RDA Awards Three Grants for Houston Built Environment

The Rice Design Alliance (RDA) just announced the winners of its tenth annual grants program, Initiatives for Houston. The grant program focuses on projects that support Houston’s built environment. RDA will award a total of $10,350 for the three proposals the jury selected. Winning proposals are from Texas Southern University graduate students Darren Preacely and Sharon Adams, Rice University student Tracy Catherine Bremer, University of Houston College of Architecture students Jessica Lauren Barnett, Rafael Morales, Maria Gabriela Oran, and Allison Parrott.

Jury members included Reginald Adams, Executive Director, Museum of Cultural Arts, Houston and President, Land Acquisition Redevelopment Authority; Barbara Amelio, Principal, Debner + Company; Marie Hoke, Principal/ Senior Designer, WHR Architects; Lonnie Hoogeboom, Partner, Natalye Appel + Associates Architects, LLC; and Rives Taylor, Architect, Gensler and Lecturer at Rice School of Architecture and the University of Houston Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture. The jury selected three proposals for funding from the 20 submitted by students and faculty from Rice University School of Architecture, the University of Houston College of Architecture, Prairie View A & M University, and Texas Southern University.

“Documenting Decaying Dreams,” a proposal by Texas Southern University graduate students Darren Preacely and Sharon Adams, was awarded $5,000. Preacely and Adams fear that the historical vernacular conditions in the neighborhoods surrounding Texas Southern University and the University of Houston will soon be destroyed by the expansion of the university campuses and by MetroRail installations and the accompanying development along the rail line. The students propose taking an inventory of the existing historic housing stock in this area of the Third Ward to record the historic land uses and the associated sense of place.

“Engulfed by Industry: Rethinking the Industrial-Residential Interface,” a proposal by Rice University student Tracy Catherine Bremer (B.Arch, 2011), was awarded $2,350. Bremer proposes to investigate, understand, and bring to light residential pockets that interface with surrounding industrial infrastructure, that while vital to Houston’s economy, becomes unplanned industrial sprawl affecting the quality of life in those affected neighborhoods. Her study will focus on altering the boundary condition and explore possibilities for their improvement, leading to a solution that would ultimately ameliorate the urban landscape and thus the living conditions of these neighborhoods and its inhabitants.

“Mad to be Saved: Finding Purpose for the Residual Space of the Highway Intersection,” a proposal by University of Houston College of Architecture students Jessica Lauren Barnett, Rafael Morales, Maria Gabriela Oran, and Allison Parrott (all B.Arch, 2010), was awarded $3,000. The student team plans to study the intersection of Loop 610 and Interstate 10 in an effort to discover residual space created by patterns of circulation that have the potential to become a space that can be integrated with the urban fabric of the city. The team will propose a design intervention that will yield a usable space that will improve the life and fabric of the city.

Rice graduate students David Dewane, Alberto Govela-Martinez, Lindsay Harkema, and Seanna Walsh (M. Arch, 2010) were recognized for their award-winning idea in their proposal, “Speakeasy.” The students proposed publishing a series of short discussions between architects and non-architects that revolve around different ways of looking at the built environment, specifically the City of Houston. Instead, the jury recommended that the discussions be presented before a live audience in a series of Civic Forum presentations. The series is planned for next summer.

The Initiatives for Houston grants program supports projects that focus on Houston’s built environment, its history, present condition, and future development. The jury evaluated proposals in terms of their potential for making a significant contribution to our understanding of the city. An exhibition showcasing 10 years of winning proposals from The Initiatives for Houston grants program is planned for early 2011.

Rice Design Alliance is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of architecture, urban design, and the built environment in the Houston region through educational programs, the publication of Cite: The Architecture + Design Review of Houston, and active programs to initiate physical improvements. RDA commentary on current Houston architecture and design issue is at www.offcite.org. Membership is open to the public. More information is available at http://rda.rice.edu or by calling 713-348-4876.