Good design matters.
It touches everything around us. It drives innovation. And it has the power to make life better for everyone.
We make sense of the world for the benefit of the public. Our rigorous programs prepare students to develop solutions that serve the greater good, and our research has life-changing impact.
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Leading the Pack in design education and research.
📍@NCState | #ThinkAndDo
Bold visions begin with thoughtful design.
On Oct. 30, we’ll join the Wolfpack community in celebrating the installation of Chancellor Kevin Howell, a homegrown leader whose journey reflects the values at the heart of @ncstate: purpose, creativity and service to the people of North Carolina.
As our university looks toward its next chapter, we celebrate this moment of continuity and renewal. A reminder that design, like leadership, shapes the future through care, collaboration and imagination.
🏟️ The installation ceremony will be held Thursday, Oct. 30 at 11 a.m. in Reynolds Coliseum
🔗 You can also livestream the ceremony at the link in our bio
“Design is about bridging spaces, people, and experiences to create something meaningful.”
When architecture student Hannah Wright transferred to @ncstate in 2023, she brought with her not just credits, but clarity.
After studying architecture for a year at @novacommunitycollege, Hannah came into the College of Design with a stronger sense of direction and purpose in her work. “Starting over in a new environment wasn’t easy,” she says, “but it taught me to adapt and grow. It opened the door to new opportunities and connections.”
For Hannah, design isn’t just about form or function. It’s about feeling. Her inspiration began through traveling with her family, where she discovered how architecture shapes lives through movement, connection, and emotion. “Buildings can tell stories and leave a lasting impact,” she says. “I want to create spaces that bring comfort, peace and a positive mark on people’s lives.”
Her current passion lies in designing environments that reflect life in motion, especially airports. “Airports are spaces of constant movement and transition that embody these emotions, and I want to design environments that bring comfort and warmth to those moments.”
🔗 Read the full Q&A at the “News” link in our bio.
A handcrafted oak bowl, created by industrial design student Kai Kuwata, now carries the spirit of @ncstate from Raleigh to Japan. 🇯🇵🐺
Made as a gift to commemorate 40 years of partnership with Nagoya University, the piece reflects patience, process and the power of design to connect across borders. In late September, Kuwata’s bowl was given to President Sugiyama of @nagoya.university by Chancellor Howell himself.
🔗 Read “A Gift in Oak” at the News link in our bio.
🗽📘 “Monuments are anything but permanent. They are cultural and political, coming and going over a long time.”
Empty Pedestals: Countering Confederate Narratives Through Public Design (LSU Press, 2024) has recently earned recognition at the national level for its ability to bring design and planning strategies to confront and transform spaces marked by endemic prejudice.
The book received a 2025 Professional Award of Honor in Communications from the American Society of Landscape Architects (@nationalasla) and was a finalist for the 2025 J.B. Jackson Book Prize from the University of Virginia (@uva) Center for Cultural Landscapes.
The book’s co-editors, professors Kofi Boone and M. Elen Deming, worked with contributors, including landscape architects, architects, artists, historians, and philanthropic leaders engaged in the public realm to bring the messages to life.
🔗 Read the full story at the News link in our bio.
Hit the snooze. Go slow. Put yourself first. Happy fall break, y’all. 🍂🧡🍁
May your fall break be as colorful and exciting as our First Year Experience explorations of 2D and 3D modular systems. 😌
🌿 Context shapes design.
Our sophomore architecture students recently visited three Raleigh homes that each approach the relationship between house and garden in distinct ways: embedded within, adjacent to, or elevated above.
Through site visits, original drawings and conversations with homeowners (including architect and professor Frank Harmon), students explored how architectural ideas come to life by balancing light, landscape and lived experience.
Each space revealed how modern architecture responds to climate, orientation, and context, as well as how the line between indoors and out can be reimagined.
📍Fadum House – James Fitzgibbon
📍Matsumoto House – George Matsumoto
📍Harmon Residence – Frank & Judy Harmon
Each student was assigned one house to document, with the larger goal of understanding how architecture and site work together to create an experience. They hand-drafted plans, sections, site drawings, and a final hybrid drawing reflecting our personal perception of the space.
📸: Harmon residence site-visit documented by @ncstate_architecture student, Alissa Kreider.
NC State’s Global Courtyard has been recognized with the Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Community Appearance — a testament to the power of design, collaboration and alumni leadership. 🐺🌎🏆
The courtyard, home to Dream of Flight, was shaped by the vision of our College of Design graduates Heath Satow (BEDA ’91) and Tom Skolnicki (MLA ’97), as well as contributions from 22 @ncstate students from across the globe, whose expertise in architecture and landscape architecture helped transform the space into a vibrant hub of global connection.
This honor also reflects the strength of partnership — from the City of Raleigh to NC State’s Office of Global Engagement — in creating a campus landmark that celebrates culture, sustainability and community.
🔗 Read more about the recognition at the News link in our bio.
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