Cultural/Worship, Award of Merit Brockman Hall for Opera

Photos by Ayala Vargas Photography

Brockman Hall for Opera

Houston

Award of Merit

OWNER: Rice University

LEAD DESIGN FIRM: Allan Greenberg Architect

GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Linbeck Group LLC

CIVIL/STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: Walter P Moore

MEP ENGINEER: Collaborative Engineering Group

THEATER PLANNING AND DESIGN CONSULTANTS: Fisher Dachs Associates

ACOUSTIC DESIGN CONSULTANTS: Threshold Acoustics

SUBCONTRACTORS: AYG Construction Ltd.; Berger Iron Works Inc.; Brochsteins Inc.; Bosworth Steel Erection; Camarata Masonry Systems Ltd.; Capp Electric Co.; Certified Fireproofing Inc.; Chamberlin Houston LLC; Diffco LLC; Drake Interiors Inc.; Gala Systems Inc.; Galindo & Boyd Wall Systems LLC; H.L.U. Services Inc. dba Houston Landscapes Unlimited; Haley-Greer Inc.; Kauffman Co.; Klinger Specialties Direct Inc.; Letsos Co.; Marek Brothers Systems Inc.; Marton Roofing Industries Ltd.; Milam & Co. Painting Inc.; Mitchell Chuoke Plumbing Inc.; Noise Barriers; Otis Elevator Co.; RAE Security Southwest LLC; Series LLC; Sigma Marble and Granite - Houston Inc.; T.A.S. Commercial Concrete Construction LLC; Texas Scenic Co.; Unified Door and Hardware Group LLC; W&W-AFCO Steel LLC; Wenger Corp.; Woodwright Hardwood Floor Co.; Ten Eyck Landscape Architects

Regarded as the most important building for Rice University for the next 100 years, the $77-million Brockman Hall for Opera required exceptional acoustical integrity and a striking European design.

To preserve acoustics, the project team isolated various structural and mechanical components. Early on, the contractor had to resequence excavation and foundation construction when BIM coordination uncovered that the mechanical ductwork housed in the plenum had trunk lines larger than the designed plenum. The overall duct height put the bottom of the duct below the bottom of the proposed slab elevation. Resequencing the foundation allowed the design team to modify the plenum depth and lower the slab elevations.

Extensive shop drawings and coordination went into the building’s ornate facade, which features more than 550,000 handmade bricks laid in seven varying patterns and over 12,810 cu ft of cast stone.