PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS - JAN. 30-FEB. 12, 2026
CLARKE SCIENCE BUILDING
A Fresh Design
Rhode Island College, 600 Mt. Pleasant Ave, Providence
The interior of the renovated Clarke Science Building on the Rhode Island College campus is brighter because the larger windows allow in more natural light.
Building Owner and Tenant:
Rhode Island College
Architect:
Brewster Thornton Group Architects, LLP and Cannon Design
Developer/General Contractor:
Dimeo Construction, Co.
Cost:
$60 Million
Use:
The Clark Science Building was first constructed in 1963 and didn’t undergo any significant renovations over 60 years. It showed. The learning environment was dated, and the small windows didn’t provide much natural light. The overhaul started in 2023 and was finished in summer 2025. The 63,218-square-foot building, home to RIC’s physics and chemistry programs, now has nine teaching labs and four research labs; 300-seat and 100-seat lecture halls; and instrument room; a 60-desk classroom and a 20-desk classroom; a conference room; two smaller “huddle rooms” for breakout sessions; and faculty office suites on the first and second floors. It also contains a new neuroscience lab for the Psychology Department. An industrial interior design features high ceilings, large windows and exposed architectural elements such as duct work in the second-floor ceilings.
This is one of the nine new state-of-the-art teaching labs in the building, which serves as the headquarters for RIC’s physical sciences program and has been the hub of innovation and research on campus.