Academic Quad-East Academic Quad-West Baker Institute Herring Hall Shepherd, RMC Cohen House and Allen Center Engineering Quad Hamman Hall, Herman Brown, and Mudd President's House Residential Colleges Science Buildings Main Page Contact		Hamman Hall, Herman Brown, and Mudd Hamman Hall | Herman Brown   Hamman Hall This photograph shows the large black "crystals" on the entrance wall just inside Hamman Hall. This wall, made up of tectonic breccia similar to the pillars on Lovett Hall, is one of the most brilliant walls on campus. Have you seen these pink granite steps all over campus? Similar steps to these in front of Hamman Hall appear on many of the buildings at Rice, especially in the Academic and Engineering Quads. This is also Texas Pink Granite, chosen to match most of the stones making the buildings. Aside from its aesthetic value, granite is a wonderful choice of rock for steps. This is because granite is abundant in quartz, or SiO2, which has a hardness of 7 out of 10 on the Moh's Hardness Scale. Quartz, since it is so hard, is resistant to weathering and therefore is a good rock to use for tombstones, steps, and anything else that may get weathered through human use (like feet) or natural environmental elements. back to top   Herman Brown Hall This is a serpentinite slab on the outside wall of Herman Brown Hall. This serpentenite is different from the serpentite on the Geology Building or Baker Institute. Note the preferred foliation and the browner, duller look on this serpentinite. Herman Brown Building was completed in 1968. Back to top Academic Quad-East Academic Quad-West Baker Institute, Herring Hall, Shepherd and RMC Cohen House and Allen Center Engineering Quad Hamman Hall, Herman Brown, and Mudd President's House Residential Colleges Science Buildings Main Page Department of Geology and Geophysics, Rice University, Houston.