Author: College of Design

Carolina Dwelling: Towards Preservation of Place: In Celebration of the North Carolina Vernacular Landscape (Download PDF) Carolina Dwelling is a collection of essays that describe, analyze, trace the history and suggest the possible meanings of various features of the North Carolina vernacular landscape. The book's purpose is to provide a basis for collective reflection upon both the particularity and the process recorded in that landscape. The book was incited by a felt need to tend to what is here. This book's ultimate goal is the conservation of things and buildings and places . It seems appropriate at the beginning of such a book to inquire why we should be interested in the conservation of buildings and things and places, especially in an age so characteristically devoted to growth and change and bigness that an urge to conserve anything would seem to be both ethically and intellectually irrational.  ...

Projections (Download PDF) Volume 25 is a collection of articles and opinions which project a complete statement of the possibilities and potentialities for the future of design. This statement also represents a variety of roles that designers may play as agents and makers concerned with environmental design. Ultimately this statement deals with the purpose of design and the corresponding motives of designers. Contributors: Shun Kanda, John Reuer, Richard Wilkinson, John Tector, Denis Wood, Edwin F. Harris, Vernon Shogren...

Patterns (Download PDF) (excerpted from the introduction) Pattern, structural or applied, functions as a visual element enriching surface and form . Whether sophisticated mathematical configuration or loosely designed primitive crafts, pattern is structure composed of an image or motif repeated in a specific order. Repetition implies order and system, lending itself easily to mass production. The designer must be aware of the unique possibilities and limitations of mechanical systems of pattern production whether they involve fabric forming, printing, moulding, cutting, or a number of other methods. Considerations must be made in terms of size, shape, position of repeating units, the form and area of the total product and, the axis and stability of construction. Properties of the materials to be used, and other variables such as the possible number of values, colors, or textures, must also be considered. Within each design situation, technical or handcrafted, the designer manipulates visual elements and must be aware of basic principles of pattern development and design. Contributors: Carolyn Nelson, Deborah J....

Designing the Method (Download PDF) (excerpted from the introduction) There is a growing realization of the need for new strategies to solve increasingly complex problems in the built environment. Rapid urbanization, accompanied by changes in goals, values, and technology, have resulted in changes in people's environmental needs and aspirations in such areas as education, housing, health , transportation, and recreation. In attempting to reconcile rapid growth, it has become apparent that solutions to architectural and planning problems, whether buildings, city blocks, or communities, should not be viewed as isolated physical objects; rather, they should be perceived as integral parts of an environmental system, with economic, social, and political ramifications. Viewing the built environment as a set of interrelated systems which provide for man's needs, it is evident that a change in one subsystem might modify elements of another subsystem, with unpredictable consequences. Nevertheless, the importance of considering this broader context is necessary when one subscribes to the view which integrates the built...

Issue 1: Projects (Download PDF) It has been several years since the Student Publication has presented work done in the School of Design; this issue, devoted to projects undertaken in the context of the School, attempts to sample current involvement. All of the contributors to Volume 19:1 have taught at the School; two are graduates as well. Their interests vary widely, from the conceptual study of environmental design by Vernon Shogren to an examination of perception by Russell Drake. Duncan Stuart and Fred Eichenberger explain and illustrate their process for t he mass production of unique items with offset lithography, while Gene Messick's inset folder reflects his experiments with intermedia. Together, these authors represent a port ion of t he activity of the School of Design; we hope that t his publication of their efforts will generate some interest in design-related disciplines. Issue 1 Contributors: Vernon Shogren, Russell Drake, Duncan Stuart, Fred Eichenberger, Gene Messick Issue 2: Design and Community (excerpted from the preface) Design and Community...