The Rice University School of Architecture is pleased to announce the winners of the 2023 Houston Design Research Grant (HDRG), made possible by the Mitsui U.S.A. Foundation. The faculty winner is Rice Architecture Professor in the Practice Nathan Friedman. The winners in the student category are Rice Architecture students Alice Bian (B.A. ’25, B.Arch. ’27) and Stuti Mehta (B.A. ’25, B.Arch. ’27).
The goal of the HDRG grant is to promote research in design capable of making a significant contribution to Houston-specific urban conditions that require urgent attention. Starting in 2020, the call for applications was expanded to students and faculty across the nation. This year, applicants explored various topics, from preservation to climate change and accessibility. The two winning proposals were selected from among twelve entries from eight universities: Auburn University, Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Louisiana State University, Rice University, Texas A&M University, the Ohio State University, University of Houston, and University of Texas.
Each winner will receive $6,000 in research funds. In addition, the winners will present and promote their projects through a lecture at Rice Architecture during the 2024–2025 academic year.
Igor Marjanović, the William Ward Watkin Dean of Rice Architecture, said of the grant program’s impact, “Design research has a powerful capacity to address some of the most pressing global issues of our time, many of which are felt deeply right here in Houston. I am thankful to all the applicants from around the country and to our jury for their thoughtful deliberations.”
The winners were selected by an eight-member jury comprising Mide Akinsade, Perkins&Will; Georgina Baronian, Rice Architecture and clovisbaronian; William Batson, Prairie View A&M University; Lonnie Hoogeboom, B.Arch. ’94, M.Arch. ’96, Rice Architecture William Ward Watkin Council; Deepa Ramaswamy, University of Houston; Troy Schaum, Rice Architecture and Schaum/Shieh; Maggie Tsang, Rice Architecture and Dept.; and Richard A. Vella, City of Houston.
In the faculty category, Friedman—who cofounded the design practice Departamento del Distrito in Mexico City and was recently named professor in the practice at Rice Architecture—will explore the history and politics of Houston’s stormwater management program as it relates to trash collection along Buffalo Bayou, a site that has long served as the city’s natural drainage system. Jury member Ramaswamy commented about the winning proposal, “Friedman’s project, ‘Trash Traps: Nets, Booms, and Vacuums on Buffalo Bayou and the Houston Shipping Channel,’ engages with the scale, logistics, and mechanics of waste management along Buffalo Bayou and the Houston Ship Channel. The research will investigate how architecture and urbanism can support waste management systems by making them more effective and perceptible while promoting critical discussions on the environment, waste, and urbanism. Friedman’s research will support the future development and design of a prototype waste trap device that could be sited in Houston.”
The winning proposal in the student category by Alice Bian and Stuti Mehta, “Open Ditches, Open Minds,” looks into the intensifying flooding caused by heavy, short-duration rainfall that results in regular inconvenience for Houstonians. The project will reimagine the possibilities for detention ponds and rain gardens to act as hybrid urban systems that can aid drainage efficiency and groundwater absorption. Jury member Tsang remarked, “Bian and Mehta’s ambitious project is imperative for flood-prone neighborhoods in Houston. Their project smartly addresses the role of design and infrastructure as it investigates the overlooked potential of localized approaches to stormwater management.”
Friedman, Bian, and Mehta will present their findings to the Rice Architecture community and the general public in the fall of 2024. Details will be posted on the school’s event calendar at arch.rice.edu/events as they become available.