Rice Hall Information Technology Engineering Building

"The real promise of what will happen here is the 21st Century extension of the academical village and what will be made possible by the technologies that are used, developed and explored in these places. The village won't simply exist then in these buildings or on this campus, but across the state, across the nation and globe. We have only really begun to understand the way in which these technologies can enhance human performance and accomplishment and how they can improve the human condition."
Paul Rice (EE '75)

Rice Hall will serve collaborative researchers throughout the Engineering School and across Grounds as the nexus of information technology engineering activity at the University of Virginia. The building will facilitate research in areas such as high-performance computing, computer visualization, information assurance, computer security, energy conservation, wireless communications, telemedicine, virtual reality, distributed multimedia and distance learning.

The creation of the Rice Hall Information Technology Engineering Building was made possible by a lead gift from Paul and Gina Rice through the Rice Family Foundation.

The LEED certified, six-story building will be located at the corner of Whitehead and Stadium roads behind Olsen Hall. Plans for the 100,000 gross square foot building include a courtyard, cyber-lounge, 150-seat auditorium, a Visualization Lab for Scientific Computing, a Computer Vision and Graphics Lab, facilities to support distance education, workrooms, study areas, conference rooms and flexible teaching and resource labs. The building itself will serve as a "living laboratory" and public showcase for efficient operating systems where students, faculty and visitors alike can monitor the building's energy use.

By including the latest video-conferencing technologies, the building will help advance the PRODUCED in Virginia program which allows students from their Virginia Community College System to earn a four-year engineering degree while remaining in the communities. Rice Hall will also serve as the new home for the Department of Computer Science.

The building was designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson and is being constructed by W.M. Jordan Company.

Construction began in April 2009 was completed in November 2011.