Rice University Kraft Hall for Social Sciences
Rice University has grown from the rural setting of its 19th century founding to become the urban campus it is today. Houston’s parallel growth and the development of the adjacent Texas Medical Center have required future plans to look inward rather than outward. The South Axis, with the 80,000 sqft Kraft Hall for Social Sciences as its first new building, was envisioned as an opportunity to implement more efficient land-use strategies. This new home for the School of Social Sciences combines multiple research institutes in one building to serve the largest section of the University’s undergraduate population. The new facility houses Rice's Economics and Sociology departments, four research institutes, the Dean's Suite, and innovative classrooms and collaboration and event spaces for students, faculty, and visitors.