Building
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'00, chair of the construction committee, was invaluable in overseeing this complex undertaking.
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'00, 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 RISD 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.
About our Judaica
Brown RISD Hillel's Beit Midrash has two Torah arks and a Torah reading table designed by David Strauss.
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