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The Rice Thresher
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by Mariel Tam Thresher editorial staff
The Barreras moved in two weeks ago. They were originally scheduled to move in at the start of the semester, but some minor repairs delayed their move. The site of the new house, immediately west of Jones South, is closer to the Jones residential buildings than the old house, which was located between the Jones Commons and Brown College. Enrique Barrera said the masters felt they had to make an effort to get students to come over to the further-away old house. The new location allows students to drop by whenever they like, he said. The two-story building was designed by Michael Graves & Associates, with input from the Barreras and other masters. The first floor of the house has a lot of public space that can be used for hosting Jones events, the Barreras said. "Keeping it all open was the general consensus of the masters," Enrique said. The private areas - including four bedrooms - are upstairs, set off from the public areas. A study juts off from the building, connected to the main part of the house by a hallway. The house has two front doors in this hallway - one facing Jones South, which will act as the main entrance, and one facing away from the college for students who want privacy, Enrique Barrera said. The Jones masters are planning a lunchtime open house for the Rice community and another open house for Jones students and alumni around Beer-Bike. Both events will be held after the house's new furniture arrives, the Barreras said. Graves' firm selected the house's new appliances and furniture, some of it custom-designed for the Jones House and some of it from previous designs by the firm. Graves is perhaps better-known as the designer of a line of housewares, ranging from answering machines to toilet plungers, for Target. The Jones House will be furnished with Graves' sofas, a dining table, a blender and more. The exterior of the house is painted a shade of pinkish-peach, which some students have complained about. Jones construction representative Steve Wilbur, a junior, called it "unpleasant." However, Jones freshman Matt Barnett said he does not think the salmon color is as bad as other students have said. "I think it catches more negative flak than it deserves. ... While the color may not be ideal, I don't have too much of a problem with it," Barnett said. "We didn't have any input on the color," Enrique Barrera said, but he and his wife said they have grown to like it. The designers told them it was "in the same family of colors" as the other Jones buildings, he said. Barnett said he's heard people complain about the way the house looks and its Southwestern-style color. "Personally, I like the architecture," he said. "I like the smooth geometry of it." The old Jones House is scheduled to be demolished by mid-March to make room for a new wing for Brown College. Before it is destroyed, the college might hold meetings or events in the old house, the Barreras said. "It's an empty house and we really don't have to care about it anymore," Wilbur said. The rest of the construction in the north colleges area is still on schedule to be completed by December 2001, Wilbur said. The new building gives Jones residents - who are surrounded by the construction of Martel College and the Jones addition - something to look forward to, Enrique Barrera said. "All the noise of the construction bothers them a little less when they see something they can enter," he said.
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