By Dillon Strickland

The Davis Marksbury Building was dedicated in a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday morning in the amphitheater of the building in UK’s Digital Village.

Thomas W. Lester, the College of Engineering dean, presided over the ceremony. He is now in his 22nd and final year as the dean.

The Davis Marksbury Building is Phase II of the Digital Village complex.

The James F. Hardymon Building, which is adjacent to the Marksbury Building, is Phase I of the complex and was dedicated in September 2000.

The Marksbury Building is a building dedicated solely to research, providing resources and a collaborative environment to be utilized by the Department of Computer Science, the Center for Visualization & Virtual Environments, and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

After Lester’s introduction, President Eli Capilouto took the floor to speak of the success of the building.

“Today we place another jewel in the crown of Kentucky,” Capilouto said.

Those who spoke at the ceremony included Capilouto, former President Dr. Lee Todd, Lexington Mayor Jim Gray and dedicatee Davis Marksbury.

UK named this College of Engineering building after Marksbury in recognition of the contributions of the Marksbury Family Foundation.

“It’s a strange feeling seeing my name on the side of this building,” Marksbury said during the ceremony.

Todd, who originally announced the Digital Village construction project in 2008, showed he was proud of how the project has been coming along.

“The speed at which this building was built was phenomenal,” Todd said.

In a span of 16 months, the building was designed and completed on time within budget.

The building has three floors, a mechanical penthouse and a partial basement for mechanical and electrical systems which accounts for the 45,019 gross square feet of the building.

Shaden Smith, a computer science senior, has worked in the building and thinks a great thing about the building is how “there’s a lot of space for research.”

The building was designed to be green, energy efficient and high performing, which earned it a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

The Marksbury Building is the third building in Kentucky to have a LEED Gold certification, but it is the first on UK’s campus to achieve this merit.

Josiah Hanna, a computer science and math sophomore, comes to the Marksbury Building to do research and work on data mining for advising students. Hanna works in the building sometimes because “it’s a good place to come and ask questions.”

With the vast amount of resources available at the building and collaborative environment, the Marksbury Building is a valuable tool for students involved in research.

“I like the real, modern feel of it,” Hanna said.