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Rice University Campus Developments


sttombiz

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So they moved away from... the proposed field house/gymnasium in that location?  Or was I mistaken that the east grandstands were to be partially replaced by that proposed field house/gymnasium at some point?

The previous plan was to tear out and renovate the south endzone facilities.  The plan that is moving forward is to do the building on the north, so it opens on both the field and the practice facility.  I don't think there was ever a plan to include a field house/gymnasium.  Tudor Fieldhouse had a $23mm makeover in 2007.

Edited by lokithebubba
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Actually the first plan WAS to construct on the north side but because half the campus electricity flows through the switchgear room located just outside the north side wall they shifted to a plan involving the south side. Now they are back to their original plan. I guess because they found the half million dollars to reroute the electricity.  

 

I'm assuming the existing Rice locker room will now become the visitors room, which would be a slight improvement other the existing visitors locker room which looks like a 50 year old middle school locker room. That's one reason marquee teams won't play at Rice stadium. It is embarrassingly small and run down.  

 

Love the photo renderings of a completely full stadium. Rice hasn't seen that many people for a football game since the 50's. Still, I'm glad to see they are moving on with this. Even though Rice football doesn't attract a crowd like they once did they deserve better. All the other sport facilities on campus have seen major upgrades in the last 20 years. 

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An academic and research focused college is going to spend $30m on a weightlifting facility?

 

They are improving in football and lets remember that they are one of the traditional powers in baseball. They aren't going to be like the bigger sports focused schools, but they do have good sports programs.

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And they are one of the few schools in the state with student athletes that actually attend classes and walk away with real degrees.  Having a good athletic program at Rice does not take away from the academic side.  A good balance between nerds and jocks is important. 

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If Rice has the money, and I think they do, let them at it. It is a private school after all and I don't think the University will let its academic reputation suffer. Alumni loyalty for Rice is second only to that of Texas A&M - maybe even tied with A&M depending on how it is measured. I did not attend Rice, nor has anyone in my family, but I have often enjoyed watching football and baseball games there.

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just take the upper decks down....done....

 

If they could take down just the upper east it would be awesome.  The front of the upper west is already a great place to watch football.  Without the east the view of the campus and med center would be awesome.  Alas, I don't think it's possible to take it off easily.

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This is going to be nice. It's about time art majors got their own unique place at Rice.

 

Pretty much everything Rice has built in the last ten years looks out of place. Brochstein Pavilion, Brockman Hall, the Rec center, the new Continuing Studies school. But in the long run they function well. 

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The irony is that, to most people, Rice has probably the most beautiful campus in all of Texas. But to today's average art junkie, there is nothing beautiful or inspiring about Byzantine-derived architecture. So the art museum must be a radical departure from the existing beautiful campus.

 

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The irony is that, to most people, Rice has probably the most beautiful campus in all of Texas. But to today's average art junkie, there is nothing beautiful or inspiring about Byzantine-derived architecture. So the art museum must be a radical departure from the existing beautiful campus.

SMU's campus is probably better.
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Not sure it's "better", but SMUs campus is definitely up there with Baylor and Rice.

 

Don't overlook Trinity University in San Antonio either. It is a very nice melding of regional and Modern architecture.

 

As I said about the new Rice Field House earlier this year, the University has the money and the will to experiment and do things on a scale one may think more grand than would be normal for an institution of its size. There you have it.

 

While most of the newer buildings on campus push the envelope the original quad remains pretty much (with the exception of the Fondren Library) true to William Ward Watkin's original intent.

 

These newer buildings on campus don't necessarily have to be "commercially successful" so this is probably the most appropriate venue to experiment with architecture. Think of some of the "show cars" from the opulent auto shows of the 1950. Some where very well received and pointed to the style of the future and some faded away into history.

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MFAH. Menil. Sawyer Yards. The arts just absolutely exploding in this city.

 

 

You forgot to put Match in that list. Its going to be an incubator for Midtown and the arts.

 

If you include the performing arts, it's even more amazing:

 

Moody Center for the Arts (at Rice U)

MFAH

Menil

Sawyer Yards

MATCH

New Opera House at Rice

St. Thomas has a new performing arts facility in the works

A.D. Players in Uptown

Main Street Theater is completing their remodel/upgrade

Alley Theater rebuild

Sugar Land Performing Arts Center

New HSPVA

 

I feel like I'm still leaving some out.

Edited by Houston19514
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Question. Will this be directly West of Shepard School of music, replacing the large ashpalt lot?

 

 

No, it will be south of Shepherd in the space between the Center for Continuing Studies and Reckling Park, where the tennis courts used to be.

 

The site directly west of the Shepherd School is where the new opera theater will be built.

 

Cool Rice University map showing future plans, including the Shepherd School's opera theater and the Moody Center for the Arts

 

Edited by Houston19514
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The site directly west of the Shepherd School is where the new opera theater will be built.

Cool Rice University map showing future plans, including the Shepherd School's opera theater and the Moody Center for the Arts

Awesome. I didn't realize the courts were being moved north, hence my confusion. Interesting spot for this building...

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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

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  • The title was changed to Rice Stadium End Zone Replacement
  • The title was changed to Rice University Stadium End Zone Replacement

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