Designbuild Certificate


Architects students working on a construction site

It has been estimated that the majority of architecture and design schools in the United States now have some form of designbuild experience; however, KU Architecture and Design remains one of the nation’s leaders in designbuild education. Pioneering this philosophical tradition, KU Architecture and Design is home to Studio 804, a two-semester advanced designbuild studio that has been the recipient of numerous design awards and publications, including a monograph titled “Studio 804: An Architectural Experience”, published by Artifice Books. In addition to Studio 804, KU Architecture and Design offers ARCH 509 Designbuild Studio, an umbrella for several designbuild studios such as the award-winning Dirt Works Studio, and Dotte Agency, a public interest designbuild collective. Beyond designbuild studios, the school offers furniture design, digital fabrication and robotics, and material investigations courses.

The Designbuild Certificate program aims to provide students with hands-on, material-based, experiential learning opportunities, anchored by the internationally acclaimed and award-winning designbuild studios at KU. This certificate is open to students in architecture, interior architecture, design, architectural engineering, and other allied disciplines. The certificate is available as Continuing Professional Education (CPE) opportunities for outside professionals as well.

Designbuild Graduate Certificate

Total Credit Hours Required for Completion: 12

Core Courses*:

  • ARCH 803: Design-Build and Materiality I (6 credit hours)
  • ARCH 804: Design-Build and Materiality II (6 credit hours)

 

* Select ARCH 600 Special Topics in Architecture and ARCH 700 Directed Readings in Architecture courses, with a focus on designbuild activities, may be eligible to fulfill the certificate program course requirements (syllabus submission required for certificate program director’s approval). Additionally, any of the above courses could be replaced with ARCH 799 Independent Study or ARCH 800 Special Topics in Architecture, focusing on the specific subject area.

Please direct questions regarding the Designbuild Certificate to: Chad Kraus, Associate Professor of Architecture, ckraus@ku.edu.

It has been estimated that the majority of architecture and design schools in the United States now have some form of designbuild experience; however, KU Architecture and Design remains one of the nation’s leaders in designbuild education. Pioneering this philosophical tradition, KU Architecture and Design is home to Studio 804, a two-semester advanced designbuild studio that has been the recipient of numerous design awards and publications, including a monograph titled “Studio 804: An Architectural Experience”, published by Artifice Books. In addition to Studio 804, KU Architecture and Design offers ARCH 509 Designbuild Studio, an umbrella for several designbuild studios such as the award-winning Dirt Works Studio, and Dotte Agency, a public interest designbuild collective. Beyond designbuild studios, the school offers furniture design, digital fabrication and robotics, and material investigations courses.

The Designbuild Certificate program aims to provide students with hands-on, material-based, experiential learning opportunities, anchored by the internationally acclaimed and award-winning designbuild studios at KU. This certificate is open to students in architecture, interior architecture, design, architectural engineering, and other allied disciplines. The certificate is available as Continuing Professional Education (CPE) opportunities for outside professionals as well.

Designbuild Graduate Certificate

Total Credit Hours Required for Completion: 12

Core Courses*:

  • ARCH 803: Design-Build and Materiality I (6 credit hours)
  • ARCH 804: Design-Build and Materiality II (6 credit hours)

 

* Select ARCH 600 Special Topics in Architecture and ARCH 700 Directed Readings in Architecture courses, with a focus on designbuild activities, may be eligible to fulfill the certificate program course requirements (syllabus submission required for certificate program director’s approval). Additionally, any of the above courses could be replaced with ARCH 799 Independent Study or ARCH 800 Special Topics in Architecture, focusing on the specific subject area.

Please direct questions regarding the Designbuild Certificate to: Chad Kraus, Associate Professor of Architecture, ckraus@ku.edu.