10/30/08 2:25pm

Hannah Project Row House CDC Duplexes on Francis St. Under Construction, Third Ward, Houston

Division St. Duplexes Behind Project Row Houses, Third Ward, HoustonRow House CDC has completed a second group of 8 duplexes for low- to moderate-income residents — on Francis St. between Dowling and Live Oak. That’s just north of the growing Third Ward campus of Project Row Houses, the CDC’s sister organization. At least 6 units are still available, reports Robin Foster in the Chronicle:

The units range from 700 to 900 square feet; 10 are family-sized with three bedrooms and 1½ baths and six have two bedrooms and one bath.

[Row House CDC executive director Alain] Lee said funds for the project were stretched to allow the builder to frame-in back porches. If additional money can be found, the porches will be finished as part of a courtyard envisioned for both the new and original housing complexes, he said.

All 16 duplexes were based on designs by students in the Rice Building Workshop at Rice University.

Photo of Francis St. duplexes under construction: Flickr user b2tse; photo of original duplexes along Division St.: Row House CDC

07/28/08 2:46pm

Dorchester Model Prefabricated Composite Bathroom Pod by Off Site SolutionsWorkers 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!

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06/20/08 8:19pm

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.

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06/19/08 7:02pm

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.

04/22/08 2:44pm

Rendering of New Brochstein Pavilion at Rice University, Designed by Thomas Phifer and Partners

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?

Drawing: Pavilion architects Thomas Phifer & Partners

04/18/08 10:32am

Interior of new Rice University Recreation and Wellness Center, Designed by Lake/Flato Architects

Where’s that giant climbing wall in the atrium?

Rice University’s new recreation and wellness center will have

2 indoor basketball courts, 4 racquetball courts, 2 squash courts, cardio, weights, dance studio, a 50 meter outdoor competition pool, an outdoor recreation pool, and 2 outdoor lighted basketball courts.

That sounds just a bit smaller than UH’s giant 264,000-sq.-ft. Wellness Center on the other side of town. Groundbreaking for Rice’s new building, designed by Lake/Flato Architects with F&S Partners, is scheduled for next week.

After the jump: More muddy images of the complex!

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08/30/07 7:42am

New Six-Story Medical Clinic of Houston Tower in Southampton

The construction permit for the Medical Clinic of Houston’s new six-story building on Sunset Blvd. in Southampton has been approved by the city. So up it goes! Behind the new building, facing Rice Blvd., will be a new seven-story, 600-space parking garage.

After the jump, a view of the new garage from the adjacent alley.

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06/04/07 1:04pm

Sure, the canopy of coastal live oak trees along Sunset Boulevard north of Rice is purty and all, but what’s really great about it is that it’s going to block views of a new six-story medical tower going up in Southampton. Well, okay, the fact that car windshields don’t curve all the way up over our heads—that helps too. Just don’t look up while you drive by, okay?

Now if Southampton residents would just shut up about the new Medical Clinic of Houston building long enough to watch this drive-by video produced by the new building’s nice architects—showing the still-leafy drive along tree-lined Sunset Boulevard, they’ll see how silly their complaints are.

After the jump, un-foliated views of the new tower, plus the seven-level parking garage that’s going to face Rice Boulevard.

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