UK Gray Design Building officially opens, creating collaborative space for students, faculty

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 20, 2024) — On Friday, the University of Kentucky College of Design (CoD) held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the Gray Design Building.

Previously the Reynolds Building — a former tobacco warehouse that has been empty for several years — the renovated building focuses on collaboration for the college’s students.

“The Gray Design Building is designed to foster community and stimulate collaboration among several disciplines, because we know that some of the best ideas come from unexpected moments when thinkers and creators from different vantage points and perspectives can simply dream in the same space together,” said UK President Eli Capilouto. “Our design faculty inspire through experience and prestige and our learners bring with them new ways of thinking about creative and artistic opportunities to advance Kentucky.”

The new facility houses CoD’s four programs, in addition to landscape architecture, creating the first space where all design students, faculty, staff and programs will be housed in one location. 

“Having our students together in one building allows them to learn from and observe each other’s work — this is especially valuable for students from different majors,” said CoD Dean Ned Crankshaw. “It also allows for more faculty interaction and opens the door for curriculum collaboration. We know that the best way to make innovation happen is to put people together. The more diverse they are, the more innovation happens.”

New to the 132,000 square foot repurposed building are open studio spaces, collaboration spaces, student work areas and state-of-the-art technology including a fabrication lab with a wood shop, 3D printers, a 3D knitting machine and more.

“It is not very often that one is presented with the opportunity to be among the first generation of students, faculty and staff to occupy a newly repurposed space,” said Mariana Mesa Castillo, a UK senior architecture major. “It is not just the aesthetics or advanced facilities…it is the people who are responsible for bringing this space to life. Luckily for us students, this building is filled with people that have chosen to dedicate their lives to teaching, advising, guiding and training us to become the best version of ourselves as we prepare to be sent into the real world.”

Designed by internationally renowned architecture and urban practice Studio Gang, the project represents one of the most significant examples on the UK campus of “adaptive reuse” — an approach to architecture that creatively repurposes existing buildings for new purposes.

“Extending the lifespan of existing buildings is one of the most significant ways we can limit our impact on the environment and broaden the creative potential of architecture,” said Jeanne Gang, founding partner of Studio Gang. “Our goal was to bridge the building’s past and future by preserving its distinct character while renewing it as a place where creativity can thrive through collaboration. I look forward to seeing how students and faculty use the building to push and blur the boundaries of their disciplines.”

The building transformation was made possible by a gift of $5.25 million from Gray Inc., which includes companies related to engineering, design, construction, automation, equipment manufacturing and real estate and members of the Gray family. The family has deep roots in Lexington and the Commonwealth and is recognized as an industry leader in design-build. Part of the Gray gift includes a portion dedicated to a design-build program within the School of Architecture.

“The Gray investment in both the building project and the curriculum is an investment in the next generation of designers and builders,” said Dowell Hoskins, P.E., president, Gray AE (Architects and Engineers). “We’re certain the students who will study here will be the leaders, thinkers and change-makers of tomorrow, and we are so proud to play a role in supporting their journeys.”

In addition to the Gray gift, the transformation was supported by a collaborative effort of more than 75 gifts to date, ranging from studio desk sponsorships to the naming of major spaces.

Learn more about the CoD at https://design.uky.edu/

About Studio Gang

Founded and led by MacArthur Fellow Jeanne Gang, Studio Gang is an architecture and urban design practice based in Chicago, San Francisco, New York and Paris. Driven by an ethos of “actionable idealism,” the Studio uses an iterative, research-based design process to create places that build stronger relationships among people, communities and the natural world.

Studio Gang’s diverse portfolio ranges from cultural centers to strategic framework plans to high-rise towers. Notable among these are the reimagined Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in Little Rock; the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership in Kalamazoo, Michigan; and the recently completed Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, which the New York Times called “a poetic, joyful, theatrical work of public architecture.”

In addition, Studio Gang is currently designing civic, cultural and educational projects across Europe and the Americas, including the new United States Embassy in Brasilia, the University of Chicago’s European hub for study and research in Paris; a sustainability commons for Stanford University in Palo Alto; and an expansion of the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock.

Regularly named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Architecture Companies, Studio Gang has been internationally honored, published and exhibited. The studio’s most recent monograph, "Studio Gang: Architecture" was published by Phaidon in both French (2021) and English (2020) editions.

About Gray

Gray is consistently ranked among the top construction and engineering firms in the U.S. focusing on the following markets for domestic and international customers: Food & Beverage, Manufacturing, Data Centers, Advanced Technology, Distribution and Commercial.

Founded in 1960, the company has grown to offer engineering, design, construction and automation capabilities, enabling it to deliver products and services of the highest value to the world’s leading organizations. 

For more information on Gray, visit gray.com and follow Gray on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.