The Rice University Design Alliance and the American Institute of Architects, Houston Chapter have a timely idea: challenge designers and architects to design an energy efficient and sustainable small house for under $99,000. Even better still, the house must take into account the hot and humid Houston weather and will be donated to a low-income family. This challenge, known as The 99K House Competition, received 182 entries from around the country. Considering the negative......

The Chron picked this up a few days ago, but we feel it's worth a second mention. The Rice Design Alliance in conjunction with the Houston Chapter of the AIA announced two Houston architects, Murphy Mears Architects, (Kirby Mears, Walter Murphy, Kyle Humphries, Jamie Miller, and Gina Lyons) and Stephanie Eugster as finalists in the recent 99K House Competition. The finalists were selected out of 182 entrants proposing a sustainable, affordable house that addresses......

Today the Rice Design Alliance kicks off this years spring lecture series 30N 60S: Latin American Architecture Revisited with guest speaker Francisco Liernur. Proffessor Liernur is Chair of the School of Architecture at Di Tella University in Buenos Aires, Argentina and has been a visiting professor at Harvard, Princeton, Sci-Arc, and Columbia University. His books include Writings on Twentieth Century Architecture in Latin America and Architecture in Latin America 1965-1985. Following lectures will focus......

On Wednesday October 10th, Cameron Sinclair, co-founder of Architecture for Humanity, and co-author of “Design like you Give a Damn” will be delivering the final lecture in the Rice Design Alliance’s 2007 Fall series “Design Activism: Agents of Change.” As much a networking tool as design resource, Architecture for Humanity is instrumental in providing architectural solutions to humanitarian crises around the world. To get a feel for exactly what architecture for humanity looks like, Mr.......

Rice Design Alliance's Fall Lecture Series, Design Activism: Agents of Change will present conscientious designers from across the country who focus on socially responsible design. These professionals believe social accountability shapes the physical environment. Their work integrates civic-mindedness within design practice and education. Each practitioner seeks to establish livable cities and towns, thereby creating a sense of community. Speaking tonight is John Peterson, Principal, Peterson Architects, and Founder, Public Architecture, San Francisco, CA. The......

Rice Design Alliance Fall Lecture Series Tonight at MFA Rice Design Alliance's Fall Lecture Series, Design Activism: Agents of Change will present conscientious designers from across the country who focus on socially responsible design. These professionals believe social accountability shapes the physical environment. Their work integrates civic-mindedness within design practice and education. Each practitioner seeks to establish livable cities and towns, thereby creating a sense of community. Lectures are held Mondays beginning today, Sept......

We at Houstonist love all things well-designed, especially those that are environmentally friendly, and you already know how we feel about certain kinds of real estate. Imagine our delight when we found them all together, hanging out at the Lawndale Art Center. Snapshot: Houston Design on View 2007 exhibits 85 pieces of art, images, models and other doodads from a variety of projects, both realized and not, throughout Houston. The Rice Design Alliance (RDA)......

"Design Gone Mainstream" Lecture Series: Suzanne Trocme The Rice Design Alliance will be hosting their annual Spring Lecture Series on how companies like Target and Ikea have made design "mainstream." All lectures will be held in the Brown Auditorium at the MFAH. The series is kicked off tonight with Suzanne Trocme's lecture. Suzanne Trocme is the Special Projects Editor at Wallpaper, a magazine which presents a "design-conscious lifestyle" and is read by the general public.......

Each week Houstonist does our best to pull together -ist approved events happening right here in the Bayou City. Talk about service. Geesh! Seriously, what WOULD you do without us? Monday, Jan 15 MLK Day Activities MLK Grande Parade, Downtown, 10am Black Heritage Society Parade, Downtown, 2pm Houston Calling Happy Hour Showcase Featuring Arthur Yoria, Mansion, and Blades The Proletariat 7-10pm NOTE: This event has been rescheduled for Monday, January 22nd. Same Bands. Same......

S.I. Morris, 91, leaves a legacy of renowned architecture and civic involvement. A 1935 Rice University graduate, Morris helped create the architectual firm Wilson, Morris, Crain, and Anderson, which is now known as Morris Architects. The firm was involved in the designing of the Astrodome, Wortham Center, and Pennzoil Place, among others. Morris spent the last decade as an advisor for Jackson & Ryan Architects. He was also involved with the Award for Design Excellence......

Houstonist loves to recycle — partly because it's good for the environment and partly so we don't end up like the Collyer brothers. But we've noticed that it's not always easy to recycle in Houston: Sure, the city offers recycling services, but the city trucks sometimes forget to pick up the curbside recycling and our local city recycling center (which isn't terribly local) is in the middle of a block, isolated and kinda creepy.......