Iribe Center wins AIA Virginia's Award of Merit

The University of Maryland’s Brendan Iribe Center for Computer Science and Engineering  has come up for praise for its architectural innovation and aesthetics. 

The American Institute for Architects (AIA) recently recognized the structure with an Award of Merit  in the architecture category. The award praises  the building’s  interior design, mastery of composition, functionality, material and color palettes, as well as its well-integrated adherence to the highest levels of accessibility, health and safety, environmental, and occupant-comfort considerations, standards, and regulations.

In recognizing the Iribe Center, the award stated:
“As a campus gateway, this succeeds in place-making. It showcases “the arrival” with a strong, contemporary statement. The interiors are varied and welcoming, legibly emphasizing STEM education.”
These winning comments  mirror the vision of many of the structure’s private donors, who came together to build a facility where formal and informal learning coexist so that students and faculty can develop ideas that will lead us to a better future.

The building was made possible by the generosity of Brendan Iribe, a Maryland alumnus and co-founder of the virtual reality company Oculus who made a significant gift of almost $38 million  in tandem with Michael Antonov ’03, Oculus co-founder,and more than 110 additional donors, including 38 UMD faculty and staff members.

The building houses the Department of Computer Science and research units like the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies and Maryland Center for Robotics, integrating both academics and research under one rooftop.
The Iribe Center’s transformative architecture provides 28,000 sq ft of community space which emphasizes the vision for interaction and collaboration. It includes 13 research labs  5,300 sq. ft. of maker spaces for turning ideas into reality, and  two spacious (more than 100-seat) auditoriums, providing a place to  share and exchange knowledge.  Reisse Park, a rooftop garden that honors the memory of alumnus and Oculus co-founder Andrew Reisse, which offers scenic view of UMD’s campus and downtown College Park.

The Iribe Center award will be celebrated at the Visions for Architecture gala on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at the Hilton Downtown Richmond. Jury Chair Ann Beha, FAIA, will offer insights from the jury at Architecture Exchange East at 2:45 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 8.