News


Wed, 03/05/2025

Large-format photographer gets below the surface in new KC group show

Elise Kirk, KU associate professor of photography, is showing work in "Strange and Familiar Places,” on display through July 20 at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
Fri, 02/28/2025

Artist Stephen T. Johnson extends family’s legacy in new, three-generation show

Stephen T. Johnson, lecturer in the School of Architecture and Design, carries on his family’s artistic legacy in a new “three-generation” show opening Feb. 28 at the Cider Gallery in Lawrence.
Wed, 02/26/2025

Presentation at KU Libraries to highlight impact of open education

Virginia Clinton-Lisell, associate professor in educational foundations and research at University of North Dakota and lead researcher of the Open Education Group, will visit KU’s Lawrence campus to deliver a public lecture about her research on open education at 10 a.m. March 14 in Watson Library 3 West.
Mon, 02/03/2025

Architectural, experiential design leaders to speak at Spring 2025 University of Kansas Architecture Lecture Series

The KU Architecture Lecture Series welcomes architectural and experiential design leaders to the Lawrence campus to illuminate ideas and inspire students. The first lecture of spring features Nader Tehrani of NADAAA.
Wed, 01/29/2025

KU School of Architecture & Design announces spring 2025 design lecture series schedule

The first design lecture of the spring 2025 series will feature KU alumnus Jacob Crawford, a footwear designer at Vans, the iconic skateboard shoes and apparel brand.
Tue, 01/28/2025

School of Architecture & Design mourns the passing of Todd Achelpohl

Todd Achelpohl, lecturer in architecture, died Dec. 29 surrounded by family and friends. A celebration of life is planned for 10 a.m. Feb. 15 at the South Lobby of the Kansas City Convention Center’s Kay Barnes Grand Ballroom.
Mon, 01/27/2025

Architecture, Interior Architecture and Photography students receive Undergraduate Research Awards

This spring, 49 University of Kansas students received an Undergraduate Research Award (UGRA) from the Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships. UGRA recipients are awarded a $1,000 scholarship as they work on mentored research and creative projects.
Fri, 01/24/2025

Student Design Competition: Designing Mindful Learning Spaces

The KU Institute of Health & Wellness Design is sponsoring a student design competition to explore how architecture/design learning environment designs can be employed by students to address mental and behavioral health issues experienced by human users. Submissions due January 29, 2025
Fri, 01/10/2025

Film aims to build support for trauma care in Africa

Documentary focuses on doctors struggling to meet demand for trauma care in Africa, and efforts of KU Med Center doctor, colleagues to help
Thu, 12/05/2024

Authors show how health care can revive small downtowns

A KU School of Architecture & Design professor and alumnus promote leveraging health care to radically revamp small-town main streets in a new journal article.
Mon, 12/02/2024

Class of 2025 honors associate professor Betsy Barnhart with HOPE Award

Betsy Barnhart, associate professor and director of the Industrial Design Program in the School of Architecture & Design, was presented with the award Nov. 23 during halftime of the football game between KU and Colorado.
Wed, 11/06/2024

New Studio 804 book details sustainable home design, construction methods

A new book featuring Dan Rockhill — a proponent of D.I.Y. architecture education — shows builders how Studio 804 builds sustainably. The book details East Lawrence homes built by the School of Architecture & Design classes of 2022 and 2023.
Fri, 10/25/2024

Announcing KU Architecture & Design Alumni Award winners

The University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design has announced the recipients of the 2023 KU Architecture & Design Alumni Awards.
Wed, 10/23/2024

Read the September-October newsletter

2023 KU Architecture & Design Alumni Award honorees,   Interior Architectures studios designing and building furniture for Lawrence shelter, remembering architecture professor David Griffin, alumni news, more.
Wed, 10/23/2024

Design student projects featured on Dezeen

Footwear, packaging, publication design, and an exhibition showcasing cardboard furniture inspired by the late design iconoclast and KU professor Victor Papanek are among the KU Design student projects featured in Dezeen's latest school showcase.
Wed, 09/18/2024

Study links operating room environment to shorter surgery

A study from a University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design researcher shows a better-designed operating room shaves time off of orthopedic surgery, implying better outcomes and reduced costs.
Fri, 09/06/2024

Building Futures Together - Q&A with KU Dirt Works Studio and Apex Engineers

For over a decade, Apex Engineers has worked with architecture professor Chad Kraus’s Dirt Works Studio to create internationally recognized projects that have expanded the limits of what university design-build students can accomplish. Read how this industry partnership has allowed third-year students at KU to make lasting impacts in the community while preparing for careers.
Fri, 09/06/2024

School of Architecture & Design announces fall 2024 Architecture Lecture Series

Elizabeth Diller, founding partner of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Wolf Prize laureate and recipient of the first MacArthur Foundation fellowship awarded for architecture, will present the opening lecture of the fall series Sept. 13 on the KU Lawrence campus.
Tue, 09/03/2024

Denver Alumni Event, Thursday, Sep. 5

Denver-area alumni designers and architects are invited to a reception at La Victoria Healing Kitchen in Aurora on Thursday, September 5th. Learn about what is happening in the School of Architecture & Design from Dean Mahbub Rashid, Professor Shannon Criss, and students in her ARCH608 studio.
Mon, 08/26/2024

School of Architecture & Design announces fall 2024 KU Design Symposium Lecture Series

The first Design Symposium lecture of the fall 2024 series will feature Colie Wertz, a concept artist whose film credits include six "Star Wars" films, Marvel's upcoming "The Fantastic Four" and the two-part adaptation of the sci-fi classic "Dune," directed by Denis Villeneuve.
Wed, 07/17/2024

Architecture professor Nilou Vakil among five educators recognized as Kemper Fellows

KU this week is celebrating five outstanding faculty members as winners of the William T. Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence. Each of the five awardees receives $7,500.
Mon, 06/03/2024

Architecture & Design Alumni Award nominations are now open (Opens in new window)

Recognize the impact of Jayhawk designers, architects, and multidisciplinary leaders by nominating exceptional alumni for a 2023 KU Architecture & Design Alumni Award. Nominations are open through August 23, 2024.
Wed, 05/29/2024

Read the April-May 2024 ArcD newsletter (Opens in new window)

BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group unveils new building and renovation plans for the School of Architecture & Design. June 6th alumni event in Washington D.C. Alumni-owned firm announces rebrand. Design lecturer’s work acquired by museum. Graduate design program ranked in top ten.
Wed, 05/29/2024

Announcing the 2024 KU Architecture Student Portfolio Awards (Opens in new window)

Since 2021, alumni architects, faculty, and final-year students have donated time to help 3rd-and-4th-year M.Arch students develop presentation skills and refine their portfolios through this review process.
Tue, 05/28/2024

Dyche Hall Grotesque Renewal Project honored with historic preservation award

The Dyche Hall Grotesque Renewal Project at KU recently received the Medallion Award, the highest award bestowed by the Kansas Preservation Alliance, at the 2024 Kansas State Preservation Conference.
Wed, 05/08/2024

Public invited to tour Studio 804’s 2024 design-build project on Saturday, May 11

Studio 804, the award-winning graduate design-build studio at the University of Kansas, will reveal its third energy-efficient home built in Lawrence’s historic Pinkney Neighborhood on Saturday, May 11, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Wed, 05/08/2024

Dirt Works Studio to introduce mass timber home on Saturday, May 11, 12-4 p.m.

The KU academic design-build studio, Dirt Works Studio, will unveil a new mass timber home designed and built by third-year architecture students. The open house event will take place on Saturday, May 11, 12:00 -4:00 p.m.
Tue, 05/07/2024

Class of 2024 graduation event details (Opens in new window)

On Friday, May 10, the KU School of Architecture & Design will host three events to recognize our 2024 graduates. KU’s university-wide Commencement ceremony on the Hill will take place on Sunday, May 12.
Mon, 04/22/2024

KU architecture students are building a small house with big ambitions

Dirt Works Studio, an academic design-build studio at the University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design, has designed and is currently building Phoenix House, a small, solar-powered house designed to assist members of the Lawrence community in transitioning from houselessness to a secure home.
Mon, 04/22/2024

BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group unveils new light-filled studio building for the KU School of Architecture & Design (Opens in new window)

BIG, in collaboration with BNIM and the University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design, has envisioned a hub for learning and collaborative discovery in the heart of the historic KU campus.

Media Contacts

Dan Rolf

Director, Communications & Hatch Center School of Architecture & Design