In collaboration with Fondren Library Fellows, the Rice School of Architecture, and (ret.) Professor in the Practice Danny Samuels, B.Arch. ’71, we are pleased to present an exhibition detailing the Rice Design Alliance (RDA) Archiving Project. Supported by a Fondren Library Fellows grant, this project aims to preserve and organize fifty years of RDA’s history, ensuring that these materials are accessible through Rice’s Woodson Research Center for future scholarship and reflection.
Under the expert guidance of archivist Amanda Focke, with curation by Samuels, Rice School of Architecture students Vitoria Carneiro Zhu, B. Arch. '27, Valerie Elizondo, B.Arch. '26, Anadaysi Lopez, B.Arch.'27, and Wendy Yao, B.Arch.'26, worked throughout the 2023–24 academic year to catalog the unsorted materials, gaining valuable experience in archival and curatorial practices. Their work ensures that RDA’s history, once scattered across numerous boxes, is now meticulously organized for preservation and future access.
With the RDA’s original mission of urban and design advocacy now fully embedded within the Rice School of Architecture, this exhibition offers a look back at the organization’s rich legacy. Visitors will gain insights into the extensive efforts to preserve this history and understand RDA’s lasting influence on Houston’s architecture and urban design communities.
The exhibition not only celebrates RDA’s fifty-year history but also showcases the ongoing work of the students and faculty involved in ensuring its legacy endures for future generations of scholars, architects, and urban planners.
The exhibition opens on November 1, 2024, just in time for Alumni Weekend, and will close on December 31, 2024. It is free and open to the public.