Type Library Completed 1971 Floor count 15 Height 55 m | Architectural style Brutalist Roof 180 feet (55 m) Floors 15 Opened 1971 | |
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Location 201 Thayer Street, Providence, Rhode Island, United States Address 201 Thayer St, Providence, RI 02912, USA Hours Open today · 8:30AM–5PMFriday8:30AM–5PMSaturday10AM–5PMSunday12–7PMMonday8:30AM–9PMTuesday8:30AM–9PMWednesday8:30AM–9PMThursday8:30AM–9PMSuggest an edit Similar University Hall, Ladd Observatory, Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, Brown Stadium, Annmary Brown Memorial | ||
The Sciences Library, nicknamed the "SciLi", at Brown University is a high-rise building in Providence, Rhode Island built in 1971. At 180 feet (55 m), it is tied with One Citizens Plaza as the 13th-tallest building in the city. The building houses Brown University's primary on-campus collections that support study and research in the fields of Medicine, Psychology, Neural Science, Environmental Science, Biology, Chemistry, Geology, Physics, Engineering, Computer Science, and Pure and Applied Mathematics. SciLi is also the home of the Science Center, the Writing Center, the Map Collection, the Interlibrary Loan office, and the Friedman Study Center. SciLi is one of five on-campus libraries which make up the University Library.
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Completed in the Brutalist architectural style, the building is Brown University's primary science library. The school had been faced with the desire for vigorous expansion but had little real estate available, and the high-rise library was the school's solution.
Clashing with late 19th century and early 20th century colonial revival houses and abutting street-level shopping on Thayer Street, the Science Library is often seen as an imposing and obtrusive addition to College Hill. Architectural historian McKenzie Woodward condemns the building as "overwhelm[ing] everything around it", even comparing it to a Soviet-era Panelák when viewed from its "all-too-many distant viewing perspectives".
A 100-foot radio tower, erected in 1972, was removed from the building in 2005.
Friedman Study Center
In 2006, the first and second floors and the basement of the Sciences Library underwent extensive renovations and were transformed into the Susan P. and Richard A. Friedman Study Center. The center includes a variety of seating, a cafe on the first floor, new computer clusters, and collaborative study rooms. This renovation was designed by Architecture Research Office, and structurally engineered by Leslie E. Robertson Associates.
Science Center
In 2010, the third floor was renovated to create the "Science Center", a facility that supports teaching and learning in the sciences. The Center houses academic mentoring and support programs and serves as the campus clearinghouse for information about research and fellowship opportunities at Brown and around the world.