Design Building 1, KSU Marietta

Design Building 1 was constructed in 1961. Design Building 1 is one of the campus’s original mid-century modern style buildings designed by R. Tapp Jr. and David O. Savini. Design 1 Building is 35,027 gross square footage. Design 1 Building houses collaborative and shared spaces for all departments within the College of Architecture and Construction Management. The first floor of Design 1 includes the Albion Student Success Headquarters, four shared College of Architecture and Construction Management (CACM) Computer Lab classrooms, two open Jury Rooms, and a dedicated Construction Management Research Lab. The Albion Student Success Headquarters contains the Office of Student Success and Accreditation, two Academic Advising suites of five offices, a resource center for students, a multi-use collaborative event space, and twenty four hour computer lab for CACM students. The second floor of the Design 1 Building provides space for ten academic studios, a student lounge and resource area, Architecture Department and Construction Management Department faculty offices, and staff offices.

In 1961 Southern Technical Institute (STI) moved from Chamblee to Marietta. The move and building project were made possible by Governor Marvin Griffin, who provided two million dollars of surplus funds from the state. The initial building complex had a budget of $ 1,925,000.

Design Building 1 (originally the Drawing Building) is one of the original eight buildings constructed as part of the establishment of STI on the Marietta campus in 1961. Design Building 1 is two stories and was originally 14,500 gross square feet. The Drawing Building was situated on the hillside below the electrical building. This building. Like all the original buildings on the Marietta campus, was designed by William R. Tapp Jr. and David O. Savini, both graduates of Georgia Tech. The campus’s original buildings were designed in a mid-century modern style. Emphasis was placed on modernist principles and functionality rather than ornamentation. It is constructed with a concrete structural frame that is infilled with cement block and clad with red brick masonry.

Design Building 1 has the architectural character of the historic core of the campus. Design Building 1 was originally called the Drawing Building Unit, was also listed as Building 5 in the STI catalog. Over the years Design Building 1 has also been known as the Drawing building, Architectural and Civil Engineering Building, and Building I and Building I1 throughout the years. Design Building 1 was for B.C (Bachelor of Civil) and engineering drawing. Design Building 1 contained classrooms, laboratories, drafting rooms, and faculty offices for the drawing, Civil and Building Construction Departments. The original buildings were designed to take advantage of views of the Atlanta skyline to the south and Kennesaw Mountain to the north. Upon its opening students and faculty were impressed with its uniformed heating system, better-arranged lab space, and facilities for photographic equipment including a dark room. The glass and windows created a positive atmosphere for students. At the time that STI was founded, drafting and graphic communication were considered integral in maintaining technical excellence in competition with other world powers. During STI’s annual Tech Fest Building I would host the demonstration of the role of computer-aided design in architectural education and practice. Building I would host a workshop by Dick Blick Architects and that gave children a chance to become city planners and build a fictional city. This was very important to community outreach. Over the years Design 1 has been used for the Architecture Engineering Technology Department, Civil Engineering Technology Department, and the Construction Management Department. In 2010 the building was renovated as part of a larger project that included the construction of the adjacent Design 2 building. The windows were replaced; however, much attention was paid to maintaining the building’s original modern aesthetic and character.

Currently Design 1 Building now has a total building gross square footage of 35,027. Design Building 1 houses studios for the first-year architecture students and participants of the English, Technical Communications and Media Arts Program. Design one also contains the faculty offices for Architecture and Construction Management, The Albion Student Success Headquarters, the MediaScape lab, the Construction Management Technology Lab, and Collaborative Office for research funded by external sources. Moreover, the building boasts a small wood shop, a computer lab, a print shop, and a distinctive glass-encased Information Technology port called the "Crystal Closet." This innovative enclosure serves as a home to department and university servers, showcasing the technology that drives our digital age.

Lord, Aeck & Sargent. Campus Historic Preservation Plan for Southern Polytechnic State University. Atlanta, GA. Historic Preservation Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, 2013.

Marietta Campus Interactive Map, Kennesaw State University. Accessed May 18th, 2023. https://maps.kennesaw.edu.

Facilities and Labs, Kennesaw State University. Accessed May 24th, 2023. https://www.kennesaw.edu/cacm/about/facilities-labs/.

“New Buildings Occupied by Faculty and Students.” The Technician, December 1st, 1961.

Bennett, Richard A. "The History." Kennesaw State University.