Another construction project is taking place on the University of Idaho campus this summer. Not only are Deakin Street and the College of Education under construction, but a new building is also being added to the campus.
Nathan Romans | Argonaut
The future site of the University of Idaho Integrated Research and Innovation Center. Groundbreaking for the new building located across from the Janssen Engineering Building is set for late summer 2014.
The Integrated Research and Innovation Center (IRIC) will be a modern space for large research projects involving many different areas of study. Designing plans aim to make the IRIC building as green and energy-efficient as the budget will allow.
The IRIC building has been a project plan for several years, and it is just now beginning its first stages of construction. Vice President for Research and Economic Development John McIver said that the need for such a building is greater now than it was five years ago, which has aided the decision of building it now.
The facilities that UI has now are relatively old facilities and the research that is being conducted needs a more modern space, McIver said. However, costs of renovation would be more than the cost of building a new research facility, McIver said.
“There is also the right line-up of administrative faculty interested in doing this,” McIver said. “We also have certain types of projects that require us to be able to bring large groups of people together.”
Groups for large projects can come in from the government, interested private sectors, UI students and faculty as well as researchers from other universities.
The IRIC building will be a space for interdisciplinary studies that includes new labs and rooms where interaction between different disciplines is the main idea, McIver said.
“It is more shared space. People are thrown together to make sure they interact,” McIver said.
The research facility will have higher technology capabilities. McIver said there will be better video conferencing and better visualizations so a number of people can be in the room looking at the data together. This visualization core may even have 3D capabilities so researches can really look at the data and be able to play with it, McIver said.
McIver said projects will be a mixture of hard science and the social sciences.
“Social sciences are a necessary aspect of these projects because you have to understand what happens when you put a certain policy in place,” McIver said. “You need to know how the public will react or how they perceive things.”
McIver said this 21st century research building would help the university thrive. With the space to work on broader issues, more large research proposals can be selected, which will help increase the university’s research funding.
The IRIC ground-breaking is projected to begin in July, and construction will last approximately two years. The IRIC building will be located between the College of Natural Resources and Phinnie Hall where the Navy Classroom building used to be located.
According to the project’s website, the project will be partially funded by university of appropriations and bonds. The cost for the signature building of a campaign to increase private investments is estimated to be $50 million.
Carl Root, director of Public Transportation Services, said that the early stages of construction would affect pedestrian and vehicle flow along 6th Street, and Moscow residents can expect to see more detour signs.
Claire Whitley can be reached at [email protected]