Davey Tree : Large Tree Moving Project Portfolio : Rice University


Rice University

Enormous live oaks flourish on the Rice University campus, giving it a “clothed in green” feel. To preserve the charm of a heavily wooded campus, the trees in the path of new construction presented both an opportunity and a challenge to the design team. As plans for two residential colleges and related support facilities proceeded, it was clear that extraordinary measures would be required to preserve a part of campus history and incorporate the trees into the design.

The designs of the McMurtry College, named for alumni donors Burton and Deedee McMurtry, and Duncan College, named for alumni donors Charles and Anne Duncan, call for a number of the large live oaks that canopied a pathway (and shaded Abercrombie Lot) to be used to landscape the area once construction is completed. The Davey Large Tree Moving operation’s ability to relocate the trees allowed construction to proceed while preserving the trees to retain the University’s forested character.

“Some of the trees on the campus are more than 75 years old, so the community was apprehensive about the construction,” said Ed Beck, senior project manager for Linbeck Group L.P., the Rice project contractor. “Davey is doing a great job of moving the trees to new or temporary locations.”

The plan calls for the temporary relocation of 41 trees, the removal of 25 trees and the addition of 64 trees in the post-construction phase. At the end of the project, the area will contain a total of 229 trees – a mix of relocated and new plantings.

During fall 2007, trees were removed using spade and gantry techniques. Nine live oaks were relocated to create a new alleè on the south side of McMurtry College. Ten crape myrtles will be relocated around the McMurtry Master’s House during the post construction phase. The remaining trees were moved to a holding location on campus until they can be returned to sites around the new building following its scheduled completion in the fall of 2009.

Harvey Binkney and Maximo Martinez supervised the moves, which began in August and were completed by Thanksgiving.

“Some of the trees were only moved a couple of hundred yards, but it got them out of the way of the construction,” said Binkney, the assistant branch manager of LTM. “The trees we moved that will go back around the completed McMurtry College are being cared for by Davey’s Houston residential/commercial office, which will prune and feed them to keep them in good condition in the meantime.”