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Designed over a period of nearly a century, the university
campus comprises 70 major buildings, which represent many
of the changes in style of 20th century American architecture.
The design of the university’s oldest buildings, drawn
from the medieval architecture of Southern Europe, uniquely
adapted the conventions of the collegiate, Gothic Revival
style to the coastal plain of Texas. Red, clay-tile roofs,
rose-hued brick, cloistered passageways, and elaborate stonework
characterizes these buildings, designed by the Boston architect,
Ralph Adams Cram. In addition to the general plan of the campus
(1910), the firm of Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson designed
the following buildings:
Administration Building (Lovett Hall) - 1912
Mechanical Laboratory & Power House – 1912
Physics Building (Herzstein Hall) – 1914
South Hall (Will Rice College) - 1912
Institute Commons & East Hall (Baker College) –
1912 & 1915
West Hall (Hanszen College) - 1916
The impressive sequence of spaces, both in the architecture
and landscape design of the Rice campus, directs movement
and frames a vision of institutional identity. New and remodeled
buildings, in keeping with Rice's neo-Byzantine architectural
style, augment the beauty of the campus as well as provide
much-needed, state-of-the-art space for classrooms, research
laboratories, offices, and athletic facilities. Recently-constructed
and remodeled buildings and facilities include:
The Jones School Building - Rice's characteristic St. Joe
brick, laid up with wide, flat struck joints flanks the exterior.
A passageway recalling Cram's open-air walkways forms a sallyport
to allow pedestrian movement at the midpoint of the building.
The Humanities Building - The building was designed to complement
the buildings in the Academic Quad with architectural focus
on Lovett Hall and Herzstein Hall that are characterized by
arches, brick patterns, contrasting colors, glazed tile, vaults,
columns and finials.
Keck Hall (formerly the old Chemistry Building) - Originally
built in 1925, Keck Hall was renovated in the late 1990s,
and rededicated in 2000. Designed in the Lombard-Romanesque
style, this landmark building retained its historical integrity,
charm, and beauty after its renovation by keeping the elaborate
decorations in both carved stone and cast terra cotta and
tile, with numerous symbols referring to chemistry and alchemy.
Other symbols include circular designs called enigmas, originally
used by alchemists to confuse the observer, and circular ceramic
symbols for a variety of metals, water, acid, alkali, and
other elements. In the octagonal part of the building's tower,
the first part of the periodic table is recorded in contemporary
symbols.
Reckling Park - Rice Owls baseball entered a new era in 2000
with the team's first season in Reckling Park, formerly Cameron
field. A new outfield fence encircles the playing area. The
infield playing surface was replaced, and a new sprinkler
system installed. The Wendel Ley Scoreboard and messageboard
overlook the stadium. There are three large concession areas
plus a Rice novelty shop in the beautiful gallery area. The
stadium also features eight private suites.
For more information about these and other notable Rice facilities
go to http://dacnet.rice.edu/maps/space/
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