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sttombiz

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That one has been a bit of a clusterfuffle. They finally tore the old stands down, and then nothing. New ones were supposed to be installed in time for women's soccer this fall, but that was never going to happen. I'm sure they will get it done some day.

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http://news.rice.edu/2015/12/11/new-office-building-parking-garage-to-be-constructed/ - apologize in advance if this is the wrong thread, but more Rice construction news.

 

I see urbanizer beat me too it - long time "lurker" on the site and thought this would be my first contribution...oh well, have to keep looking!

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On 12/12/2015 at 0:01 PM, Urbannizer said:

Office-Garage-Rendering-640x430.jpg

 

Construction will begin soon on a new office building and parking garage south of Allen Center.

Kathy Jones, associate vice president for Facilities Engineering and Planning, presented an overview of the project at the Dec. 8 Administrators Forum.

The six-story, 66,710-gross-square-foot office building will house up to 295 work spaces, depending on office layouts. The design calls for terra-cotta fins on the exterior of the building’s concrete frame to control the amount of natural light into offices. The building will be located parallel to the road that connects Entrance 3 to College Way/Loop Road.

The east side of the office building will attach to a seven-level, 159,500-gross-square-foot parking garage. The garage will accommodate 496 parking spaces – a net gain of 382 spaces after accounting for current parking spaces in Lovett Lot that will be overtaken by the office building and garage. Fig leaf images will be displayed on huge plastic scrims that will attach to the sides of the garage.

Starting Dec. 21, parking will no longer be permitted in the Lovett Lot south of Allen Center and the Cohen House. Entrance 3 to the campus at the intersection of Main and Cambridge streets will also be closed. The road between Entrance 3 and College Way will be closed too, except to emergency vehicles. - See more at: http://news.rice.edu/2015/12/11/new-office-building-parking-garage-to-be-constructed/#sthash.TDlV4LRx.dpuf

Jones said Entrance 3 will be redone to improve the flow of traffic in that area of campus. While Entrance 3 is closed, the South College parking lot can be accessed only from Entrance 4 on Main Street. The sidewalk from College Way to Entrance 3 will remain open for pedestrians.

Jones said the garage is expected to be completed by the beginning of summer 2017; the office building should be completed by the end of summer 2017. During the construction phase, employees who have been parking in the south Lovett Lot will park in other campus lots through arrangements made by the Parking Office.

- See more at: http://news.rice.edu/2015/12/11/new-office-building-parking-garage-to-be-constructed/#sthash.TDlV4LRx.dpuf

 

1214_PARK-310x238.jpg

Looks like this area is fenced off with one of those pavement stripping machines on site.

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https://www.bisnow.com/houston/news/deal-sheet/this-weeks-houston-deal-sheet-59253

 

JE Dunn broke ground on the highly anticipated office annex at Rice. In addition to more workspace, the project will add desperately needed parking to the campus. To preserve the campus's aesthetic, the massive garage will be disguised with leaf images on large plastic scrims.

 

571e9ad508d40_unnamed.jpeg

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the "desperately needed parking"? perhaps the author hasn't seen the surface parking covering the entire west side of the campus.  rice does many things right, but the west side of campus and deciding to erect a massive parking lot in this location are not one of them.  

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1 hour ago, htownproud said:

the "desperately needed parking"? perhaps the author hasn't seen the surface parking covering the entire west side of the campus.  rice does many things right, but the west side of campus and deciding to erect a massive parking lot in this location are not one of them.  

 

This lot is for the school administrators. They're not about to park on the other side of the stadium and walk a mile to their offices. 

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4 hours ago, corbs315 said:

 

Thank heavens the school still cares about architecture, not postmodern flavor-of-the-month. This is beautiful!

 

Only change I'd make is for the entrance facade to be full stone and a bit more sculptural. Don't be afraid of beauty.

 

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The crane is up along Main St.  Once the Medistar/Greystar cranes go up as well it should make for some pretty good TMC skyline shots.  Not sure you can really capture all of the activity from a single vantage point, though

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http://www.houstonchronicle.com/entertainment/arts-theater/article/Rice-University-prepares-to-open-Moody-Center-for-9134531.php#photo-10736982

 

The Moody will host its first classes in January and open to the public in February.

 

Architect Michael Maltzan's two-story structure combines a substantial jumble of intersecting rectangles clad in charcoal-gray brick and a glass-walled first floor. That's a wild departure from Rice's many classically-inspired buildings.

 

Maltzan said the Moody's contemporary spirit reflects its programs. He admires the "very specific and historic context" of the Rice campus, where many buildings are covered in the same, rose-hued St. Joe brick, but said he wanted to make a building "related to its own time."

 

A magnesium oxide coating on the Moody's dark brick alters its color poetically as atmospheric conditions change - a nice echo, in solid form, of the changing light within James Turrell's monumental "Twilight Epiphany" skyspace nearby. The brick appears to be dark blue on clear days, silvery when the sky is overcast, and nearly black at night, setting off the lights visible through all that glass.

 

That transparency was key, opening a window to the activity inside and "welcoming everyone in," Weaver said.

Cut-outs in two of the building's corners hold steel sculptures inspired by Rice's lush tree canopy that will be iconic features. Weaver also reads the branching designs as starbursts of "radiating ideas."

 

The building's interior, designed around a central "open studio lab," is a microcosm of the campus's quadrangle-based clusters of academic buildings. Walking across quads is an essential part of the Rice experience, Maltzan said. "It's where some of the best collaboration happens."

 

The building's front door faces Stockton Street, so it's easy for the public to find. Classrooms and labs are concentrated at the back and upstairs, although Weaver also wants the lounges to be active. Even a flight of padded stairs will double as amphitheater-style seating for impromptu talks.

 

Covered arcades merge the Moody's indoor and outdoor activities. Weaver plans to project films on the west facade and activate the north side's triangular green lawn with events that could include student design competitions and outdoor sculpture exhibitions.

"It's fun to think about, figure it all out," she said.

 

Maltzan's design was nearly done when Weaver was hired last year, but she tweaked some details and squeezed in a small upstairs cafe - "so it's not an in-and-out building but a place where people will want to hang out."

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I suppose that having the brick on the upper floors and not the ground floor upends notions of "stability" and "permanence," thereby radically critiquing a culture that seeks to crush dissent (both internal and external) through use of material force and power. The gray brick and lack of detail, in contrast to the bright reddish hues and ornament on other campus buildings, challenges the appropriation of other and historical cultures by the dominant culture, providing students with a place of relief and oxygen amid a campus laden with the imposing incoherent forms of late capitalism.

 

Or something similar.

 

 

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