About Our Building
While the Glenn
and Darcy Weiner Hillel Center is a testament to the extraordinary
dedication and leadership of the many volunteers who served so
selflessly, this project would not have been possible without the
exceptional generosity and leadership of Marty Granoff P'93, chair of
the capital campaign and president of the Brown Hillel Foundation from
2004-2006.
Built as a loving memorial, the Glenn and Darcy Weiner
Hillel Center protects tradition and encourages renewal by providing a
vibrant setting where Jewish students will explore, enrich, and
celebrate their Jewish commitment for many generations to come. The
vision for this magnificent facility began in 1995, when Hillel
programs at Brown experienced substantial growth and the board of
trustees recognized the need to expand the existing Rapaporte House.
Fortuitously, the adjacent property became available and was acquired
in 1996 with generous support from Alan Hassenfeld, Fred Horowitz '86,
and the Jewish Federation of Rhode Island.
Inclusive planning
and design committees were formed, with Steve Sidel '87 and Bruce Leach
as their respective chairs; and with students, staff, trustees, alumni,
parents, and community stakeholders working together. Earl R.
Flansburgh & Associates, hired to develop a needs assessment and
master plan, concluded that a second, contiguous property at 100 Angell
Street was needed to insure ample space for the future. Hillel was able
to purchase this property in 1998, thanks to the generous support of
Marty Granoff P'93 and Gary Winnick P'00.
Architects Fred
Babcock of Babcock Design Group and Cornelis de Boer of Haynes/de Boer
Associates were engaged in 1997 to design an integrated facility
accommodating the programmatic requirements. Their successful and
brilliant design encompasses the original structures connected by a
compatible modern addition. In 2001, after a long review process due to
the historic status of the buildings, the plan was granted regulatory
and legal approval. The two previous Hillel board presidents, John
Blacher (1995-2000) and Danny Warshay '87 (2000-2004), devoted
themselves to the project, and the professional expertise of Mark
Leventhal P'01, chair of the construction committee, was invaluable in
overseeing this complex undertaking.
About the Architecture
The
new center incorporates three historic structures--two late
eighteenth-century Federal-style houses and the chalet-style Froebel
Hall (1878)--into an expanded facility that provides Brown Hillel with
more than 25,000 square feet for assembly, student activity, and
administrative spaces. The center is designed to defer to the old
structures and to be congruent with the residential scale and
architectural character of the surrounding neighborhood. The facility
also preserves the historic identity and essential integrity of the
three existing building, provides worship access for all denominations,
introduces universal access to all function rooms, and re-establishes
the garden and terraces as open spaces suitable for outdoor functions
and meditation.