Plans have not been finalized, according to Barbara White, director of project management and planning, but the idea of adding on to the existing Fondren Library have been scrapped in favor of a new edifice. At this point, it's the most costly project on the boards, carrying an estimated $100-million price tag and a tentative design of 283,600 sf. Construction will begin within two years and be done in phases to minimize interference with library operations. Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott Inc. has snagged the architects' pact while Linbeck Construction Corp. will be serving as general contractor. The project tentatively carries a December 2004 delivery time.

Funds for the construction extravaganza have come from the "Rice--The Next Century" fund-raising campaign. Eighty percent of the money being raised is dedicated to building projects. The university Web site, used as a source for this article, contains a project-by-project listing and is being regularly updated with information on construction stages.

The campus, says White, has been happily disrupted as work progresses on a $7.4-million baseball stadium. Reckling Field will be completed in time for the first shouts of "play ball" in the spring.