Studio Gang Completes New Home for the University of Kentucky’s College of Design

Studio Gang, the international architecture and urban design firm led by Jeanne Gang, today announced the completion of the Gray Design Building, which will serve as the new home of the University of Kentucky’s College of Design (CoD). The Studio, in partnership with architect of record K. Norman Berry Architects, reinvented the former tobacco warehouse as a contemporary environment for cross-disciplinary learning and creative collaboration. The building’s opening was formally celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony on September 20, 2024.

“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,” says 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 Gray Design Building was previously the Reynolds Building, which was built in 1917 and operated as a tobacco warehouse for over 40 years before being acquired by the University of Kentucky in 1959. The building initially housed several of the University’s art programs, which were moved to other facilities in 2014. After beginning its search for a new building in 1965, the CoD will finally house its four programs, in addition to landscape architecture and a biomedical engineering studio, in one location for the first time in its history.

Studio Gang, the international architecture and urban design firm led by Jeanne Gang, today announced the completion of the Gray Design Building, which will serve as the new home of the University of Kentucky’s College of Design (CoD). The Studio, in partnership with architect of record K. Norman Berry Architects, reinvented the former tobacco warehouse as a contemporary environment for cross-disciplinary learning and creative collaboration. The building’s opening was formally celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony on September 20, 2024.

“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,” says 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 Gray Design Building was previously the Reynolds Building, which was built in 1917 and operated as a tobacco warehouse for over 40 years before being acquired by the University of Kentucky in 1959. The building initially housed several of the University’s art programs, which were moved to other facilities in 2014. After beginning its search for a new building in 1965, the CoD will finally house its four programs, in addition to landscape architecture and a biomedical engineering studio, in one location for the first time in its history.