Studio Louisville

College of Design Expands Into Louisville With New Architecture Studio

In partnership with the City of Louisville and Portland Investment Initiative (Pii), the College of Design at the University of Kentucky will host its first satellite studio in West Louisville beginning with the Fall 2017 semester.

After meeting with Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and Pii founder Gill Holland in spring 2016, Dean MitziVernon set the wheels in motion for the inaugural studio away experience that immerses UK’s School of Architecture students in a targeted yet underdeveloped community. Having this in situ perspective allows students to physically work in the environment while engaging with the residents, community organizations and other key groups to address the needs of the area.

Thanks to the College of Design’s Brown Forman Visiting Chair Endowment, the studio will be able to sponsor a keynote figure for each year of the studio. For this inaugural year, Jeanne Gang and her office, Studio Gang, has been named the recipient.

Currently titled Studio Louisville and run by Associate Professor David Biagi, this is just the first iteration of this pop-up studio approach. Future plans are to migrate to new cities with a need for community transformation.