With the new College of Design Building comes the unique opportunity to publicly honor those who have made an impact through design while simultaneously supporting the future of design education. From signature public areas to specialized spaces and studios, there are a myriad of ways to support the mission of the College and pay tribute to the who have helped us get to where we are today.
2,300 sq. ft. | Main & upper floors | $1,000,000
The Clearing Stair is inserted into the heart of the building, designed to intuitively guide the flow of traffic and to encourage movement and interaction among the College community and visitors. From this vantage point, you can see throughout much of the building and appreciate the architecture of the reimagined warehouse. The central jewel of the building, the Clearing Stair serves as the interior stamp of Studio Gang, the design architect for the project.
3,800 sq. ft. | Exterior | $500,000 (NAMED)
Consisting of a fabrication dock and environmental canopy, the purpose of the Maker Marquee is to extend the Maker’s Suite to the outdoors, allowing students to build full-scale models in a protected environment. This outdoor shop, shaded by a new grove of native trees and new canopy that shades the south elevation, includes a rolling gantry that allows for easy movement of student projects and deliveries across the platform.
8,000 sq. ft. | Main floor | Multiple naming opportunities available
The Maker’s Suite, along with the Maker Marquee, is one of the most public facing features of the new building and the academic experience. At more than 8,000 square feet and comprised of multiple specialized areas, the Maker’s Suite accommodates the multi-programmatic needs of the College. “With the new building, we’ve taken what has been in the background and brought it to the foreground where it should be,” said Director of Design Technology Bill Massie, referring to the College’s efforts to desegregate making from designing. “It’s equalizing the value of what we do.”
While the overarching suite and assembly area have already been named, there are several specialized areas within the Maker’s Suite that are still available to donors, including the Digital Learning Lab ($100,000), 3D Print Lab ($50,000), Softgoods Lab ($50,000), Laser Lab ($50,000), CAD/CAM Lab ($50,000), Wood Lab ($50,000), Metal Lab ($50,000) and Materials Library ($25,000).
8,000 sq. ft. | Main floor | $500,000
The Common First Year Studio will house multiple studios for freshmen in architecture, interiors, product design and landscape architecture. The function of this shared space creates an integrated environment of learning, allowing for shared equity in skill-development that is further enhanced with access to the technology of the Maker Suite, located directly across the hall. This is the premise behind the Common First-Year experience. As most students will be new to the concept of design thinking, this cross-disciplinary space provides access to discovery: technology, visualization and the expansive field and scales of design. Students then move from the main level studio to the upper level into their respective programs with a larger community and a shared skillset within a polycultural environment.
In addition to naming the entire Common First Year Suite, donors also have the opportunity to name individual studios through the College’s Firm-to-Studio campaign.
Square footage varies | Upper floor | $500,000
The concept of an open studio environment is more than open and more than flexible. It provides for significant self-navigation of students’ education. By removing the obstruction of walls, students are able to learn from their peers both directly and indirectly. Exposure to projects from all disciplines allows for a broader and deeper definition of the field of design, thus encouraging a polycultural ecosystem and a sense of community across disciplines within the College.
In addition to naming opportunities for four different open studio areas on the upper floor (two open studio areas, a graduate studio area, and a Product Design/Biomedical Engineering studio area), donors also have the opportunity to name individual studios through the College’s Firm-to-Studio campaign.
2,600 sq. ft. | Main and upper floors | $100,000
Repurposed from its duty as the building’s heating element, the Boiler Maker Yard is an open-air, two-story enclosed area that provides additional workspace for student and faculty builds.
