RICE-BAYLOR MERGER: YUP A joint statement just out from the presidents of Rice University and the Baylor College of Medicine: “We are pleased to announce that the governing boards of Rice and BCM this week approved the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that lays out a broad framework for formal negotiations about a possible merger of our two institutions. While no decision on a merger has yet been made and many issues remain to be resolved, our boards have concluded that a closer affiliation has abundant potential benefits for both institutions, as well as for our home city of Houston.†[Swamplot inbox]
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WHERE’S A STINKIN’ FEMA TRAILER WHEN YOU NEED ONE? Trailer sculptor Paul Villinski, on the difficulty of procuring the raw material for his Emergency Response Studio, now on display at the Rice Art Gallery: “I thought, OK I’m going to go get a FEMA trailer, because they’re selling them online through the government – you know, the GAO Web site – at that very moment, it seemed, FEMA basically stopped releasing the trailers into the marketplace. And not only did they do that, they bought back all the ones that they had already sold. . . . And the back story with that is basically that the plaintiffs in this class-action suit need a couple of FEMA trailers so they can really study the indoor air quality and FEMA and the manufacturers do not want them to have them. So they’ve been ordered by the judge in the case to release the trailers, and they haven’t done it yet. So that made it impossible for me to actually get a FEMA trailer, which is why I wound up finding a 30-foot Gulfstream Cavalier, but it was built a couple of years before the FEMA trailers were.” [Arts in Houston; previously in Swamplot]
A few fun pics from around and about town! First, this crowd of black vultures ponders its next real-estate venture from atop a communications tower parked in a gated community in Cypress. Photographer Karen Morris happened upon the scene on Eldridge near Grant Rd.:
It was an awesome sight. Personally, if they adorned my rooftop every evening, I’d clean the roof, sell the house and move to the other side of town. . . . Black Vultures/Buzzards are a bit smaller and less colorful that the Turkey Vulture. They tend to follow the Turkey Vulture because it has a keener sense of smell and can find it’s meal through use of that sense. They eat dead animals and occasionally capture small live animals (field mice, etc.). Although they do not build a nest, they will take an abandoned nest. Often roost together as seen in this set of photos. If startled while roosting, they will regurgitate with power and accuracy.
More local habitat:
If you’re looking for some hot deck-on-deck action, look no further than this little 1968 number on Institute Ln., just north of Rice. Sure, the house looks like a tight little box — what self-respecting Mod pod from the swingin’ sixties didn’t? — but it’s . . . full of decks!
Check out the deck choreography in the photo above, taken from the upstairs screen porch. You’re looking onto a slightly lowered deck that’s open to the sky. Beyond and below the screens is a two-story courtyard — with a covered patio beyond.
Uh . . . where’s the indoors? Through the sliding door on the right. The red chair is in the upstairs Den.
After the jump: decks, decks, and more decks!
Workers at Rice University are lifting 178 7-foot-by-7-foot bathroom pods into place in the two new student residences now under construction on campus. The pods, which arrived with all fixtures already installed, are meant to be among the “green” features of the new Duncan and McMurtry College buildings, say the designers. Because construction takes place offsite, the pods are expected to eliminate construction waste — as well as traffic to and from the site by subcontractors.
The Rice pods were manufactured by Off Site Solutions in the United Kingdom and Kullman Buildings Corp. in New Jersey.
The pods’ outer shell is constructed of glass-reinforced plastic and connected to a steel frame. The interiors are all white with 9-foot ceilings, wall-hung plumbing fixtures, light fixtures and a smooth ceiling and wall finish. Installation requires being hoisted into place by a crane and just a handful of plumbing and electrical connections.
After the jump: an exciting bathroom-pod photo tour, including overhead views!
Two separate news releases update yesterday’s report of the wall collapse at Rice’s McMurtry College construction site. From the University:
As construction crews saw the lightning strikes from the rapidly developing storm, they began vacating work sites and securing them for the storm. A small group was finishing work at McMurtry College, one of two residential colleges under construction on the north side of campus, when the site was struck by powerful wind gusts that are reported to have measured more than 60 miles per hour in some areas. Five concrete block walls under construction for rooms on the second floor toppled. . . .
OSHA has conducted an investigation of the accident. The worksite remains closed for further investigations. Based on what is known to date, the accident is believed to have been caused by the sudden severe windstorm.
More details below.
An email forwarded to us from the Rice University president’s office:
This afternoon around 4 p.m. cinder-block walls under construction on the west side of the second floor of McMurtry College collapsed during a severe thunderstorm. According to police reports from the scene, eight construction workers are believed to have been injured: one was pronounced dead at the scene, four were taken from the site on stretchers and transported to the hospital and three walked from the scene and were treated at the site before being taken to the hospital. No further information is available about the injured people at this point. Everyone at Rice University is shocked and saddened by the accident and sends their prayers and best wishes to the workers and their families.
- One dead in Rice University wall collapse [abc13]
- 1 Killed, 7 Hurt In Rice University Building Collapse [Click2Houston]
- Worker dies during construction of Rice dorm [Houston Chronicle]
More buildings brewing on campus at Rice: The new Brochstein Pavilion, behind Fondren Library, opens later this week!
Designed by architect Thomas Phifer, the 6,000-square-foot building features natural lighting from light scoops, plasma screens, couches and chairs, all surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows that look out on a 10,700-square-foot wraparound plaza. This exterior seating area is covered by a trellis designed to filter light, as live oaks do along Rice walkways, and is encompassed by an elm grove, fountains, live oaks, new sidewalks and a freshly sodded Central Quad.
A new freestanding structure dedicated to the increasingly popular liberal-arts discipline of . . . Caffeine Studies?
Does Swamplot have any readers at Rice? Send us your reports! Uhh . . . how’s that coffee?
- Brochstein Pavilion opens April 26 [Rice News]
- Brochstein Pavilion [Rice University Housing & Dining]
- Serendipitous Musings: Pavilion success rides on student support [Rice Thresher]
Drawing: Pavilion architects Thomas Phifer & Partners
