Rice’s Brockman Hall for Physics, which opened this spring, was one of 12 projects selected for
recognition May 20 in the Texas Society of Architects’ annual design
competition. The winners in the 2011 TSA Design Awards competition were
chosen from a field of 257 entries. Winning projects will be recognized
at a ceremony at the society’s annual convention in Dallas in October,
and they will be featured in the September/October issue of Texas
Architect. For a full list of this year’s awardees, visit
http://tinyurl.com/3kc6nh5.

Rice’s North Colleges project, which was completed in 2009, was among 13 winners of the annual RIBA International Awards for architectural excellence. These awards, announced May 19, are presented to architecture practices based outside the U.K., or for practices based in Britain and working outside the European Union.

These buildings were constructed with not only aesthetics in mind; they also were built with the environment in mind. Brockman Hall was built to Silver certification standards under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, an internationally recognized green standard for buildings. Both Duncan and McMurtry Colleges have already earned LEED Gold certification, the second-highest rating from the the U.S. Green Building Council.