Rice University Moody Center for the Arts

2013-2017 | Houston TX

Client Rice University
Architect Michael Maltzan Architecture
Engineer of Record Cardno Haynes Whaley Associates
Consulting Structural Engineer Guy Nordenson and Associates
Awards 2019 Associated Masonry Contractors of Houston Golden Trowel Award; 2019 AIA Houston Design Award; 2019 Texas Society of Architects Annual Design Award; 2018 Chicago Athenaeum American Architecture Award; 2018 Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize Outstanding Project; 2017 AIA California Council Design Honor Award; 2017 AIA Design Award

The Moody Center for the Arts at Rice University houses a diverse program of instructional, studio, performance, and exhibition spaces that encourage collaboration across disciplines. The main building structure is composed of a cast-in-place concrete foundation and ground floor framing with a steel-framed superstructure and concrete slab on metal deck. At the roof level, secondary steel beams frame the roof steps and provide support for the unfilled metal roof deck. A double-height space at the center of the structure and an upper story that appears to levitate over the ground floor emphasize openness. At the exterior, two structural steel “starburst” column structures support masonry screen walls suspended above the ground level pedestrian plaza.