Rice’s Moody Center earns architectural design award

Rice’s Moody Center for the Arts has received the American Institute of Architects, California Council’s (AIACC) most prestigious design award — an Honor Award.

A view of the northwest corner of the Moody Center for the Arts. Credit: Nash Baker

The Moody was selected from more than 250 entries for the state awards program by a five-member jury of leaders in the architecture world, who looked for projects with “good bones,” “resolute in power” and the “ability to both understand and inspire.”

Located on the west side of Rice’s campus at Entrance 8 at Stockton and University Boulevard, the Moody was designed by acclaimed Los Angeles-based architect Michael Maltzan. The 50,000-square-foot, $30 million center serves as an internationally focused arts institution, built as a free public platform for creating collaborative works of all kinds and for presenting innovative, transdisciplinary experiences to the public and the university community.

The Moody opened in February just days after it was recognized by Architectural Digest magazine as one of the best new university buildings in the world.

The Moody will be recognized along with the 25 other AIACC award winners at the Monterey Design Conference Oct. 13 in Monterey, Calif.