Today many people experience RI Hall backwards.When RI Hall was first built in 1840, College Green, also known by students as the 'quiet green', was the main focus of the University. The University buildings were designed to sit up on the hill overlooking the rest of the city down College Street. Early engravings show the campus from this focus. Today the campus layout is much altered, with the expansion of facilities and a great many more buildings leading to the formation of the Main Green. This is now the focus of campus and as a result many students approach RI Hall from the Main Green, meaning that the building is entered by its back door. In fact, the door on the West face (the original front) cannot be opened from College Green- it is an exit only door. The inability of people to enter RI Hall by its front door is an example of much altered transactions with the building arising from the site-specificity of the University expanding the way it did.
