Faunce House

As part of a multi-year project at the Brown University Faunce House Student Center, Lerner | Ladds Architects designed and implemented a phase-sensitive project for the renovation and expansion of the Mail Center and US Post office. The facility, a “crossroads” for the entire student body, was continuously occupied during all phases. Part of the mission was to integrate this intensive use into the phasing of the project. The mailboxes serving the students, who passed through daily to retrieve mail and meet friends, were seamlessly moved twice during the expansion without interruption of service. New functions were addressed in the renovation, including vending areas, large posting spaces, a separate area for the expanded US Post Office, and new regulation – conforming scissors lift outfitted loading areas. Given the tight urban condition, these loading areas, while necessary functional improvements, were integrated into the Dill Center exterior walkway project as elements subordinate to the public spaces.