Feb 8, 2024
Alumnus Joshua Gajownik '04 thought he wanted to be an aerospace engineer. Now, 20 years on, the College of Design graduate is a successful practicing environmental designer. He touches every single detail of the properties he works on, from the branding to the furniture selections, even down to the in-room art.
Jan 31, 2024
About 90% of a constructed site’s carbon footprint comes from the materials used to build it. If landscape architects really want to reduce the carbon footprint of their work, they need to radically rethink not just materials selection but also material assemblies and the types structures they design. This is Meg Calkins’ message to the discipline and the focus of her 2023-24 LAF Fellowship.
Jan 26, 2024
As part of the fall 2023 commencement ceremony, Dean Mark Hoversten recognized an exceptional student for their performance in the classroom and service to the college with the Dean’s Award for Outstanding College Citizenship and Academic Excellence, known as the Wings on Wings award.
Jan 25, 2024
Alumna Dare Coulter [Art + Design '15], illustrator of “An American Story,” is one of two winners of the 2024 Coretta Scott King Book Awards honoring African American authors and illustrators of outstanding books for children and young adults.
Master of Graphic & Experience Design (MGXD) students collaborated with the Laboratory of Analytic Sciences (LAS) here at NC State to explore the potential of machine learning to assist in voice language analysis tasks.
Jan 17, 2024
Each year, the American Institute of Architects North Carolina Chapter (AIANC) recognizes design that exceeds the benchmarks for outstanding architectural design, structural composition and application of design theory. Over 140 projects were submitted to this year's program, with 24 awarded. The College of Design at NC State University had numerous winners recognized, including five student entries, AIA NC Educator of the Year, and the F. Carter Williams Gold Medalist.
Jan 10, 2024
Assistant Professor Lesley-Ann Noel's recently-published book, titled "Design Social Change" was written as a guide for topics, mindsets and principles that designers can use to drive the way they think about change. We talked with Dr. Noel about the book's mission and inspiration.
Dec 12, 2023
Ashley Anderson's research looks at why there aren't as many Black students earning degrees in STEM fields, and is looking at how generative AI can be used a tool to foster diversity and belonging.
Nov 29, 2023
Kofi Boone, a professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, has formed a new lab at NC State that uses design and planning as a tool to address environmental justice concerns.
Nov 9, 2023
Weatherly is a sophomore in Design Studies, and she believes design is an avenue to tell stories that uplift others. She recently illustrated her first book which tells the story of a young Andy Griffith.
Nov 7, 2023
The College of Design brought its 75th anniversary celebration to Prague to connect with past alumni of the program and discuss the future of its global footprint. During five days in early October, College of Design alumni, NC State University leadership, and current study abroad students were able to connect around DesignBlok, the largest design and fashion expo in Central and Eastern Europe.
Oct 13, 2023
This year's First Year Experience Paper project was all about connection - the connections we make with others, with our surroundings, and with ourselves. First-year students in the College of Design were tasked with creating a wearable or inhabitable structure that examines how we related to one another. Pieces created by the students were meant to raise awareness of interpersonal relationships in new and nuance ways, and were primarily constructed using paper or fiber with minimal fasteners, adhesives or support.
Oct 10, 2023
What can be done to reduce the negative effects of disasters and to reduce the likelihood of future disasters occurring in the first place? Hazard mitigation involves taking actions to reduce the vulnerability of communities to the damaging effects of natural hazards and disasters. Gavin Smith, professor of landscape architecture and environmental planning, is assisting local jurisdictions, states, and national governments in addressing this vexing issue.
Oct 3, 2023
Carol Wilson, a two-time NC State alumna, has been announced as the first speaker for a new architecture lecture series endowed in honor of Roger Clark. Wilson is an architect based in Maine. She owns a small firm that primarily focuses on residential work, and her creativity can be seen in buildings as far as New York and Soho.
Sep 29, 2023
Four students were awarded prizes for their work. Submissions are judged based on students’ use of hand drawing skills in the categories of the design process, documentation and analysis, and presentation.
Sep 28, 2023
Six student teams won 2023 AIA Aspire Awards celebrating outstanding design and improves the quality of the built environment. AIA Aspire is a collection of the state chapters of Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Sep 8, 2023
As a former Marine, Danny is using his time in the MAAS program to research factors that contribute to veteran homelessness and suicide. Ultimately, he aims to design a sustainable, supportive, community-based housing typology that pinpoints the specific needs of veterans.
Sep 7, 2023
Students and faculty were recognized as winners of the national ASLA award competition, with four student projects and one faculty-led project receiving awards. In addition, two faculty were recognized: Chuck Flink won the LaGasse Medal and Emily McCoy was elevated to fellow.
Aug 29, 2023
Emily Burdo, LCSW, has taken on the role of a full-time embedded counselor at the College of Design. In her new capacity within the college, Burdo's primary objective is to establish an inviting environment for personalized emotional support. Additionally, she aims to equip students with the necessary resources to explore various avenues of mental health assistance.
Jul 12, 2023
The landscape architecture program saw many successes in the early years as part of the School of Design. The program, accredited in 1951, was one of the first two accredited programs in the American South. Landscape art and gardening have been taught at NC State since the 180s, but the formal program wasn't developed until 1911.
Jul 7, 2023
Mary Hauser is the Associate Director and Registrar at the Gregg Museum of Art & Design. Hauser earned her Bachelor of Industrial Design in 2001, and her Master of Industrial Design in 2004 at the College of Design. She shared her story from her time as a student to her time with NC State as a professional in the second installment of Back to the Pack.
Jul 6, 2023
In the century since the term was coined, graphic design has continued to redefine itself in the face of both technological and cultural changes – whether that’s the birth of the desktop computer in the early nineties or the emergence of artificial intelligence image generators like DALL-E in the early 2020s. As such, graphic design at NC State has also been one of continual redefinition, at the forefront of emerging practices.
Jun 30, 2023
Through a fund named after one of the College of Design's most missed instructors, students are gaining the opportunity to build new meaningful relationships with professionals across the Triangle.
Jun 29, 2023
Associate Professor of Architecture Kristen Schaffer shares her experience of sorting through the archives as part of the research related to the College of Design's 75th anniversary.
Jun 23, 2023
Luna Vanaman earned her Bachelor of Industrial Design from the College of Design in 2000, and currently works as the lead interactive media producer for NC State University's Communications Office. She shared her story from her time as a student to her time with NC State as a professional as part of our new series, Back to the Pack.
Jun 21, 2023
Dean Kamphoefner displayed a clear vision to establish in only a few years an institution of national and international prominence. He used all means available to him, including the curriculum, faculty and student selections and negotiations for university resources, to achieve this goal. Explore the history of the architecture program to see how Kamphoefner implemented his vision.
Jun 15, 2023
Charles A. “Chuck” Flink, FASLA is the 2023 recipient of the LaGasse Medal, named for Alfred B. LaGasse, past executive director of the American Institute of Park Executives and executive vice president of the National Recreation and Parks Association. This national honor recognizes notable contributions by individuals to the management and conservancy of natural resources and/or public landscapes.
Jun 6, 2023
As the College of Design faces the social, environmental and economic challenges of the 21st century in its 75th anniversary, the Tree of Design stares out from the pages of this early bulletin to capture our imagination on what interdisciplinary thinking might look like in the 21st century.
May 30, 2023
The online 75th birthday celebration for the NC State College of Design was filled with nostalgia, joy and connection with the institution's rich legacy. Throughout the day, alumni and community partners took to social media to share their recollections of the college.
May 26, 2023
The first issue of The Student Publication of the School of Design paid tribute to the school’s first head of architecture, Matthew Nowicki, after his untimely death. Uplifted by his pioneering spirit, his students chose to carry it forward.
May 25, 2023
Art2Wear — one of the largest student-run productions of its kind in the Southeast — has become a highly anticipated annual wearable art showcase. But the first one was a small, grassroots production. It started in a fibers and surface design studio in 2002, where Vita Plume — then an assistant professor of art + design, who retired as an associate professor in 2012 — taught textile techniques such as weaving, knitting and dyeing cloth.
May 24, 2023
Art Clement decided he would be an architect in the sixth grade, after learning about Frank Lloyd Wright and his Guggenheim Museum. Seven years later, he enrolled in NC State in 1966, part of the first wave of African American students attending the university. He began studying architecture in what was then called the School of Design. No one in the school looked like him, but he was committed to completing the five-year program.
May 23, 2023
Compostable takeout containers. Cosmetics packaging. Ready to assemble furniture. These are just a few of the sponsored studio projects the NC State College of Design has conceptualized for real-world applications with industry partner Eastman. They have maintained an active partnership with the College of Design over the past ten years, resulting in nine invention disclosures, five applications and one patent.
May 22, 2023
Under a new dean and a new curriculum, Elizabeth Bobbit Lee thrived as the sole female graduate in a class full of men, even as she set the mold for a life well lived.
May 20, 2023
The students who graduated from the School of Design in the spring of 1953 were the first to complete the new school’s five-year course load. Their commitment set the pace for everything that came after.
May 15, 2023
The College of Design and SAS celebrated a ten-year partnership in April. SAS Director of Product Design Rajiv Ramarajan reflects on the projects created over the years.
May 10, 2023
Six College of Design faculty were recognized with awards from the Alumni Association, Graduate School, Libraries and Office of the Provost this spring.
May 4, 2023
Art2Wear 2023 had a mission to inspire students to create wearable art as part of a greater narrative that includes art, fashion, digital production, world-building and storytelling.
Apr 26, 2023
Juhann Waller (DDes Cohort 1) is the first student-practitioner of the program to graduate, and will receive his degree in August 2023. Dr. Waller is the CEO of J.C. Waller Associates, PC, based in Greensboro, NC. His doctoral dissertation is entitled “Resilient Infrastructure: An Integrated Design Approach for the Equitable Distribution of Stormwater Capital Improvements Projects for Pluvial Flood Mitigation.” It models a type of applied design research that can be effected in real time, for real change.
The College of Design celebrated Alumni + Friends Weekend and the Designlife Gala on April 21-22, 2023. The college was delighted to see so many friendly faces back on campus, touring our studios, and connecting with former classmates and colleagues at the reunions by the decade. The weekend's events culminated with the Designlife Gala at the JC Raulston Arboretum on Saturday night.
Apr 24, 2023
The Coharie Tribe recently signed an agreement to participate in a community floodprint project, which is being funded by the N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR) and led by the N.C. State Coastal Dynamics Design Lab (CDDL). The tribe is the third community selected for the Eastern North Carolina Community Floodprints initiative. A total of five communities will collaborate with the CDDL for the development of a floodprint, which can then be used to bolster future community resilience.
Apr 17, 2023
After conducting a national search, the College of Design at North Carolina State University has selected María Bellalta to serve as the head of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, effective July 1. María is currently dean and faculty at the Boston Architectural College (BAC) School of Landscape Architecture, where she directs both graduate and undergraduate programs and teaches design theory and practice as well as interdisciplinary studios on social urbanism.
Apr 11, 2023
Three College of Design students were winners at the Graduate Student Research Symposium. Marybeth Campeau (Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning) won first place, with Daniel Garrett (Advanced Architectural Studies) and Keagan Vargo (Industrial Design) winning second and third place, respectively.
Mar 31, 2023
Tickets for the 2023 Art2Wear show are now on sale! This year's production will move away from a traditional runway format and widen its lens to include a wider retinue of choreography, set design, entertainment and environmental styling.
Mar 27, 2023
John and Tracy Martin believe that higher education is the greatest path to equity in our society, and they wanted to create a scholarship that reflected that. John vowed that he would one day give back to the institution that had given him so much.
Mar 9, 2023
Ashley Castrejon is a graphic & experience design major in the College of Design. She answered a Q&A with study abroad about her experience in Chile studying sustainable design.
Mar 6, 2023
To celebrate the college’s 75th anniversary, Dean Hoversten chose to award two significant Designlife awards – one to signify a lifetime of achievement, and one to honor a new and emerging professional. Both awardees are alumni of the college, which had a formative impact on their career trajectories. Two individuals will be recognized for their unique contributions to the profession. Edwin F. “Abie” Harris [B.Arch. ‘57], artist and former university architect for NC State, and J. Stacy Utley [BEDA ‘01, B.Arch. ‘06], public artist and educator, embody significant contributions to the College of Design, their respective professions, and the design profession.
Feb 23, 2023
Tsai Lu Liu, head of the Department of Graphic Design and Industrial Design at NC State’s College of Design, will be leaving the university after 11 years. He has been named the dean of the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design at Virginia Tech. In his tenure as department head, Liu has transformed the department through corporate partnerships, student academic life and philanthropy. He has been working with the faculty and college leadership to increase the diversity of both faculty and students in the program.
Feb 14, 2023
The Landscape Architecture Foundation chose Meg Calkins, professor of landscape architecture and environmental planning, as one of 6 fellows for 2023-2024.
Feb 8, 2023
The On the Brinck Book Award and Lecture Series is created in honor of J.B. Jackson and is awarded by the University of New Mexico School of Architecture + Planning. Three winners were announced for 2023, including Associate Professor of Architecture Burak Erdim for his book, Landed Internationals: Planning Cultures, the Academy, and the Making of the Modern Middle East.
![Loddie D. Bryan, Jr. [BLA ‘57] arranges a model in a photographic model box, circa 1956.](https://design.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/laep-history-1_web.jpg)
