Inaugural issue of Sphere

The Rice School of Architecture proudly announces the release of Sphere 0, the inaugural issue of a groundbreaking print publication celebrating the school’s vibrant academic and creative life. This first issue of Sphere captures a year of design, research, and public discourse while charting new paths for architectural exploration.

“Sphere embraces complexity, making space for drawings and images as tools of worldly reflection and reinvention,” said Igor Marjanović, William Ward Watkin Dean of the Rice School of Architecture. “My hope is that Sphere will act both as a time capsule for our school, city, and globe and as a projective device for exploring our shared planetary futures.”

A tactile archive of the previous academic year, Sphere celebrates the intersections of architecture, culture, and society. Its name, inspired by geometry, symbolizes the planetary scale of architectural discourse, while the journal’s large-format, printed design underscores the Rice School of Architecture’s commitment to publications as both intellectual constructs and enduring artifacts.

Guided by guest editor and professor in the practice Nathan Friedman, Sphere draws on the school’s legacy of impactful publications, from Cite to PLAT, while forging a distinctive new voice. “The contributors in the first issue of Sphere take on our present moment through critical texts, speculative proposals, and built work,” said Friedman. “Themes such as environment and ecology, preservation and adaptation, as well as urban policy mechanisms offer a contemporary model of design practice and scholarship.”

Structured in five sections, Sphere captures the manifold scales of architectural discourse:

Planetary Practice (with contributions from Jesús Vassallo; Gaku Inoue, Georgina Baronian, and Yoshidayamar; Dept.; and HOME-OFFICE) showcases globally interconnected projects spanning architecture, landscape, and exhibition design. 

Design Research (with contributions from Scott Colman, Stephen Fox, and Brittany Utting) presents scholarly articles that engage architectural design and its histories and theories. 

Conversations (with contributions from Wtanya Chanvitan and Takahiro Kume, with Georgina Baronian; Troy Schaum; and Charles Renfro and Katherine Bishop, with Nathan Friedman) highlights the discursive nature of the school, featuring dialogues with architects, scholars, and members of Houston’s design community. 

The Houston Archive Project (with contributions from Nathan Friedman, Alfonso Pelaez Rovalo, Grace Andrews, Hanan Traiba, Melvalean McLemore-Catina, and Angela Chen) publishes contemporary images of the city by emerging artists. 

Future Forward (with contributions from Jiayi (Lily) Li and Yingjie (Tammy) Feng; and Noah Kiprob Langat) celebrates exceptional student work.

The publication’s design, developed in collaboration with the acclaimed Dutch graphic design studio Experimental Jetset, embodies the adaptability and creativity at the heart of architectural practice. An innovative visual identity—a flexible system of points, lines, and patterns—echoes the openness of the design process and the medium of drawing, while reflecting the diversity and dynamism of Houston, a city described as the most pluralistic in the United States.

The Rice School of Architecture invites readers to explore Sphere 0, a publication that not only documents the school’s activities but also projects its vision into the future. This inaugural issue is a testament to the imagination and rigor of our students, faculty, and collaborators, bridging local and global conversations in architecture and design.

To purchase your own copy of Sphere, please email us at arch@rice.edu.