This collection includes correspondence, memoranda, archived web content, and instructional materials generated by the School of Architecture, as well as records generated by the Urban Design Program.
The School of Architecture was an original component of North Carolina State University's College of Design, known at its founding in 1948 as the School of Architecture and Landscape Design. Before the Department of Architecture existed, North Carolina State College offered first a Bachelor of Architectural Engineering degree, and later, an Architecture degree, through the School of Engineering. In 1946, the board of trustees of the Consolidated University of North Carolina approved a School of Architecture and Landscape Design for State College in response to the post-World War II building boom. In 1948, the search committee hired Henry L. Kamphoefner, a University of Oklahoma architecture professor, to head the new school. Under Dean Kamphoefner, the Department of Architecture within the School of Design, as it soon came to be called, exerted broad influence on architectural design in North Carolina and the wider Southeast. In the 1960s, as architectural education began to focus more on urban and community design, the Department of Architecture established the Urban Design Program as a joint academic program with the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name of the Department of Architecture changed to the School of Architecture in 2000, when the School of Design became the College of Design.
The School of Architecture was an original component of North Carolina State University's College of Design, known at its founding in 1948 as the School of Architecture and Landscape Design. Before the Department of Architecture existed, North Carolina State College offered a Bachelor of Architectural Engineering degree through the School of Engineering, beginning in the 1920-1921 school year. In 1927, Architectural Engineering became a department within the School of Engineering. This department's name changed to the Department of Architecture and Architectural Engineering in 1940, and it added a Bachelor of Architecture degree in the 1940-1941 school year. In 1946, the board of trustees of the Consolidated University of North Carolina approved a School of Architecture and Landscape Design for State College in response to the post-World War II building boom. In 1948, the search committee hired Henry L. Kamphoefner, a University of Oklahoma architecture professor, to head the new school. Kamphoefner brought several faculty members with him to North Carolina State College, including George Matsumoto, James Fitzgibbon, and Duncan Stuart.
Under Dean Kamphoefner, the Department of Architecture within the School of Design, as it soon came to be called, exerted broad influence on architectural design in North Carolina and the wider Southeast. Kamphoefner's push to adopt the "School of Design" name, because "Architecture is a function of design-not the other way around," reflects the broad influence he and others sought in the education of State College's architecture students. In the School of Design's early years, prominent designers and theorists, as well as architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe, Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer, Charles Eames, and Louis Kahn lectured at the school. The Department of Architecture received accreditation in 1950. The students soon began to win major awards, including the Prix de Rome, Paris prizes, Guggenheim fellowships, and Fulbright scholarships, and the school quickly developed an international reputation for experimentation with architectural structures.
In the 1960s, as architectural education began to focus more on urban and community design, the Department of Architecture established the Urban Design Program as a joint academic program with the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This program, founded by Peter Batchelor in 1968, educated students in urban design by drawing on the resources of both universities and provided a means for the School of Design to contribute to projects in the wider community. The Department of Architecture discontinued its Master of Urban Design degree in 1984 but continued to offer courses in this area.
The academic degrees offered by the Department of Architecture have changed over time. The department offered a five-year bachelor's degree in Architecture originally, then added a Master of Architecture degree in 1969. The department phased out the bachelor's degree in 1972 and reestablished it in 1982. The Department of Architecture changed its name to the School of Architecture in 2000, when the School of Design became the College of Design.
This subgroup contains correspondence, memoranda, and archived web content, instructional materials generated by the School of Architecture, as well as records from the Urban Design Program.
This collection is arranged in four series: General Records, Instructional Materials, Urban Design Program, and Web Content.
The NC State University Libraries generally claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. Libraries staff are unable to advise on copyright and other legal matters; the user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Helpful resources for assessing copyright include Cornell Libraries' "Copyright Services: Copyright Term and the Public Domain" and copyright.gov. This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information about identifiable living individuals, which may be protected under federal or state laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that there may be legal ramifications for disclosing this information.
The University Archives operates in accordance with the State Public Records Act, with unrestricted access to records not covered by state and federal statutes and regulations.
[Identification of item], North Carolina State University, College of Design, School of Architecture Records, UA 110.015, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC
Transferred from School of Architecture.
Web content harvested using the Internet Archive's Archive-It services.
Encoded by Steve Mandeville-Gamble, 2006
Finding aid revised by Karen Paar, 2007
Web content processed and finding aid updated by Gevorg Vardanyan, 2023 June
Web content processed and finding aid updated by Kate Phillips, 2025 December
Finding aid updated by Ella Mayfield, 2026 July
The collection is organized into four principal series:
This series includes materials from John Loss's term as Program Director of the Department of Architecture. These files include documents related to John Tector's service in the department; agendas, notes, and other supporting documents for faculty meetings; and memoranda.
1 box
This series consists of assignments for Department of Architecture classes, arranged by course number. Some of the instructors whose design problems appear here are Horacio Caminos, Eduardo Catalano, Henry Kamphoefner, and George Matsumoto.
1 box
This series consists of materials created and collected by the Urban Design Program within the School of Design. These files include general Department of Architecture documents; a faculty grant proposal for an Urban Landscape Design project; correspondence, memoranda, and supporting documents pertaining to projects and functions of the Urban Design Program; and Urban Design curriculum information and instructional materials. This series also contains correspondence, proposals, promotional materials, reports, and supporting documents related to the UNC-NC State University Joint Committee on Urban Design for the years 1968 to 1972.
2 boxes
This series is comprised of the web site of North Carolina State University's College of Design, School of Architecture Records, captured by the NC State University Libraries since September 2015 using the Internet Archive’s Archive-It web archiving service, with prior captures by the Internet Archive dating back to 2003, which may be less complete and was performed at undetermined intervals.
This is the official website of College of Design's School of Architecture at NC State. The NC State University Libraries has scheduled this website to be captured quarterly since September 2015 until December 2025. The site is now hosted and captured at the URL https://design.ncsu.edu/architecture/ and began redirecting in 2021. Also included here are prior captures by the Internet Archive dating back to December 2013, which may be less complete and performed at undetermined intervals.
Online access is provided through the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.
This is the official website for the School of Architecture at NC State University. The NC State University Libraries has captured this website quarterly since December 2025. The site was previously captured using the URL https://design.ncsu.edu/academics/architecture/, which began redirecting in 2021. Also included are prior captures by the Internet Archive, beginning in 2003, which may be less complete and performed at undetermined intervals.
Online access is provided through the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.
This collection is open for research; access requires at least 48 hours advance notice. Because of the nature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access to digital files may require additional advanced notice.
For more information contact us via mail, phone, or our web form.
Mailing address:
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Box 7111
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Phone: (919) 515-2273
[Identification of item], North Carolina State University, College of Design, School of Architecture Records, UA 110.015, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC
The NC State University Libraries generally claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. Libraries staff are unable to advise on copyright and other legal matters; the user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Helpful resources for assessing copyright include Cornell Libraries' "Copyright Services: Copyright Term and the Public Domain" and copyright.gov. This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information about identifiable living individuals, which may be protected under federal or state laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that there may be legal ramifications for disclosing this information.
The University Archives operates in accordance with the State Public Records Act, with unrestricted access to records not covered by state and federal statutes and regulations.