When Edgar Odell Lovett, one of the founders and the first president of the university, was shaping his institution in the first decade of the 20th century, he was working with a $4.6 million endowment from the William Marsh Rice estate. In order to assure the same high quality and style that was implemented 100 years ago, the design of the Humanities Building expanded upon the Byzantine-Romanesque language established by original campus architect Ralph Adams Cram of Cram, Ferguson and Goodhue.
“While making its own memorable statement, the building pays respect to the university's unique style by using exterior materials and details in the Rice architectural vocabulary,†said Suzanne Klein, project architect. “It was a challenge because we wanted a high-level finish, and the quality was very important.â€