The Interdisciplinary Research Building (IDRB) will provide a platform for interdisciplinary research and training that advances:
…our core values of Access plus Excellence by promoting unique interdisciplinary research opportunities that characterize the future, preparing our faculty, graduate and undergraduate students for intellectual endeavors of today, tomorrow and beyond; this building will be a model for other institutions to emulate and will serve as an attractor for the recruitment and support of world-class faculty. Student access to state-of-the-art interdisciplinary facilities will prepare them for addressing society’s “grand challenges”. This will make them more competitive with students from larger universities and improve their chances of career success, especially for underrepresented students.
…our goal of becoming a Tier One Research University by opening opportunities for new and unrealized support for research, graduate and undergraduate training, and engagement of industry and community partners. Research is being driven more and more by “big” questions that require not only interdisciplinary approaches, but also large scale programs that can provide new and novel ways of asking questions and developing research. To compete, we need increased capacity to conduct interdisciplinary research, and to succeed, research must be linked with undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral training. The IDRB will support a culture of interdisciplinary research and education that will expand participation of students, faculty, and partners in the research enterprise at UTEP.
Be responsive to current and future priority interdisciplinary research programs, teams, and centers.
Maintain flexibility and adaptability in lab and building design to support dynamic research priorities and trends.
Plan and implement designs that will promote collaborative work, including meeting space, work space, lab space, office space, and their relationship to each other.
Include open space for collegial interaction.
Include high technology meeting, instructional, seminar, and conference space.
Provide core facilities and shared resources that are essential for key IDR areas.
Provide meeting areas with state-of-the-art multimedia in support of virtual collaborations.
Provide reconfigurable areas that support different modes of collaborations (i.e. fixed and movable white boards, movable chairs and tables, etc.)
Pursue architectural design that will promote experiential movement throughout the building to inspire interaction and innovation.
Create space for visiting researchers.
Include conversational pieces such as art, technology, and/or displays which highlight UTEP’s strengths.
Include perspectives from all colleges and research centers at UTEP.
Create a space, outside and inside, that is attractive and welcoming to visitors.
Incorporate sustainability principles in the design and construction of the building.
Planning and design decisions will be tied back to them.
They will guide decisions related to allocation of resources.
They will help shape the architects’ “Program of Requirements”.
W.L. Hargrove
Interim Director,
Interdisciplinary Research and Education Programs