Rice University opened the $38 million Kraft Hall for Social Sciences in February of 2020 in Houston. Designed by Rogers Partners, the four-story, 78,000-sf building provides five state-of-the-art classrooms, laboratories, seminar and conference rooms, student lounges, administrative and faculty offices, and a multipurpose venue able to accommodate 300 people. Kraft Hall houses several research institutes including the Texas Policy Lab, the Houston Education Research Consortium, the Boniuk Institute for Religious Tolerance, and the Kinder Institute for Urban Research. An inner courtyard with native plants and trees encourages informal collaboration and interaction. Tellepsen Builders was the general contractor for the project, which broke ground in September of 2018. The facility is expected to attain LEED Silver sustainable design certification.
