Construction continues on campus

By Richie Su     4/1/25 10:13pm

Several construction projects continue on Rice campus, including a planting refresh in the academic quad, expansion around McNair Hall and the construction of Sarofim Hall for visual arts programs. 

“The Facilities [Engineering] and Planning ‘arm’ of Rice Real Estate and Facilities group stewards planned growth and renewal of on-campus facilities and open spaces, in accordance with the university’s academic mission and land use guidelines, as well as the maintenance and upkeep of existing physical assets,” George Ristow, the assistant vice president of the Facilities, Engineering and Planning Department, wrote in an email to the Thresher.

According to Ristow, the academic quad is currently undergoing maintenance and replacement of some plant material.

---

---

“The reimagining of the academic quad’s primary goals are to activate the 4-acre space for students and the community to gather, study and enjoy nature, in a space that was long treated as an overly-formal crossroads with very little shade,” Ristow wrote. 

Zain Khemani, a Hanszen College freshman, said he was surprised that the quad was undergoing more changes.

“I was excited that there was a new quad, because I didn’t know anything about the old quad as a freshman,” Khemani said. “I am definitely confused as a student. I don’t really understand what’s happening there, since the construction has been going on there for a long time.”

Sarofim Hall, which began construction in fall 2024, will be used for visual arts — currently housed in Sewall Hall — upon completion in August 2025.

“I am really excited that that’s a thing they are making,” Khemani said. “We all know Rice is a STEM school, [so] as a non-STEM student, I feel like Rice is investing in us.”

Meanwhile, the expansion of McNair Hall addresses the growing needs of the Jones Graduate School of Business, according to Ristow. 

“The addition to McNair Hall is an expansion of the Business School accommodating recent and projected growth, expanding event and food service capacity and providing spaces for the new undergraduate major in business,” Ristow wrote. “[It] is scheduled to be complete in about a year, in spring of 2026.”

Sunny Sun, a business major, said she was excited about the department’s new space.  

“I am very supportive of this project because it provides more classrooms for more undergraduate courses,” said Sun, a Baker College junior. “The construction doesn’t really affect my daily school life, but the only thing is that it blocks the view of the Twilight [Epiphany Skyspace], a place where I really liked to chill at in my freshman year. I hope that this can be done soon so that we can go out to enjoy the view and have better facilities.”

According to Ristow, these construction projects are scheduled to be finished within the next two semesters, with measures taken to minimize disruptions and inconveniences. 

“Major projects require ‘laydown’ space for material staging, deliveries, assembly, equipment storage, etc.,” Ristow wrote. “[The academic quad] will remain open throughout this maintenance work and planting refresh.”

---