Good house earns Good Brick
Rice Building Workshop honored for Third Ward project

BY MIKE WILLIAMS
Rice News staff

Brick by brick, the Rice Building Workshop is making an impact in Houston’s communities.

	CHAD LOUCKS
	Students working on Rice’s Core House project modernized a traditional row house in Houston’s historic Third Ward. Their efforts were honored by the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance.

New affirmation of that is the Good Brick Award, given to the workshop by the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance (GHPA) for its efforts in the city’s historic Third Ward.

Rice architecture students renovated the interior of a 500-square-foot, shotgun-style home owned by Project Row House at 2503 Holman St. The Core House project was a prototype for renovating a historic house on a limited budget. The project was funded by a grant from the Susan Vaughan Foundation.

Led by Rice’s Nonya Grenader, a professor in the practice of architecture, and Danny Samuels, the Harry K. Smith Professor in the Practice of Architecture, the team inserted a new “core” – a kitchen, bathroom and mechanical elements – to bring modern conveniences to the home. The house is intended to be used by an artist in residence.

“We were so pleased the GHPA recognized our modest renovation,” Grenader said. “We always look for ways to bring aspects of economy and design together. By inserting an efficient core, the students revitalized and transformed the interior while respecting the existing history of the house.”

The Good Brick Awards have been given since 1979 and showcase outstanding historic preservation projects in Greater Houston. Fourteen projects won this year’s awards; click here for a complete list.

The award has been given to Rice in previous years for the preservation of Lovett and Keck halls and renovation of the Wiess President’s House at 2 Sunset Blvd.

Project Row Houses, an arts and cultural organization in one of the city’s oldest African-American communities, also took possession late last year of Rice’s ZEROW HOUSE, the university’s entry in the 2009 Solar Decathlon in Washington, D.C. The organization will hold a ZEROW HOUSE Party at 6 p.m. March 10. For information or to purchase tickets, visit the Project Row Houses Web site.