It’s hip to have a quad
The proposed quadrangle between Fondren Library, the Student Center and Herring Hall is a great idea in many respects. (See story, page 1.) Most prominently, the quad and the accompanying pavilion will give students a needed extra place to be social. Undergraduates will have a place to hang out in addition to their colleges, and graduate students — whose lives outside of their respective academic buildings tend to revolve around the Student Center — will have a more appealing social space as well. Indeed, the graduate-undergraduate collaboration called for by President David Leebron may happen in this quad long before it happens in the colleges.
On a more academic note, the social sciences building proposed to occupy part of one side of the quad will provide critical cohesion to the school, which is currently scattered across campus. And moving the economics and political science departments to the new building will give the Baker Institute needed room for expansion.
As this exciting capital project gets underway, we hope these suggestions will be considered:
Now is the perfect time to consider expanding the dining options in what will be the north side of the quad, the Student Center. We have liked 13th Street so far, but more options like it will be needed if this part of campus is truly to become more of a social hub than it is now. Along the same lines, the building should be expanded or altered to include more places to sit and eat.
All buildings should be “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design”-certified. Green buildings are the only appropriate choice for a 21st-century project.
Architecture students should be involved in the design of the space — the experience would be educational for them and would ensure the quad is student-friendly for the rest of us.
The quad should not be lacking in any of the following: benches, flowers, open space and tables — we’re not so naive to believe Rice students won’t do homework there.
We are thrilled the quad idea and those improvements associated with it — the social sciences building, the new Recreation Center — are moving forward. Current undergraduates will probably never see the finished product before graduating, but they should appreciate that the quad will make Rice a friendlier and more attractive place for generations of students to come.
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