Hazel Lowe

HEARTH & HORIZON This proposal reimagines the Design Library at North Carolina State University’s Brooks Hall as a house — a place of belonging, ritual, and collective identity — reflecting how the design campus becomes a second home for its students. The library program is reorganized into familiar domestic zones to strengthen connection and creativity. At its center, the “living room” becomes the hearth of the building: an open, welcoming floor plan where collections and gathering spaces intertwine, reconnecting students with the NC State collection and positioning knowledge as the social core of the community. On the ground floor, the “kitchen” functions as a makerspace and lab environment where ideas move from concept to construction. This active zone opens directly to an outdoor work yard, reinforcing hands-on experimentation and collaboration. Above, the “bedroom” level provides quieter, private offices that support focus, mentorship, and reflection. Completing the house, the “backyard” is realized as an accessible green roof — a shared horizon overlooking the Design Courtyard and neighboring Pullen Park — offering students a moment of pause and perspective within their creative home.