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. This two-semester advanced designbuild studio 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 design-build 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, and experiential learning opportunities that are anchored by 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 a Continuing Professional Education (CPE) opportunity for outside professionals as well.

Total Credit Hours Required for Completion: 12 

Eligible Courses: 
Studio 804: ARCH 803 Design-Build & Materiality I (6) + ARCH 804 Design-Build & Materiality II (6)
 

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
ARCH 803	Designbuild and Materiality I	6
ARCH 804	Designbuild and Materiality II	6

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

Applicants must formally apply for admission to the graduate certificate program and meet all admissions requirements for certificate-seeking graduate admission as defined by the University's policy on Admission to Graduate Study.

At the completion of this program, students will be able to: 

• Understand the role of the design process in shaping the built environment and conveys the methods by which design processes integrate multiple factors in different settings and scales of development, from buildings to cities.
• Understand the fundamental principles of life safety, land use, and current laws and regulations that apply to buildings and sites in the United States, and the evaluative process architects use to comply with those laws and regulations as part of a project.
• Understand the established and emerging systems, technologies, and assemblies of building construction, and the methods and criteria architects use to assess those technologies against the design, economics, and performance objectives of projects.