For Kevin Shankwiler, senior lecturer and undergraduate program coordinator for the School of Industrial Design, the Design Show is the highlight of the year.

“This is our biggest event. It’s an incredible show of student work,” Shankwiler said. “What I hope people take away—especially families—is just how much these students have accomplished. And for outside visitors, I want them to see the creativity, the technical skill, and the thought process that sets Georgia Tech apart.”

From smart textiles to interactive lighting, the projects spanned design disciplines with ease. The School of Industrial Design’s close integration with engineering and computing was on full display—many students created fully functional prototypes that responded to user needs in real time.

“You can feel the pride on their faces,” Shankwiler said. “It’s a moment of: ‘Yeah, I did this. I made it. And now you get to see it.’”

Second-year Industrial Design student Anna Junkin created a hand-stitched lamp specifically designed to help night-shift workers produce melatonin and protect their circadian rhythms.

“I read research papers from Georgia Tech and Harvard, then I designed something based on the science,” she explained. “I hope people see that even as students, we can make meaningful tools. We’re just kids making cool stuff—but it’s stuff that can help people.”

Another second-year student, Ava Herrmann, dove into the world of film production to design a sci-fi lamp for makeup artists on set. “I normally don’t work with reflective materials, so this was a challenge,” she said. “I really pushed myself. I don’t think I would’ve made something like this two years ago.”

Jyotsna Bhagera built a motion-responsive rehab system to help prevent re-injury for patients in physical therapy. “The system gives feedback in real time—whether you’re moving too fast, or need to adjust your form,” she said. “It’s not just about technology, but about healing.”

Each project carried a level of research, reflection, and experimentation far beyond what one might expect from undergraduates. And that was exactly the point.

“Everything we do is about making informed decisions,” Bhagera said. “We do deep research—psychology, user behavior, everything. It’s not just about aesthetics.”

As guests wandered through the Architecture building, a different kind of energy took hold—one rooted in deep thinking, emotion, and creative ambition. The final projects on display didn’t just showcase technical skills; they told stories, captured moments, and offered glimpses of futures imagined by their creators.

Tiffany Lin, a Master of Architecture student, explored how architectural poche—or spatial thickness—could shape light and experience in a rammed earth retreat along the Camino de Santiago.

“I wanted to explore the collision of programs and the way different spaces interact dynamically,” she said. “This project helped me embrace simplicity as a design strength rather than a limitation.”

Lin’s project used chimney-like forms as “beacons of time and experience,” subtly framing the site’s rolling hills. “I hope people leave with questions. I want them to wonder why these volumes intersect the way they do—what they reveal about program, material, and experience.”

Reflecting on her design journey at Georgia Tech, Lin added, “Embracing simplicity not as a limitation but as a strength helped me reconnect with the fundamentals of spatial experience, material presence, and intention.”

Andres Troncoso, also a Master of Architecture student, designed a secular retreat that blended seamlessly into the Camino landscape, guided by the sensory richness of sound and material.

“I wanted to enhance moments where other senses—like hearing—could influence experience,” he explained. “The toll of a bell, the flow of water through a meditation space—it’s all about how light and sound create architecture.”

He credits his growth as a designer to physical model-making throughout the process. “There wasn’t a week without a new model on my desk. Making by hand answered every design question.”

Calvin Heimberg, a fellow Master of Architecture student, centered his contemplative retreat around the idea of inhabiting the wall itself. “The design expanded on the idea of inhabiting the wall’s thickness, resulting in an architecture where the hidden complexity of the wall renders both the interior and exterior spaces highly abstract and free from distractions,” he explained.

His approach was shaped by the Camino’s open landscape and the local brick and timber heritage, reimagined with mass timber walls. Heimberg’s turning point came when the wall stopped being just a boundary and became the medium through which light, movement, and experience were shaped.

“I hope people feel a sense of mystery and joy when they see the project,” he said. “To imagine themselves meditating in the light that space captures—that’s the experience I wanted to create.”

According to Daniel Baerlecken, Associate Professor and Associate Chair of the School of Architecture, the showcase served as “a moment of reflection, recognition of design excellence, and inspiration.”

“For students, it represents the culmination of a year’s design exploration, experimentation, technical development, and creative growth,” Baerlecken said. “Projects spanned from conceptual studies to real-world challenges, touching on everything from AI-enhanced design methods to coastal resilience.”

Student work included conceptual drawings, technical documentation, physical models, and digital environments addressing sites in Atlanta, New Orleans, Yosemite, and abroad. Projects ranged from fire stations to mobile libraries, performance spaces, neighborhood plans, and meditative retreats.

“This wasn’t just a show,” Baerlecken emphasized. “It was a platform for students to explore architecture’s evolving role in society—and to share that work with the broader academic and public community.”

As the sun set on the biggest Design Show in the South, the buildings still buzzed with conversation, laughter, and pride. Parents lingered over projects. Students beamed. Professors exchanged knowing glances.

This wasn’t just a show. It was proof of what’s possible when you give young designers the right tools—and the freedom to dream.

“I hope people walk away realizing these students aren’t just making things,” said Shankwiler. “They’re imagining new futures. And then they’re building them.”