A Place to Learn. A Space to Design.

The College of Design offers a variety of spaces that collectively make up a flexible yet robust design environment. The college's labs, studios, and library are professionally staffed to support student work and faculty instruction. The college's galleries and critique spaces encourage an open exchange of ideas. Auditoriums and large classrooms allow the college to host an ambitious visiting lecture and exhibition program.

All 700-plus students enrolled in studio programs within the College have dedicated studio space with 24-hour access and security. Every workstation is networked and students have additional access to three 18-seat labs, printing and scanning facilities, and departmental computer clusters. All labs are professionally staffed: four full-time Information Technology Lab staff members maintain hardware, software and networking, and manage student assistants, who check out equipment (all equipment in the College circulates at no charge). A faculty technology committee updates a technology plan annually and makes proposals and decisions regarding expenditure of the College's portion of university technology fees.

The Materials Lab is staffed by four full-time professionals and student assistants. There are also darkrooms and a screen-printing facility. The Advanced Media Lab includes state of the art 3D and 2D animation editing stations with industry-standard software, as well as professional-grade HD video equipment.

Where Design Lives at NC State

The buildings that make up the college's presence on NC State's campus blend traditional and modern architectural styles. The three buildings house the college's design library, gallery, auditorium, resource centers, studios, laboratories, classrooms and offices. Brooks Hall was built as the original library of NC State College and has been the central building of the College since 1956 when the new northern wing was added. To accommodate the institution's rapid growth, a southern wing was added in the late 1960s. Kamphoefner Hall (pronounced "Camp HEFF-ner," named for the college's first dean) was added as a connector to Brooks in 1978. A separate building, Leazar Hall, was acquired for basic design studies in 1969. Together these facilities create a compact nexus where design students and faculty can interact and invite design professionals to participate.

The Downtown Studio

The Downtown Studio on S. Wilmington Street in Downtown Raleigh is designed to facilitate collaborative urban design projects between area municipalities, non-profit organizations, and College of Design students. Part think-tank and part project development office, the Downtown Studio specializes in mixed-use development, historic preservation, and neighborhood revitalization, to name just a few of its focus areas. Download a brochure here.