Rice University School of Architecture

Rice School of Architecture

Type	Private
Established	1912
Dean	Igor Marjanović
Location	Houston , Texas , United States
Website	arch.rice.edu

Rice School of Architecture, also referred to as Rice Architecture, is a small undergraduate and graduate institution located within the international research university, Rice University in Houston, Texas. The graduate and undergraduate programs in architecture foreground design, history/theory, technology, and culture as critical academic subjects. The school maintains an enrollment of just under 200 students. Established in 1912 as the Department of Architecture with Rice University’s founding, the School of Architecture’s faculty consists of about twenty full-time architectural practitioners, historians, and theoreticians, supplemented by visiting scholars, critics, and fellows. The school is currently led by Interim Dean John J. Casbarian.

The school offers four distinct degrees: a Bachelor of Arts (with a major in Architecture or Architectural Studies), a Bachelor of Architecture (an accredited professional degree), a Master of Architecture (an accredited professional degree) and a post-professional Master of Science in Architecture.

Academics[]

Undergraduate[]

Associate Professor Reto Geiser is the current Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Bachelor of Arts in Architecture (B.A.)[]

At the undergraduate level, students spend their first four academic years on campus in Houston, to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture degree. Students then work in an architectural office for approximately one year through the preceptorship program.

Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch)[]

Rice Architecture offers a five-year professional Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) degree.^[1] After preceptorship, students return to Houston for a final year, while taking advanced standing classes with graduate students. During their fifth year, the students also can apply to spend a semester at the school’s satellite campus in Paris.

Preceptorship[]

The one-year Preceptorship program places advanced undergraduate students into U.S. and international architecture offices between their 4th and 5th years at the school. The students intern for a minimum of 9 months and upon completion, return to Rice for a 5th year of academic study.

Current preceptors (as of Feb. 2021) include Adjaye Associates, DS + R, BCJ, Ennead, Johnston/Marklee, Kieran Timberlake, KPF, NADAAA, NBBJ, Olson Kundig, Payette, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, Pelli Clarke Pelli, PLP, Rogers Partners, SHoP, SOM, Thomas Phifer and Partners, WXY, and ZGF.

Graduate[]

Associate Professor Dawn Finley is the current Director of Graduate Studies. At the graduate level, Rice Architecture offers a Master of Architecture (M.Arch.) and a post-professional Master of Science in Architecture research program, Present Future. Rice Architecture refers to the programs as Option 1, Option 2, and Option 3.^[2]

Master of Architecture (M.Arch)[]

Option 1, comparable to M. Arch I at other institutions, is a 7-semester program for students with limited background in architecture.

Option 2, comparable to M. Arch II at other institutions, is a 5-semester advanced standing program for students with an undergraduate degree in architecture. The first-year Option 1 students work as a cohort for their first two semesters, and are then joined by new incoming Option 2 students the following year.

Master of Science in Architecture[]

Option 3, also known as Present Future, is a post-professional research program coordinated by Professor Albert Pope.

Graduate Thesis[]

All graduate students in the M. Arch program are required to develop a thesis proposal during their second-to-last semester. Those who elect to pursue a thesis develop their proposal with a faculty advisor, who will guide no more than two thesis students each year through the process. Final graduate thesis projects are usually presented during the first week of the following spring semester in public reviews with outside critics.

Academic Programs[]

Totalization[]

The Totalization program is a series of studios during each fall for high-level graduate students (5th semester for Option 1 and 3rd for Option 2 respectively) and 5th year undergraduate students returning from preceptorship. Students select from an offering of 3-4 option studios (including the Paris studio) that conduct design research focused on systems (building, construction, material, technological). Associate Professor Troy Schaum is the current Director of Totalization. Students often collaborate in teams, and work closely with internationally recognized structural, MEP and facade consultants.^[3]

Construct[]

Construct is Rice Architecture’s design-build program. Established in 1996 as the Rice Building Workshop, Construct saw through a number of student design-built projects, often in collaboration with non-profit organizations such as Project Row Houses and Workshop Houston^[4].  Construct projects are often integrated with Totalization studio projects, during which students develop detailed proposals that could be potentially built in Houston. Assistant Professor Andrew Colopy is the current CoDirector of Construct with Professor-in-Practice Danny Samuels.

Rice Architecture Paris[]

The Rice School of Architecture Paris (RSAP) program allows graduate students and 5th year undergraduates to participate in semester-long studies in Paris. The satellite school was founded, and is currently directed by John J. Casbarian, FAIA, the Harry and Albert K. Smith Professor of Architecture. Students apply to either the fall or spring session in Paris.^[5]

Faculty[]

According to its website, Rice Architecture has a 5:1 student to faculty ratio.^[6] Many faculty members maintain architecture practices in Houston. The school regularly invites visiting professors in the spring semester to teach option studios.

Core Faculty[]

Current faculty (per school website in Feb. 2021) include John J. Casbarian, Juan José Castellón, Scott Colman, Andrew Colopy, Dawn Finley, Alan Fleishacker, Liz Gálvez, Reto Geiser, Nonya Grenader, Christopher Hight, Carlos Jimenez, Sarah Nichols, Douglas Oliver, Albert Pope, Danny Samuels, Troy Schaum, Brittany Utting, Jesús Vassallo, and Mark Wamble.

Wortham Fellows[]

Every two years the school recruits two Wortham Fellows, who are early career practitioners or scholars. Fellows teach three classes per year, typically two studios and a research seminar, and develop a body of design research topics during their two-year stay. Given the small size of faculty at Rice, the fellows are active contributors to critical research topics within the school. Current fellows (per school website in Feb. 2021) include Viola Ago and Amelyn Ng.

Facilities[]

The school is housed in MD Anderson Hall, off the main academic quadrangle of the University. The building was designed by architects Staub & Rather, in consultation with Architecture School Chairman William Ward Watkin.^[7] As enrollment expanded, the building capacity was extended with an addition by James Stirling. Aside from studio spaces, the building also houses support facilities such as fabrication shops and an advanced computer lab/classrooms. The centerpiece of the school, located at the intersection of old and new wings, contains the Farish Gallery, Jury Room, and Bridge. The Farish Gallery doubles as a Jury room and a space for all school lectures. The bridge serves as a space for informal reviews and pin-ups. Students are encouraged to work on campus and in the studio with their cohorts.

Outside of Anderson Hall, there are a few related resources on campus. The Brown Art and Architecture Library is housed on the third floor of Fondren Library. Within the library, students have access to the photo studios and equipment rentals at DMC (digital media commons) and the GIS lab. Students also have access to resources at OEDK (Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen) of the Engineering school, as well as plotters in the Engineering building. The school also has limited access to the facilities of the Moody Center of the Arts. Public lectures are often held at off-campus locations such as the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Student Organizations[]

Society[]

Society is the umbrella organization of all architecture students at the school. The group facilitates communication with the school administration, organizes the student body and hosts social and professional events.^[8]

Mentorship[]

Mentorship is Society’s branch for professional development opportunities, and organizes lectures, workshops, office visits and externships. Recess, a community outreach program that is currently within Mentorship, engages local public schools to teach elementary and secondary students about architecture and design thinking.

AGSA[]

Architecture Graduate Student Association (AGSA) organizes the graduate student body at the university level and within Society.

PLAT[]

PLAT is the student-run architecture journal at Rice Architecture. Each year, PLAT produces two issues: a .0 issue with a set theme in print, and a .5 issue in response that takes on different formats. In 2019, PLAT was awarded by the Graham Foundation and received an Honorable Mention for the Douglas Haskell Award for Student Journals through the AIA New York Center for Architecture.

Tête-à-Tête[]

Tête-à-Tête is the student-produced podcast series that features current practitioners, Rice faculty members, current students and alumni.^[9]

Scholarships and Travel[]

Studio Travel and Travel Scholarships[]

Many studios at the school travel regularly at all levels. Totalization studios organize annual trips within the U.S., while graduate option studios and undergraduate junior studios often travel internationally. Recent studio travel destinations include Barcelona; Tokyo; Mexico City; Seoul; Marfa, TX; Los Angeles, CA; Washington, D.C.; and Columbus, IN. In 2020 and 2021 studio trips proposed for travel to Mumbai, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Buenos Aires were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The studio trips are generally heavily subsidized by the school.

The school provides numerous travel fellowships, awarded to roughly 30 students each year -- undergraduate and graduate -- based on a written proposal that outlines a research ambition, itinerary, and budget.

Rankings[]

In 2019, Rice’s undergraduate program was ranked 2nd in “most admired architecture undergraduate programs” by Designintelligence. The graduate program ranked 7th in “most admired” by the same organization.^[10]

References[]

External links[]

• Rice School of Architecture homepage

Coordinates: 29°43′08″N 95°23′59″W / 29.7189°N 95.3998°W / 29.7189; -95.3998