DESIGN WEEK RI

Monday
September 27
9:30-11:30 AM

Innovate Newport @513 Broadway, Newport
Fee: Free
Refreshments: No
Recording Allowed: Yes

Crossing the Pell

Crossing the Pell is both a design exhibit and an interactive experience.

The construction of the Pell Bridge in 1969 changed the economy of this region through the introduction of automobile access. The ease of crossing the bay has since made Newport a travel destination, famed for its architectural heritage, beaches, cultural and sailing events. More than half a century later, the consideration of adapting this iconic bridge for cycle and pedestrian access was inspired by two Senate bills from 2019: the Bridge Investment Act and the IMAGINE Act. Four visions for both updating/upgrading RI’s infrastructure and for using innovative materials and techniques for domestic infrastructural work are at the heart of this exhibition. In addition, the extreme demographics within the city of Newport inspired social agenda embedded within the design for pedestrian and bicycle access.

In the full exhibit, coming to Innovate Newport in the late Fall of 2021, four proposals from the MA in Adaptive Reuse program of RISD’s Department of Interior Architecture will be presented through immersive experience, utilizing visualization technology in an exhibition setting to take the visitor across the bridge.

Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from the leaders of the project as well as experience an interactive virtual reality walk across the bridge.

Liliane Wong received her BA in Mathematics from Vassar College and her MArch from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. She is Professor in the Department of Interior Architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design. She is co-founder and co-editor of the Int|AR Journal on Design Interventions & Adaptive Reuse, author of Adaptive Reuse_Extending the Lives of Buildings, and co-author of Libraries – A Design Manual. Recognized by Design Intelligence for 2018-2020 as one of the top 25 most admired design educators in the US, her teaching emphasizes the importance of public engagement and social activism in architecture and design.

Wolfgang Rudorf received his Master of Science in Architecture studies from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his Technische Diplom Ingenieur der Architektur und Stadtplanung (Architecture and Urban Planning) from Universität Berlin Charlottenburg, School of Architecture and Urban Planning.

He is a registered architect and has practiced in both the U.S. and in Germany including the offices of IBUS, Berlin, TAC The Architect’s Collaborative, Cambridge, and Ann Beha Architects, Boston. His many built projects include public housing, museums and libraries. He was the project architect at Ann Beha Architects overseeing the construction of the award winning conversion of the Charles Street Jail in Boston to the Liberty Hotel.

Rudorf is the co-author with Nolan Lushington and Liliane Wong of Libraries – A Design Manualpublished in 2015 by Birkhäuser Verlag.

DxRI