University of Kentucky College of Design

Repost from UK Office of Undergraduate Research: ♻️ 2026 Sustainability Summer Research Fellow Spotlight MEET AYUSMA KARKI Ayusma is a sophomore in Architecture. As one of six UK undergraduates selected for the 2026 Sustainability Summer Research Fellowship, Ayusma will be spending the summer conducting research under Leen Katrib in the College of Design's Department of Architecture. Project Title: "A Material Investigation into Kudzu as a Building Material for Post-Disaster Shelters"

How can design honor the past while shaping what comes next? 🧐 This semester, UK architecture and University of Kentucky Department of Landscape Architecture students partnered with Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill to explore that question through real-world design proposals. Their work spanned landscape access, ecological stewardship, adaptive reuse, communal housing and visitor experience, showing how design can support preservation, public access and daily life within one of Kentucky’s most significant cultural landscapes. 🌿����️ Read the full story at https://lnkd.in/eSKbbyQ5. -------- Photo 1: May 2026 landscape architecture graduate Anna Melchers presents her capstone project to Thomas Woltz at The Architectural Symposium at Shaker Village. Photo by Christina Wilson. Photos 2-3: Tate Harberson’s schematic design, map of the North Lot Dwelling and rendering of an outdoor patio space from his capstone project, “A View for All.” Photos provided. Photos 4-5: Ethan Smith’s model for his architecture studio project, “Post-Shakerism: South Dwelling Seasonal Employee Housing.” Photos provided. University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment

Congratulations to May 2026 product design and Lewis Honors College grad Apirada Chetawatee, whose research was published in the third edition of Aperture Journal of Undergraduate Research, UK’s open-access, peer- and expert-reviewed undergraduate research journal. 🔍 📚 Apirada worked with product design faculty mentor Kristi Bartlett on “Closing the Loop: A Second Life for Ricebag Packaging,” a project that reflects the power of design research to reimagine materials, reduce waste and create more sustainable futures. ♻️ 👜 Read more about the project in the latest edition of Aperture at https://lnkd.in/e8J3HPts.

School’s out, but the Hop never stops. 🎨 Join us TOMORROW, May 15, from 5-8 p.m. in the Gray Design Building Gallery for Making Sense, a student work exhibition featured as part of the LexArts Hop presented by VisitLEX. Stop by, explore the show and celebrate the creativity of our students as we kick off summer with one more night of art, design and community. 📍 Gray Design Building Gallery 🗓 Friday, May 15 ⏰ 5-8 p.m.

After a year of incredible internship experiences, I was excited to return to the University of Kentucky this semester. Along with returning to my courses, I had the incredible opportunity to become part of an interdisciplinary research collaboration between the University of Kentucky College of Design and the University of Kentucky Pigman College of Engineering . This semester, I have been working on digital knitting techniques of advanced materials for thermal protective systems. This project that has easily been one of the highlights of my academic journey so far. I’m especially grateful for the opportunity to work alongside Professor Jennifer Meakins and Ashley Grace Geary, whose collaboration has taught me so much about textile engineering, interdisciplinary partnerships, and the critical role design plays within STEM. I’m incredibly thankful for this experience and I’m excited to continue expanding on this work when I return in the fall after my summer internship.

🎓 Caps off to the Class of 2026. Today, we celebrate the designers, makers, thinkers and future changemakers who shaped the College of Design with their creativity, curiosity and care these last few years. From late nights in studio to community partnerships, research, exhibitions and design-build projects across the Commonwealth, your impact is already being felt far beyond the classroom. Congratulations to our graduates! We can’t wait to see where your work takes you next. 💙

"Making Sense" opens TOMORROW 👀 This end-of-year exhibition brings together student work that explores how design shapes (and is shaped by) the ways we experience the world. From tactile materials to sensory-driven thinking, the work invites us to reconsider how we perceive, process and create. 📍 Gray Design Building 🗓 Opening Reception: Thursday, May 7, 4-6 p.m. 🔗 Read more at https://lnkd.in/eZMURNS2.

From first-gen student to future architect 👏🎓 In our latest UKNow spotlight, May 2026 graduate Kauner Shacklette shares how he carved his own path and found purpose, mentorship and opportunity along the way. From his experience in College of Design and time as a Gaines Center for the Humanities Fellow, to UK Education Abroad programs across Europe and Ethiopia and mentorship through the Lewis Honors College, Shacklette reflects on the people and programs that helped shape his journey. Read his story: https://lnkd.in/e_GJTNaX Photo by Ella Porter.

There are a lot of reasons to be smiling in the College of Design this week as the semester wraps up: projects finished, milestones reached and another incredible year in the books. 😄 And if you’re an admitted student… this could be you. Confirm your spot in the College of Design by the end of day tomorrow, May 1 and get ready to join a community that works hard, creates boldly and celebrates every step along the way. 🎉 Sign up for your Big Blue Nation Orientation to confirm your spot at https://lnkd.in/e2HKR_ga.