Design-Build Program

"Design-build changes the way students think about detail in their design, and it changes the way they draw." Scott Lawrence, Assistant Professor of Architecture

From conception to construction, students in our design-build program work with real clients on real-world projects — like the Hat Ranch Winery in Caldwell and the Moose Creek Warming Hut just north of Sandpoint.

In this dynamic, hands-on program, students learn what it takes to bring their designs to life. They also gather portfolio pieces that showcase designs that were actually built — by them. We work with non-profits and local businesses to positively impact Idaho’s communities because it’s our land grant mission to serve the state.

Design-build opportunities are available through a six-credit upper-division and graduate-level studio course and through the Idaho Architecture Collaborative — an internal organization of the architecture program, open to all students, aimed at incubating projects that wouldn’t be possible without some form of design assistance.