A Green Building at Rice U.

Duncan College, to be constructed at Rice U. (Hopkins Architects)

Rice University — settled in oil country, in a city that seems to be always widening its freeways — is putting up a green residence hall. Duncan College, named for Anne and Charles Duncan, who gave $30-million to the project, will strive for a gold rating in the LEED program. Charles Duncan was a secretary of the Energy Department under Jimmy Carter.

The building will have “motion detectors that shut off lights in unoccupied rooms; retention of storm-water runoff for irrigation; a green roof with low-maintenance plants that will reduce energy needs for heating and cooling; and smart controls that shut off air conditioners when the windows are opened,” says an article about the project. It is scheduled to open in 2009.