 "Photo: Courtesy of The Freelon Group")
 "Photo: Courtesey of The Freelon Group")
Few people are aware that when you stand in the parking lot of the Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise or BRITE building, the windows have a pattern of an unraveled DNA strand.
The DNA strand and the glossy windows all helped the BRITE building to be awarded the American Institute of Architects' Design of Excellence Award, the committee's highest level of honor in educational facility design.
The award is given to architect firms that submit their facility designs. The projects that are eligible for the award must be educational oriented.
The BRITE building was recognized for its enhanced educational program, planning and design, and integrated functional needs and visual considerations while respecting the community it surrounds.
The Freelon Group who headed the design project in 2005 believed in NCCU's commitment to the state's biotechnology industry.
"As architects we seek every opportunity to work with clients who are interested in creating excellent design" said Tim Winstead, Director of the Freelon Group.
The Freelon Group has received four other awards for the BRITE building. They include the 2009 AIA south Atlantic region honor award, the 2009 AIA north Carolina honor award, the 2009 AIA triangle honor award, and the 2006 AIA North Carolina honor award — Unbuilt category.
The Freelon Group has produced projects on several UNC campuses including N.C. A & T and Elizabeth City State University. The group was also selected by the Smithsonian Institution to create the design for the National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
"When our peers locally and nationally recognize one of our projects as excellent design, it is extremely rewarding", said Winstead.
The AIA committee gives its awards based on how the project is conceived, planned, designed, built, inhabited, and evaluated.
Opened in 2008, the just over 20 million dollar institute was funded by the Golden Leaf Foundation.
The foundation's main purpose is to help advance the economic well being of North Carolinians.
"BRITE lets you know how the industry will be. All the different machines we use are just like that in an actual laboratory," said pharmaceutical science and chemistry senior Ana Berglind.
"It promotes a very collaborative environment."
The two-level 52,000 sq. ft. facility also houses four major laboratories which are primarily used for teaching and research.
BRITE offers many opportunities to students that meet its criteria. BRITE high school candidates must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 to be eligible for acceptance.
Undergraduate students at BRITE have started their careers as lab technicians making $45- 60,000 a year at entry level positions.
With a graduate's degree students begin as lab scientists making $62-70,000 dollars a year at entry level positions.
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