Every year hundreds of parents and prospective students tour Houston's many college campuses. Along with football team stats, the average class size and the cost of tuition, the campus ambience is always a big topic during those tours. We took a look at the various campuses, including the University of Houston, Rice University, Houston Baptist University and Houston Community College facilities, searching for must-see college buildings. Here's our list.
10. The University of Houston/Downtown One Main Street
The UHD building is an impressive landmark. Built in 1930 as the Merchants & Manufacturers Building by Giesecke & Harris, an Austin-based firm, the 11-story structure was designed in the modernistic Perpendicular style. Taken over by the UH system in 1974, the building has been remodeled and updated periodically since then in an effort to accommodate the school's growing student population. The M&M building made our list strictly on its exterior and adaptation to its site (a parking lot on the south side was converted to a large terrace with a great view of downtown and access to Buffalo Bayou below). Inside, however, the building is pretty vanilla.
9. The Administration Building, University of St. Thomas 3812 Montrose
The only former residence on our list is the opulent 1911 home built by J.W. Link, the Montrose-area developer. Now used as the administration building for the University of St. Thomas, the mansion is a stylistic anchor for the rest of the mostly nondescript campus.
8. Rice University's McMurtry's Dormitory Dining Hall 6100 Main
Two dormitories were added to Rice University in 2009. Each of the five-story buildings has its own dining hall. This is the McMurtry Dormitory dining hall. While we appreciate the building's energy-efficient design and the care with which the new construction was styled to echo existing structures, we can't help but feel a definite beehive vibe to this structure, which explains its rather low ranking on our list.
7. The Ezekiel Cullen Building at the University of Houston 4800 Calhoun
Built in 1950, the Cullen Building's exterior is made of shell limestone facing. The tall central block is flanked by symmetrical wings, designed to fit into the University of Houston's 1937 master plan. While it might seem a little dated to some, we think its clean lines and weighty proportions are classic.
