A detail of the exterior of the new Chace Center at Rhode Island School of Design. Providence Journal photo

PROVIDENCE — For most of its 131 years, one of the world’s premier art schools has enjoyed a quiet local presence, its campus buildings scattered along College Hill and downtown, seamlessly blending into their surroundings.

All that changes this Saturday when the Rhode Island School of Design opens a striking $34-million addition to its art museum, intended to give RISD a higher profile and a more inviting image.

Seven years in the works, the 43,000-square-foot Chace Center was designed by Spanish architect Rafael Moneo, winner of the Pritzker Prize, one of architecture’s highest honors. The center will open with a major exhibit of glasswork by RISD alumnus Dale Chihuly, designed for the center’s large exhibition space on the third floor.

RISD officials say they want the brick, stainless steel and glass building to do far more than provide additional gallery space for museum collection. They hope the Chace Center will more firmly establish RISD as a cultural and civic resource open to everyone.

Unlike nearby Brown University, RISD has no college green, well-defined campus gates or even plaques on many of its buildings. In recent years, visitors trying to find their way around have ended up at the school’s retail store on Westminster Street, drawn by the risd/works sign above the door. There, employees provided directions to the admissions office as well as selling handcrafted jewelry, furniture, paintings and other items crafted by faculty and alumni.

“Before [The Chace Center] was built, if you said to someone, ‘Where is RISD,’ you could sort of point in the general direction, but the doors were locked … and most of the buildings weren’t public,” said James Hall, assistant director of the museum. “This building represents the dream of this institution to be more engaged, more outward looking, more welcoming.”

To celebrate, RISD will hold a 12-hour party on Saturday, free and open to the public. Kicking off at 10 a.m., the grand opening features exhibits by two acclaimed RISD alumni — Chihuly’s glasswork, and a display of illustrations and books by author-illustrator David Macaulay.

There will also be music, performances by the Inflatable Theatre — a troupe of jugglers, mimes and acrobats — curator chats and hands-on workshops. The day will be capped by a WaterFire lighting, sponsored in part by RISD.

IN A DEPARTURE from placing RISD’s logo on only a few buildings, the school decided to erect a large “Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art” sign on the Chace Center’s orange brick façade.

Strategically located windows let in light and bird’s-eye views of Providence’s downtown. RISD leaders say they see the Chace Center, as an invitation to visitors to explore the museum’s 84,000 objects and a way to more tightly connect RISD to the larger community. The building is named for the Chace family, longtime supporters of RISD.

Constructed in just under two years, the center “is a hybrid building of many purposes and functions,” said Matt Montgomery, the museum’s communications director. The center houses a store, a handicap-accessible auditorium, 6,000 feet of exhibition space, an outdoor terrace, a floor reserved for student exhibitions and another floor for classrooms, research and storage. The center is linked to the museum via a glass-sided bridge on the addition’s third floor.

RISD officials say they hope the center will draw in visitors — from Rhode Island and beyond — who previously have not explored the museum. Chihuly’s glass creations, some of which resemble flowers and sea anemones, were selected for the grand opening because his work appeals to a broad audience.

“Right now, we get about 100,000 visitors a year,” Montgomery said. “We’re hoping it will go up.”

With the Chace Center addition, the museum is growing by 25 percent, he said. “We now have more room to display our collection, which ranges from ancient Egypt to contemporary,” Montgomery said. “We have costumes, textiles, prints, paintings and sculpture.”

Visitors will enter through the new main entrance at 20 North Main St. (The museum’s Farago entrance at Benefit and Waterman streets will remain open, but the 224 Benefit St. door will close on Sept. 27.)

In the main lobby, facing North Main Street, the relocated risd/works store will also serve drinks and snacks, courtesy of Café Choklad, a popular local bakery. A small grouping of Eero Saarinen-designed tables and chairs sit across from the ticket desk that also serves as an information center for the college.

Completing the first floor is the 210-seat Metcalf Auditorium, which RISD officials say will be used for lectures and other programs, some free to the public. (A free presentation by five RISD alumni who are award-winning authors of children’s books is being planned for Nov. 30.)

There are two ways to access the exhibit spaces above. Visitors can climb a staircase to the second floor, which displays undergraduate and graduate student art.

“These are student-curated exhibitions,” said Mark Moscone, director of the student gallery. A team of students selects the theme and artwork to be displayed, giving museum visitors a chance to see student work. A partially covered outdoor terrace provides access to stairways that lead up to College Hill and below to North Main Street. Elevators provide access to the floors above.

Visitors can also take an escalator directly to the third floor where two exhibits of glasswork will be spread over 6,000 square feet — the Chihuly exhibit and a smaller display of glasswork from well-known students of Chihuly. Chihuly helped establish RISD’s glass department and served as a faculty member until the 1980s.

The fourth floor houses the museum’s 25,000-item print, drawing and photograph collection, and the fifth floor consists of classroom and storage space.

The Chace Center has been LEED certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, meaning it is recognized for its “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.” RISD disposed of building materials in an environmentally responsible way, installed energy efficient lighting, used floor sealers with fewer chemicals, and installed a shower on the fourth floor so employees can bike to work.

Promotional materials about the center emphasize its central location and call it a “literal and figurative door to RISD and all it has to offer.”

RISD officials say they hope the center will reintroduce the art school and its museum to the public.

“Now you can point to this building and say, ‘there’s RISD,’ ” Hall said.

The free grand opening Saturday runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Free parking is available at the corner of Orms and State streets, and shuttle service to the museum will be provided from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free tickets are required for the Dale Chihuly exhibit and are available at the hospitality tent at Market Square, across the street from the 20 North Main St. entrance. For a complete schedule, visit: www.risdmuseum.org

jjordan@projo.com