Project Description
FROM AIA VIRGINIA:
The new East Servery is the most recent piece of Rice University’s
implementation of the South Residential Campus Master Plan, a larger project
that includes renovations and additions to its signature residential college
system on its historic campus.
The East Servery replaces two outdated and inefficient
kitchen and servery facilities at the convergence of Will Rice and Lovett
Colleges currently, and Sid Richardson College in the future. It serves as a
beacon for residents, day and evening, as they gather to select meal choices,
then return to their respective college dining commons to eat.
The servery is designed as a large transparent volume that
emphasizes the connection and dialogue with the surrounding colleges and the
Oak Grove. It incorporates three-dimensional steel trusses supported on slender
circular pipe columns. Each component and connection of the system was designed
to be beautiful and to ensure proper fit and simplicity of construction. A
solid maple boarded ceiling and wall panels fit between the steel structural
members. The building’s glazed façades are screened by horizontal louvers for
sun-shading and are topped by a shallow-pitched, weathered-zinc roof, which
helps relate the modern form to the surrounding historic campus.
The contrast between the slender structure and the warm,
solid, light-colored maple creates a sharp and modern space that connects to
the green oak grove by day and glows like a lantern at night. Aesthetically,
the more modern forms and restrained materials palate provide visual interest
without shock and disharmony. Most materials are self-finished, durable, and
will require little maintenance as they age with dignity over time. The steel
structure is painted with metallic content paint, and all connections are
individually detailed to be coherent across the various conditions.