In Wake County, N.C., the Wake County Division of Human Services funded a project for the North Carolina State University School of Architecture graduate students and faculty. The Wake County Affordable Housing Project deals with housing in the county and the best ways to accomplish affordable housing. Models presented illustrations of affordable housing with concepts such as environmentally friendly, mixed use and mixed income included. Design workshops in study towns helped to focus on which ideas were most important.
As part of an architecture studio class, 14 School of Architecture students put together a bathhouse for migrant workers in Sampson County, N.C. Students made use of questionnaires for the migrant workers in order to better understand what their needs were concerning the project. The bathhouse is double its original size. Recycled materials factor into the bathhouse; bathroom flooring comes from road signs of the Department of Transportation and plastic cotton barrels for the roof.
An area behind Syme Residence Hall was without plants and became muddy after rain. Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture Andrew Fox brought his concern about the issue to students. The idea of filtering rainwater before it goes back into the water table was chosen as the best way to proceed. Students added plants to the area that feature deep roots, in addition to a cistern that filters rainwater. In the cistern, water goes through several layers of mulch, sand, soil and glass beads. This system allows slow runoff of water by stopping the loss of dirt.
Graduate students from the School of Architecture worked on Stone's Redevelopment Project, which received funding from the City of Raleigh Department of City Planning. Experts in the field of housing also provided help on the project. The findings were presented to the public, in addition to a report given to the city. An exhibition of design models showed the public the best of the students' ideas.
A myth exists that the circular building Harrelson Hall on the campus of North Carolina State University was built by students from the School of Architecture. This is untrue. The building was in fact designed by Edward Waugh in 1961. Waugh taught at the college from the late 1940s to the early 1950s but was never a student at North Carolina State University.