"Rice University plans to build a new student center, which will largely replace the current Rice Memorial Center.
International architecture firm Adjaye Associates will lead the project's design, according to an Oct. 30 press release. The firm has offices in Ghana, London and New York.
Houston-based Kendall/Heaton Associates will serve as executive architect, and Houston-based Tellepsen will provide preconstruction services. Currently, Rice aims to break ground on the project in the first quarter of 2022 and complete it in the fall of 2023.
The project is moving forward thanks to a $15 million gift from the Brown Foundation, said Kathi Dantley Warren, vice president for Development and Alumni Relations.
Rice plans to retain a few elements of the Rice Memorial Center, such as the chapel and the cloisters, but most of the RMC will be demolished. Adjaye Associates has designed a three-story, 80,000-square-foot structure that incorporates the functions of the RMC and adds a multicultural center and a rooftop auditorium. It will also incorporate a memorial to 10 Navy ROTC students who died when their transport plane crashed in 1953 and for whom the RMC is named. However, the design is very preliminary, said University Architect George Ristow."
