Leazar Hall, the building NC State’s design students know all too well. In this building is where first year design students start their design career, where some have creative breakthroughs and others cry. This is also the building where many all nighters are pulled and critiques dished out with no mercy. Nonetheless, I will be discussing the space and experience of Leazar Hall as well as the studio I am in specifically.

 

When you first approach Leazar Hall, the building is quite beautiful. The very symmetrical design, rows of large windows, the circular lights hanging from the front, the large brickyard in front of it, the gentle stairs leading to the doors. All of these qualities give Leazar a welcoming atmosphere and invite you in. Upon entering Leazar is an open area with printers, computers, and scanners. This area is often not well lit despite the large windows above and always came out as cramped and unorganized for me. The walls in this area are a bright white, which is very nice when the natural light from outside hits. Moving further in there are various studios, areas for critiques and pin ups, and hallways leading you further into the building. The floors in this area are quite uneven and mix match, with gray in the beginning then tile then gray cement once again. The lighting here is also not great, with only the lighting from the pin up boards and the dim lights above. The pin up boards are very useful in this space and when work is

displayed adds to the space itself. Here if you look up you can see the beams on the ceiling, which I personally do enjoy as it feels more open and exposed. There are stairs that wrap around the studios as well as some that go to the lower floor where the Materials Lab and Fabrics Lab are located. I have always loved the clean and modern feel of the stairs as they complement the exposed beams in the ceiling and add to the building itself. Moving into the studio there are large, wooden tables and chairs, couches that have never been cleaned, and various projects scattered about. There are dividers in each studio and the tile from the hallways of Leazar continues here. The lighting is very poor, with very little natural light and dim lighting from above. The ‘vibe’ of this space seemed to try to be open, collaborative, and welcoming however it was never that for me. The stairs wrapping around the outside can make you feel caged when people are walking above and looking down at you, it is very difficult at times to move around the various furniture, and the lighting is very dim. Instead this space is quite disorganized and reads as a more negative ‘vibe’ for me. I think the space could be improved with better lighting, better organization of furniture, and a different flooring. The color choices throughout Leazar I enjoy, as they are more neutral colors such as white and gray which match the building and the space. It can definitely be seen upon just walking in that Leazar is a design building, though I feel as though it could have been designed better. Overall I feel as though Leazar could be improved, whether it be the lighting, the flooring, or the studios themselves.