The University Design Center faculty members and students work closely with businesses, corporations and universities across the country to provide and document the experiences of research, design, and space planning. These entities benefit from our faculty expertise and student motivation as we tackle real-world design challenges, as a basis for informing the clients and the broader design community.
We believe good design extends beyond the physical elements of space; good design yields broadly-based value – it shapes our lives, influences our behaviors and interactions, and produces measurable benefits in energy use, human comfort, wellness and capital assessment. We provide pre-design and design services that are practical, memorable, and effective for our participating clients.
Our projects are assigned to knowledgeable faculty members and energetic students. Each team provides the clients with Design and/or Evaluation documentation; including written reports, descriptive illustrations and experiential images, appropriate to the project's needs.
“It was a great pleasure to work with Sarah Angne Alfaro and Sara Rokosz on our projection for the future of our foyer, etc. It definitely was a rewarding experience and exceeded my expectations. I want to complement you and Sara Rokosz for operating with tact, consideration, thoughtfulness and excellence. Also, you kept to the schedule. I never had to worry about timing, it all went according to the preplanned dates. The design suggestions have excited the folks here at the church. Come back later to see the finished product.
I believe Sara has a great future in her career and pray for her great success.”
Rick Bowen
Pastor @ Victory Temple
"I had the pleasure of working with several University Design Center students and their faculty this past academic year. This collaborative process to re-imagine an existing K-12 middle school building into a Theater and Dance educational facility brought together students, faculty, stakeholders and design professionals. The process provided students an opportunity to work through a programming phase of a renovation project. The process confirmed how important the development of programming is to design decision making, and meeting the client’s needs now and beyond. The analysis, research and excellent final product is a testimonial to the quality of students and faculty we have at Ball State University."
James W. Lowe, PE
Associate Vice President
Facilities Planning and Management
"Working with the College of Architecture and Planning students as part of the University Design Center was a highlight for myself and the faculty of theatre and dance in 2019-2020. The students and their faculty mentors were dedicated, invested, and committed to being true partners in the collaborative process. They took great pains to understand the historic spatial challenges we face in theatre and dance. The final designs that were presented showed a level of inventiveness, specificity, design integrity, and creativity that was at a level I would normally expect from seasoned professionals. I would highly recommend this program, faculty, and students to anyone."
Bill Jenkins
Chair and Professor
Department of Theatre and Dance
Ball State University