to help improve the look of the building's facade. It would not be gated at the sidewalk, he said.

Wilfrid L. Gates Jr., chairman of the design committee, said that the architects should also consider security concerns at the southwest corner, which he described as "vulnerable." A car coming off the highway could plow into the building, he said.

GTECH plans to show more designs of the building itself at the next meeting, which is scheduled for Aug. 31.