With just weeks remaining before students move in, construction crews are working seven days a week in a final push to complete Rice University’s highly anticipated Chao College.
On Sunday, workers could be seen moving throughout the building, installing interior finishes and putting the final touches on the university’s first new residential college in more than 15 years. While the exterior of the sprawling complex appears largely complete, activity inside suggests a race against the clock as Rice prepares to open the doors this fall.
The new Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao College is the university’s 12th residential college and represents a major milestone in Rice’s ongoing campus expansion. The project will add nearly 300 beds on campus and eventually house more than 400 students, including off-campus students. It is located on the south side of the Rice campus, on the site of the former Sid Richardson College, adjacent to the new Lovett College.
From the outside, the college already stands as a striking new addition to Rice’s southern campus. Designed by internationally acclaimed Danish architecture firm Henning Larsen with Houston-based Kirksey serving as executive architect, the complex features two residential towers—one rising five stories and the other 10 stories—connected by courtyards, terraces and communal gathering spaces.
But behind the glass-and-brick façade, crews remain hard at work.
University leaders have described Chao College as a transformative addition to the Rice experience.
“The Chao name embodies the very finest qualities of Rice’s residential college system—leadership, generosity and a profound commitment to building meaningful connections,” Rice President Reginald DesRoches said during the college’s topping-out ceremony last year.
The college was made possible through a landmark gift from the Chao family foundation. The Chao family has deep ties to both Houston and Rice University, with family members helping establish the Chao Center for Asian Studies and supporting numerous university initiatives over the years.
Beyond adding student housing, Chao College is designed to serve as a hub for campus life. Plans call for a 3,000-square-foot rooftop terrace overlooking an 11,000-square-foot central quad, along with green spaces, study areas and social gathering spots intended to foster the close-knit community that defines Rice’s residential college system.
The project is also targeting LEED Gold certification and includes sustainability features such as solar panels, rainwater collection systems and bird-friendly building materials.
The Chao family is among Houston’s most prominent business dynasties. Through their holdings, the family controls a majority stake in Houston-based chemical giant Westlake Corp., a Fortune 500 company founded by the late Ting Tsung “T.T.” Chao and his sons. In 2024, siblings Albert, James, John and David Chao were all named to Forbes’ annual World’s Billionaires list.
“The Chao family is immensely honored to be part of Rice students’ college experience with the establishment of the new Chao College,” Albert Chao said when the project was announced. “We hope it will be an enriching and rewarding experience for Rice students for generations to come.”