Project Providence

"Project Providence: The Anatomy of an American City" presents the first results of a joint project between the School of Architecture ETH, ZŸrich, and the Faculty at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Providence, Rhode Island. The results are an exploratory model of the city of Providence that was created as a research instrument which both schools could contribute to and participate in.

ProvidenceÕs potential as a 'typical' American city, its physical structure and architectural history were explored. The role as a 'gateway' to the Eastern Seaboard combined with its role as a State Capitol can be 'read' in its structure, and through this reading, insights into the broader cultural context of an American city can be found. Project Providence as a model of the urban system could fit into a larger comparative study which includes selected European cities. The goal of the Project was to build an open information system with a highly defined formal structure that allowed active exchange and cooperation, including on the one hand the physical model and on the other hand a data base of relevant information. This information system was used for educational and research purposes for both RISD and the ETH, with implications for RISD on a community level.

The realization of this project began in 1991 with the gathering of data. The model was built between 1992-94. To investigate and define a strategy for the modelling of a city, certain assumptions were recognized at the outset. The questions of an architecturally appropriate approach to modelling and of relevant data and information had to be considered first. This documentation attempts to present a recording of the process of the making of the Providence city model, both on the level of the modelling (general), the model itself (specific) and its potential representation techniques. In every step, there was an emphasis on relevant questions, which led to many discoveries in the investigation of a city using CAAD and its changing levels of scale, problems and information.