Maintaining traditional character at Rice Univesity
"Over the past 75 years, [the building] had undergone no major exterior renovations, other than localized maintenance repairs on brick and limestone and mortar joint repair," said Rick Harris, AIA, of FKP Architects. "Some building additions had been made, however, no major attempt for restoration was undertaken."
The design goal was to modernize the building while maintaining the original architecture. Rice University had an architectural historian review the design before it was approved, according to the architect. "In order to reflect the history of the building, the design objective was to restore the building to an enhanced state, but not to make it look new," said Harris. "The character and age of the building was to remain."