Rice University
The Ralph S. O’Connor Building for Engineering and Science
Location
Houston, TX
Project Contributors
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill - in collaboration with Scientia Architects and Jacobs Engineering Group, Anslow-Bryant Construction
Mott Solutions
- Custom Altus™ Benches with EdgeWave LED Task Lighting and Frosted Glass Marker Boards
- Four Leg Altus™ Tables
- Extra Deep SafeGuard™ Bench & Floor Mounted Fume Hoods
- Rift Cut White Oak Casework with Clear Stain
- Painted Steel Casework
- Acid Cabinets
- Flammable Cabinets
- Custom Pump Cabinets
- Cyclinder Storage Racks
- Stainless Steel Pegboards
Winner of the 2024 Lab Design Excellence Award for Excellence in Whole Building/Holistic Design
Rice University has opened its largest core campus research facility, The Ralph S. O’Connor Building for Engineering and Science, in September of 2023, in Houston. Designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) with Scientia Architects as laboratory design consultant, the nearly 50 labs in this building can support both wet and dry research venues and has a total of 250 fume hoods. Specialized lab spaces will continue to be built out through 2026.
Along with our dealer MGC, we provided many product solutions for these flexible and adaptable labs such as extra deep SafeGuard™ bench and floor mounted fume hoods, rift cut white oak casework with clear stain, painted steel casework, acid cabinets, flammable cabinets, custom pump cabinets, stainless steel pegboards, and cylinder storage racks.
We also provided custom Altus™ benches, with features such as: extra deep benches, additional electrical outlets in the upper posts, custom plumbing, data, EdgeWave™ LED task lighting, custom raceways, and bench mounted frosted glass marker boards.
Our dealer MGC, provided extensive overhead rack systems to house electric conduits and plumbing lines to serve the benches, as well as overhead frames and shelves over the laser tables. They also provided all the custom architectural woodwork and millwork on the project.
As part of its annual Design Excellence Awards, Lab Design News honors achievements in research laboratory design, planning, and construction. A panel of industry leaders—consisting of laboratory architects, engineers, construction professionals, and editorial staff from Lab Design—analyzes each entry for its approach to lab design.