Architecture, business students work together for class project

Architecture, business students work together for class project

BY DAWN DORSEY
Special to the Rice News

The often-divergent disciplines of business and architecture intersected at Richmond Avenue and Main Street last semester in “Architectural Problems.”

The map above shows the four Midtown blocks on which Rice architecture and business students collaborated to develop cost-effective, functional designs.

Each year, the class brings together 10 architecture and 10 MBA students to develop cost-effective, functional designs for major urban projects. Last fall, four teams of students were challenged with combining mid-rise residential units and retail space with a proposed Metro transit center that will service some 1,000 buses and 100,000 rail riders a day. Components also included underground parking, as well as structures over the existing Metro Main Street rail line and the proposed east-west rail line to connect the University of Houston and the Galleria area.

In their designs for the four Midtown blocks where Fiesta and Sears are currently located, students had to balance economy, utility, durability and beauty — all while working with teammates approaching the project from vastly different viewpoints.

The concept for the class was the brainchild of William Cannady, professor of architecture, and Chris Downing, assistant professor of management and the Gerald D. Hines Professor of Real Estate at the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management.

“Architects and business people have to learn to talk to each other,” Downing said. “Architecture students must accept the reality of the marketplace; business students need to know that architects are not just easily going to give up on design ideas.”
Cannady said it is interesting to observe differences in the groups’ academic cultures.

“MBA students are geared up to jump in and focus on defining the issues and moving on,” he said. “Historically, the culture of architecture is to work on the design all semester, then pull it together at the very end. This is all natural and good, but both sides need to learn to work together.”

Students considered development costs and market realities as they strived to come up with a mix of uses that would deliver a 10 percent unleveraged return on equity. Projects were priced several times during the class with the help of Linbeck Construction. Since economic feasibility drove the search for design solutions, the students had to work together to succeed.

“But you can’t let numbers drive the development plan completely,” Downing said. “We know what happens in this case; the numbers drive you to the classic Houston model of two boxes — one for people, one for cars.”

Architecture students acted as project design architects and were responsible for analyzing the program and developing the design. Michelle Weinfeld, who will complete her master’s degree in architecture in May, was drawn to the class by the opportunity to study with Cannady, but ended up enjoying the class’s cooperation and teamwork.

“I learned a lot in terms of real-life experience,” she said. “In architecture classes, we never even had to think about budgets. The MBA students had to reach a bottom line to make a profit, and that often means compromise on architecture. But my partner and I stood firm on the things we knew would add value to the project, and our teammates were able to make the ideas work.”

MBA students, as project managers, were responsible for developing market analysis, assessing economic feasibility, refining the program and producing project budgets and proformas. Adam Howard, who plans to pursue residential or commercial real estate development after he receives his MBA in May, said he realizes in the future he will frequently collaborate with people not necessarily of like minds.

“It was neat to see the progression of the class,” he said. “On the first day, you could tell there was a clash of cultures. Each group was looking at the other, thinking, ‘These guys …’ Both groups had preconceived notions.”

Howard said the end results were exciting across the board, and he could see the process of meeting in the middle had an impact on the outcome.

“Compromise was necessary at different points in the process,” he said. “But it was impressive to see the process the architects go through. I couldn’t begin to do what they do.”

If the Metro hub becomes a reality, it will be one of the largest public construction projects in this lifetime, costing close to a quarter of a billion dollars, Downing said. Although the students’ designs were completed for a grade and to learn cooperation skills, others in the Houston community are taking notice of their ideas. Metro has looked at the designs, and Cannady and Downing have made a presentation to the American Institute of Architects.

“People are hearing about the great ideas the students had; the word is out we have a plan,” Cannady said.