Demolition of Rice’s historic Abercrombie Engineering Laboratory began on May 17 with the first ceremonial bites taken out of the building’s north face by Rice President David Leebron, Provost Reginald DesRoches and engineering professor Michael Wong.
At top, DesRoches leans into the job after Leebron, right, has his turn at the controls.
The 1947 building will make way for a new engineering and science building, with construction of the 266,000-square-foot structure set to begin this summer.
Before demolition began, crews carefully disassembled the iconic bas-relief sculpture “Energy” that faced the Engineering Quad and stored it for future incorporation into the new building. The sculpture was designed by a Rice alumnus, William McVey ’27. (Photos by Jeff Fitlow)