History A Legacy of Wow
Estabrook Hall. The Siena trip. The Hair. Louis Kahn in 1974. James Stirling in 1976. TAAST. Graphic Design.
If you studied architecture at UT in the 1970s, you attended when the New School of Architecture found its stride. Established in 1965 under the direction of Dean Bill Lacy, the UT architecture program created a legacy of progressive design that stands today.
Said Barry Yoakum, FAIA, a ’74 alumnus: “UT taught me perseverance, how to talk about my ideas, how to lobby for my vision, and to not take ‘no’ for an answer. It allowed me to grow into the designer I would one day become.”
The ’60s and ’70s were an era that reaped success to its graduates; its alumni have designed award-winning work around the globe. They stood on the shoulders of those who came before and strengthened the foundation for those who came after.
Our History
- Founded in 1965 as the New School of Architecture, the UT College of Architecture and Design is now comprised of the schools of Architecture, Design, Interior Architecture and Landscape Architecture.
- In 1997, the School of Interior Architecture joined the college as the School of Interior Design.
- In 1999, the college changed its name to the College of Architecture and Design.
- In partnership with the Herbert College of Agriculture, the college established the School of Landscape Architecture in 2008.
- The college’s first home was Estabrook Hall located near Neyland Stadium.
- In 1991, a formal partnership between the our college and Krakow University in Poland was established, making this study abroad program the longest running in the college. By 2017, more than 500 students have studied abroad at Krakow. In all, students have studied in more than 15 countries.
- In 1981, the college moved to its current location in the Art + Architecture Building, an award-winning structure designed by alumnus Doug McCarty and his father, legendary Knoxville modernist Bruce McCarty, of McCarty Holsaple McCarty Architects and Interior Designers.
- The Fab Lab building in downtown Knoxville was purchased in 2013, and only a few months later, the college opened the Fab Lab, a 20,000-square-foot maker space equipped with advanced technology for students and faculty.
- The first lecture funded by the Robert B. Church Memorial Lecture fund was held in 1974, and through 2017, close to 300 leading designers have lectured in the college and community.
- In 2016, the college’s Design/Build Program was named one of the Top 7 in the country by Study Architecture. Since 1976, the program has offered students experience-learning opportunities.
- The college celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015-2016 with opportunities for alumni to gather, a lecture by Pritzker Prize-winner Thom Mayne, Morphosis, and a festive gala.
- In fall 2019, Graphic Design joined the college, bringing a design perspective to enlighten and challenge students
- Read more about our history in Spatial Pedagogy (PDF), a retrospective created by Elizabeth Cagle.
University of Tennessee History
- The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, was founded in Knoxville as Blount College in 1794. It was renamed the University of Tennessee in 1879.
- In 1862, the Morrill Act was signed by President Abraham Lincoln. The Civil War prevented UT from being eligible for land-grant funds until 1867. In 1869, Tennessee’s legislature designated UT—known as East Tennessee University at the time—as the state’s land-grant institution, allowing the university to grow and expand.
- Shields-Watkins Field, the predecessor to Neyland Stadium, was constructed in 1921 and included on grandstand–the Original West Stands.
- Women were officially admitted for the first time in 1887.
- In the 1960s, The Rock on UT’s campus was unearthed.
- UT Knoxville is the flagship and largest entity of the UT System, which is governed by a 26-member Board of Trustees.
- School colors: Orange and white
- Alma Mater: “On a Hallowed Hill“; other UT songs
- Mascot: Smokey, a bluetick coonhound