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Rice announced the $30 million gift for College #11, Duncan College. Along with new residential college #10, McMurtry College, there will be two new LEED certified buildings for Rice (and its first Gold certification). http://www.media.rice.edu/media/NewsBot.as...;SnID=417075778 http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories...63&ana=e_du

For years I have been wondering if Sears will ever do something with this eyesore located in midtown. It has so much potential, I guess at one point it was actually considered a beautiful building. Sears really needs to think about bringing it back to its original form. Something needs to be done. I would prefer to preserve the building, instead of razing it . What do you all think? Article found in the Chronicle today. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/main/5924010.html ''It's hideous!" fumes my friend V., warming up to one of his favorite rants: the unbearable ugliness of the Sears on Main Street. "It's right there on the light-rail line! At the entrance to the Museum District! At one of the few places where Houston can look good to visitors!" V., I have to admit, has a point. Sears' tan metal siding, blotched with graffiti cover-up, gives the building's upper floors the beaten-down air of an aging ministorage unit. But even that beats the urban battle fortifications at ground level. Someone, it appears, worked hard to make the department store defensible, able to repel invading hordes of shoppers intoxicated by Vanessa Hudgens' back-to-school ads. At the Wheeler side of the building, two sets of glass double doors, blacked out and locked during business hours, present an ominous face to the street. Opaque gray film makes the official entrance's glass doors, facing Main, only a little less scary. Bricks fill almost all the former display windows; burglar bars and more of that gray film cover the plate glass that survived. Only the most intrepid seekers of Kenmore appliances would dare breach such a bulwark. What's the deal, V. wonders. Does Sears think that the urban shoppers that store serves deserve less than, say, the suburbanites at the Memorial City Mall? And for that matter, hasn't someone at Sears noticed that Midtown has gentrified around the store? Isn't there a retail audience yearning to be better served? "Don't just return," exhorts the Hudgens back-to-school ad for Sears. "Arrive." V. would like that Sears to do just that. ...

Looking on satellite, where is the next area TMC will expand? Rice owns property directly across from the TMC. Would the two ever come to an agreement? Spin-off of this thread: Could TMC Development Ever Spill Into Hermann Park?

The highly visible plot of land on Rice's campus on the corner of Main St and University Blvd. will house The Collaborative Research Center. Designed to be LEED certified by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, the tower will contain 477,000 square feet for class/lab space for bioscience and biotech research. Rice will operate the center in conjunction with Baylor, MD Anderson, UT Health Science, Texas Children's and a host of other TMC institutions. The building will have 3 levels of underground parking and 10,000 square feet of retail/restaurant space that faces Main St. Plans call for the design to allow for the addition of another tower on top of this one and another on adjacent land...

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https://scholarship.rice.edu/handle/1911/71846 Rice owns a lot of land off the Highway 90 feeder. I went on a new running route and stopped by. Looks like dirt is being moved at the back of the property. Expansion or maintenance related?

Just thought Id pass this along. Please join us for the Rice Design Alliance's Civic Forum 2019. This year we are taking on the urgent topic of urban obsolescence and the importance of maintaining, preserving, and reusing the historic fabric of our cities. At a critical moment in Houston's urban growth, what is the value of architecture in our city and our region and why should we care about preserving Houston's identity through its urban past? While some might argue that doing away with the past can be a sound business solution, is that really the case and does nostalgia really have anything to do with it? Through the analysis of some of Houston's most relevant examples, Obsolescence will discuss the overarching factors that influence how we deal with change in the built environment - from regulations and tax policy, to cultural and political attitudes - all in an era in which preservation strategies are also acutely threatened by the environmental challenges of climate change. YOU ARE INVITED! Tuesday, April 23 5:00 p.m. Reception 6:00 p.m. Civic Forum Brown Auditorium The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston 1001 Bissonnet St. Houston, TX 77005 Admission is free and open to the public. Generous support for the Civic Forum 2019 reception is provided by the Astrodome Conservancy. www.ricedesignalliance.org @rdahouston

HOUSTON – (Aug. 5, 2009) – Sarah Whiting, a member of the Princeton University School of Architecture faculty and an expert in urban and architectural theory, has been named dean of the Rice University School of Architecture. Whiting will take the helm Jan. 1, 2010, from John Casbarian, the school's longtime associate dean who is serving as dean until Dec. 31, 2009. Lars Lerup stepped down as dean earlier this year after 16 years and will return to Rice in 2010 as a professor. “Sarah Whiting’s strengths as a teacher, author and designer are clear, and she brings abundant energy and intellect to Rice,” President David Leebron said. “Her aspirations for the School of Architecture align perfectly with the goals we set for Rice in the Vision for the Second Century, in particular our commitment to broaden and deepen our interaction with our home city of Houston. Under Sarah's leadership, we expect our already acclaimed school to be at the forefront of innovation in architecture education and enterprise.” Whiting, a native of Evanston, Ill., comes to Rice with extensive experience. Before joining Princeton in 2005, she was at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design for six years. Prior to that, she taught at the University of Kentucky, the Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Florida. She earned her Bachelor of Arts at Yale, a master of architecture at Princeton and her Ph.D. in the history, theory and criticism of art, architecture and urban form at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As a principal of WW Architecture, a firm she co-founded with her husband, Ron Witte, she is currently working on projects for the drama division of the Juilliard School in New York and the Golden House, a private residence in Princeton, N.J. Before forming WW, she worked with Rem Koolhaas at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture in Rotterdam, Netherlands, where she was a designer on a number of architectural, urban and writing projects, including the master planning of Euralille, a business center in Lille, France, that opened in 1994. Perhaps best known for her professional criticism, Whiting has published dozens of articles on urban and architectural theory. In addition to editing several journals, she has edited books on Ignasi de Solà-Morales and James Carpenter and is the series editor of "POINT," a new architectural book series to be published by Princeton University Press next spring. She is the author of the forthcoming book "Superblock City." "I feel the variety of her experiences is a real asset," said Rice Provost Eugene Levy. "She's been on the faculty of a diverse set of institutions, which has fostered a broad set of perceptions and openness to thinking about the challenges of the discipline and the challenges of leadership that will be extremely valuable." "Leading the Rice School of Architecture is a dream job,” Whiting said. “Because it is small, everyone — faculty and students alike — is engaged. The dean is not a distanced administrator like at big architecture schools, but is right in there focusing the school’s ambition.” Whiting calls architecture "a public form of culture." "Architecture can -- has to -- invigorate the public realm," she said. "This is a two-pronged project: It is an intellectual project for academia and an immediate project for practice." Whiting takes over a school that has earned a sterling reputation in recent years. The School of Architecture was ranked No. 8 in the nation by the Design Futures Council in January and has been among the top 10 programs for the last decade. The school's graduate program has consistently been among the country's top 20. She could not help but notice that Rice University was named last week as the Princeton Review's No. 1 school for "best quality of life" and last month as one of the Chronicle of Higher Education's “Great Colleges to Work For.” “Both were absolute affirmations of what I sensed when I came to campus," she said. "Everything felt just right — poised for new possibilities. I can’t wait to take on those new horizons come January.”

Can someone help me out with identifying Block 442? I came across mention of this in the MRA meeting minutes: https://midtownhouston.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/MRA-Board-packet-07.26.2018-WEBSITE.pdf

At a time when Houston has begun to reposition its bayous as an amenity, transforming them from the utility of drainage ditches into the beauty of hundreds of miles of connected linear parks with Bayou Greenways, and when the impending reconfiguration of the Pierce Elevated around Downtown presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve the city, the Rice School of Architecture and the Rice Design Alliance present Projective Infrastructures. Curated by Christopher Hight, Associate Professor of the Rice School of Architecture, this series will bring three internationally recognized landscape architects to help Houstonians continue to consider how the spaces between our buildings — our infrastructures — might be where the future health of our cities, and our citizens, will be found. Click here to purchase series tickets. Wednesday, January 27 Chris Reed Founding Principal, STOSS Associate Professor in Practice, Harvard Graduate School of Design Among many other projects, Reed’s firm STOSS designed a vision for the Trinity Riverfront, which combines commercial, residential, recreational, ecological, and environmental interventions to bring the river closer to the city, and the city closer to the river. He is also co-editor of a recent book of essays and drawings, Projective Ecologies. Wednesday, February 10 Christophe Girot Director, Atelier Girot Professor and Chair of Landscape Architecture, ETH Zurich Girot designed Invaliden Park, Berlin, one of the first open public spaces between East and West Berlin, which was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in 2005. Wednesday, February 17 Diana Balmori, FASLA Principal, Balmori Associates Balmori Associates has won a competition for a Cool Gardens that was installed in Winnipeg and has also launched a floating experimental vegetable garden in the Gowanus Canal, a Superfund site, in Brooklyn. Presently, the firm is a finalist in a competition to reprogram the space underneath a Downtown Cleveland elevated freeway. All lectures will be held at 7 p.m. in the Brown Auditorium in the Caroline Wiess Law Building at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. A pre-lecture reception will begin at 6 p.m. The MFA,H, is located at 1001 Bissonnet. No guaranteed seating for ticket holders after 6:50 p.m. Additional parking at the museum is available until 7p.m. for $6 in the museum garage located at the corner of Binz and Fannin Streets. Series Tickets: $20 – RDA, MFAH members $15 – Senior citizens 65 years and older $10 – Students with identification $35 – Others Single Tickets (upon availability, sold 30 minutes prior to the lecture) $7 – RDA, MFAH members Senior citizens 65 years and older Students with identification $15 – Others RDA will make special accommodations for anyone needing assistance to attend a lecture. A minimum of two weeks is appreciated. Call Mary Beth Woiccak, Assistant Director, Programs, at (713) 348-5583.

Some people were talking in another thread about the current "arms race" going on amongst major universities. Some of us are fresh out of college (or maybe still in school) who have seen the arms race first hand, others are older and have watched from a different perspective as their alma mater jumped into this ongoing competition for the finest facilities. What are everyones feelings on the arms race? Is it good for the schools? Which Texas school is winning this race?

Story: http://www.riceowls.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/121814aab.html Pictures: http://www.riceowls.com/view.gal?id=171772

In software design, a plug-in adds a specific feature to enhance or expand an existing application. The Rice School of Architecture/Rice Design Alliance Spring 2015 Lecture Series presents four speakers who strategically install a different cultural plug-in — material, social, economic, tectonic — to refresh our attitudes about architecture’s capabilities. Curated by RSA Visiting Wortham Lecturer Tei Carpenter, Plug-Ins will feature the following four lecturers: January 21 Markus Bader, Co-Founder, raumlabor Reception sponsored by D.E. Harvey Builders January 28 James Casebere, Artist Reception sponsored by Berger Iron Works, LLC; Chamberlin Roofing & Waterproofing; and Marek Companies February 11 Hilary Sample, Co-Founder, MOS Architects Reception courtesy RDA February 25 Keller Easterling, Professor, Yale School of Architecture Reception sponsored by Gensler You can purchase series tickets here. All lectures are held at 7 p.m. in the Brown Auditorium at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, at 1001 Bissonnet Street. A wine reception, sponsored by local architecture, design, and engineering firms, will precede each lecture at 6 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase online or by mail. Series Tickets: $20 – RDA, MFA,H members $15 – Senior citizens 65 years and older $10 – Students with ID $35 – Others Single Tickets (as available, sold 30 minutes before the lecture) $7 – RDA, MFA,H members Senior citizens 65 years older Students with ID $15 – Others These lectures are made possible by Pickard Chilton, Brochsteins, Cardno Haynes Whaley, D.E. Harvey Builders, Hines, Hines Southwest Region, Kendall/Heaton Associates, Planning Design Research Corporation, Satterfield & Pontikes Construction Inc., Walter P Moore, The Woodlands Development Company/The Howard Hughes Corporation, and the Corporate Members of the Rice Design Alliance. Sponsor support comes from Balfour Beatty Construction, Bury, HOK, McCarthy, TheOFIS Companies, Telios, Trammell Crow Company, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

Our fall lecture series starts tomorrow night. There'll be a mix of architects, historians, artists, photographers; their creative work is speculative and tries to imagine what our cities and buildings will look like in the next 10, 15, 20 years. This lecture series will have a different format from others. On Wednesday, October 1, Jean-Louis Cohen, an architectural historian and critic, will introduce the series and explore its themes. The next two weeks will feature a curated discussion between two artists. On Wednesday, October 8, Belgian photographer Filip Dujardin will be in dialogue with Oscar-nominated production designer K.K. Barrett (best known for his work with director Spike Jonze on such films as Her and Being John Malkovich). Finally, on Wednesday, October 15, British architect and curator Liam Young and Polish visual artist Agnieszka Kurant will continue the discussion. All lectures are held at 7 p.m. in the Brown Auditorium at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, at 1001 Bissonnet Street. A wine reception, sponsored by local architecture, design, and engineering firms, will precede each lecture at 6 p.m. You can purchase tickets for the series here. Or you can purchase single tickets the night of. They're $15 for the general public and $7 for RDA/MFAH members, students with ID, and seniors.

I read recently on Swamplot that Rice actually owns the land in Rice Village. Is this true? I know that Rice owns other buildings around Houston (including Midtown's Sears), but does Rice's contiguous land go much west of Greenbriar?

I attached a small video camera to my bike and recorded my ride around the Rice campus yesterday. Cool huh? (anybody know how to embed the YouTube video?)

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6083117.html "Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine have begun holding serious discussions that could lead to a merger of the state's top private university and one of the country's best medical schools. A merger would bring Rice the reputational enhancement it has long desired and Baylor the security of a university affiliation, which is often necessary to keep medical schools afloat financially. Baylor is one of only nine stand-alone medical schools in the United States."

I know there are a lot of urban explorers here on HAIF. Has anyone been to the tunnels beneath Rice University? There's 2.6 miles of tunnels down there. And the Facilities department even has tours open to the public! http://facilities.rice.edu/Department.aspx?id=2248

Or is there some kind of legality preventing that from ever happening? TMC's expanding at a break neck pace and running out of room. Peering into the future, if it continues to expand as such, I wonder what the landscape will look like in another 20 years.

What's the story on this? It's going up on the formerly beautiful green lawn between Temple Emanu El and Oak Shadows on Sunset Boulevard across from Rice. Today I noticed a sign giving just the web address: thirtysunset.com At that site it says only "Five residences starting at $2 million" with a form to fill in for information. What's going on here? I thought a few years ago the Community Association blocked Emanu El from building a parking lot here. With the new parking garage (ugly) just down Sunset, and the Ashby highrise fight, how did this get through? And why can't I find anything about it on the Net?

Does anyone have any memories from times in University/College? Any strange acts of vandalism or teenage stupidity? Any tips on how to stay in college? My sister is coming back from DePauw University (in Greencastle, Indiana) for Thanksgiving. She just graduated from Lamar High in Houston last May. She says that at DePauw a bunch of kids vandalized a deer statue donated by an alumn by making a failed attempt to saw off its legs. Then some kids rode the statue in the nude during Halloween.

I run several times a week around the perimeter of Rice University. I've always wondered if it were possible for the general public to access the stadium and run up/down the steps between the bleachers. I couldn't find a way to get in on Sunday. Does anyone know if this is possible?

Presented in collaboration with Memorial Park Conservancy and the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, RDA Partners will focus on bridging Memorial Park. This year participants will be challenged to propose a design to unite the north and south parts of Memorial Park, Houston's largest urban park, via a pedestrian bridge. Site Visit: Saturday, July 14 2 pm - 5 pm Houston Arboretum and Nature Center 4501 Woodway Drive Charrette: Saturday, August 4 8 am - 4 pm University of Houston College of Architecture (Entrance 18) Jury Reception: Monday, August 6 6 pm - 8 pm Houston Arboretum and Nature Center 4501 Woodway Drive For more information about the event please call (713) 348-4876. If you're interested in participating, please fill out the attached application form and fax it back to RDA at 713-348-5924.

A rooftop view of Rice University from the east looking west. These photos were taken Oct 30, 2006.

great school or greatest school?