Katelyn Thomas, a rising junior at the Anderson University School of Interior Design, immersed herself in classical architecture in Midtown Manhattan over the summer, learning from a faculty of seasoned design and architecture professionals while drinking in the world-class architecture of the city.
She took part in the Summer Studio in Classical Architecture, an intensive four weeks devoted to foundational architectural concepts.
Thomas and approximately 30 design and architecture students from across the country—and a student from Singapore—balanced theory with hands-on work consisting of hand-drafting technique sessions.
Thomas and her classmates did research and design work to create an urban park pavilion in Brooklyn, involving the production of detailed drawings of the pavilion site, floorplan, and elevations.
As the sessions began, she recalls that they were given 10 questions describing intricate details of the project that would encompass everything they learned. They would have to plan out every dimension and design feature from floor to ceiling and from foundation to roof, what materials would be used and how the surrounding ground would be landscaped.
“Everybody at the beginning was lost and had no clue how to go about this,” Thomas recalled, “But going through the program and learning and the specific steps that we did made it so that by week three, when we were starting to draft our project, we knew what we were doing and what we weren’t doing. And then on the final day when we presented our projects, we answered all 10 questions.”
Thomas describes her experience as one of learning the language of classical architecture—a vocabulary devoted to the nomenclature behind design work.
“We did block-out drawings of all five orders to establish scale and proportion, then went order-by-order in depth—Tuscan, Doric and Ionic that first week, with Corinthian and Composite coming later,” she said, adding that they broke down each order into its core parts and drew each one to scale.
“We learned about proportion and exact measurement,” Thomas said. “It was so precise.”
The Summer Studio in Classical Architecture also involved traveling to Bryant Park, McGolrick Park Pavilion, and Union Square Pavilion for field drawing sessions. There were also site visits and visits to New York firms.
“The Anderson University School of Interior Design has been exceedingly fortunate to have multiple students accepted into the very competitive Institute of Classical Architecture and Art (ICAA) Summer Institute over the years,” said School of Interior Design Dean Anne Martin. “Katleyn’s self-directed initiative in securing this opportunity speaks to her stellar quest for excellence in interior design, historic preservation and architecture.”
Architecture has inspired Thomas for most of her life. Her mother loved design and was always talking about it. When her father began buying properties and remodeling them, Thomas was immersed early into the world of architecture and design. She did her last two years of high school online, allowing her to spend a lot of time learning about remodeling and design. She was further inspired by a family friend who is an interior designer.
“She let me go to the High Point Market with her,” Thomas recalls. “Seeing the designers there working on projects for their clients was fascinating.”
When Thomas was seeking further study in Interior Design, she was attracted to Anderson University’s Pillar of Great Academics, evidenced by the School of Interior Design’s hands-on approach and their greater emphasis on architecture than other programs.
As Thomas enters her junior year at Anderson, she will be transitioning from residential to commercial design. After graduation, she plans to enter a master’s program. She already feels that her experience with The Summer Studio in Classical Architecture and intensive training in the Anderson University School of Interior Design will help her stand out on her résumé as she prepares to become an architectural designer.