Rice University Plans Brockman Hall for Physics

Rice University will initiate construction in 2009 on the 111,000-sf Brockman Hall for Physics in Houston. Housing vibration- and noise- controlled laboratories, the facility will support research in fundamental and applied physics. The building will be sited adjacent to George R. Brown Hall in the new Science Quadrangle and is slated for completion in December of 2010. Housing advanced instrumentation for precision measurement, the project will consolidate research faculty currently housed in five separate locations. The facility will support interdisciplinary research in areas including biophysics, photonics, and nanoengineering. The Brockman Hall for Physics will be comprised of an underground research area and three levels above ground providing lecture halls, labs, and offices. The fourth floor will house mechanical equipment and an observatory. The project team includes design architect KieranTimberlake Associates of Philadelphia with predesign services provided by  Perkins + Will of San Diego and FKP Architects of Houston.