Perry and Marty Granoff Center for the Creative Arts at Brown University

A few weeks ago I attended Brown commencement as a guest, and I was blown away by the new Perry and Marty Granoff Center for the Creative Arts.  If you’ve never been to Brown University, it’s as New England-y as you can get, and then wham-o, there’s the Granoff Center. Rising in the middle of the campus like a jolt of electricity, this ultra modern center truly captures the essence of creative energy.  As we are opening our own Education Center in just a short month, I’ve become a Education Center addict, scouring the halls of other fine establishments for helpful hints, and this one was phenomenal.  Here are a few photos:

With windows on one entire side, the center really is a public space. You’re even able to participate casually in programs in their large theater, by sitting outside on a raised grass bed looking through the windows.

As soon as you walk in, it’s slightly disorienting. The day we went was an open house, and there were lot’s of jealous alumni walking around and staring into the open interior. To your right you can look down into a large lecture theater, or look up at a fabrication studio.

To your left you can see one of the large gallery spaces for the visual arts department.

I was really impressed with their fabrication laboratory (below). Students were displaying (and playing) non traditional musical instruments. Notice how you can also see a multi-media computer lab while working.

Here was another incredibly large flexible space that could be a dance studio, gallery, or events space. It overlooked the Brown campus, bringing a sense of the community into the space.

I really liked that you could see the multi-media laboratory from multiple floors.  Too often I find that computer labs are stuck in a dark basement. By having it in the heart of the center, I think it sends a clear message of the role of technology in 21st century arts learning.

While walking around Brown, I really felt a sense of community among the students and alumni and I felt that the Center was able to capture this feeling while still pushing Brown into the 21st century. To learn more, here’s the NY Times review of the building.