Design + Build (LAR 506) is a fully unique experience that prepares prospective designers for real-world practice. It is a hands-on "landscape architecture design" studio that has been offered to College of Design students for nearly a decade. It puts them in a scenario where they must conduct research, perform site analysis, ideate solutions, and construct a project for a client within a budget and a time frame.
Created by Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture Andrew Fox, ASLA, the first project by the studio in 2010 involved designing and building a rain garden outside of NC State's Syme Residence Hall - one of the student residence halls adjacent to the NC State Design campus.
Since then, the studio has grown the project into a multi-phase transformation of the landscape outside the residence hall, with the vision to improve the green infrastructure - and the overall student experience - within the context of NC State's land grant mission and the Campus Sustainability Strategic Plan. The project has received major support and funding from NC State University Housing and the Division of Academic and Student Affairs.
In Spring 2019, students in LAR 506 embarked on Phase 3 of the Syme Hall Design + Build project in collaboration with NC State University Housing, the Office of the University Architect, and Campus Facilities. Teaching Assistant Professor Carla Delcambre and Assistant Professor of Practice Jesse Turner led the studio.
Students created environmentally responsive solutions at all developmental levels, from concept through installation.
They gained an increased awareness of various viewpoints, approaches, and research found in related fields of study and in professional practice.
And they improved the design research skills that better inform the everyday decision-making processes they will use within their eventual practice of landscape architecture.
And finally saw their hard work culminate in a Ribbon-Cutting on April 26, 2019.
This will be the first NC State campus project to seek SITES certification, which is a framework that provides performance measures for designers and engineers seeking to create sustainability-focused sites.
