College of Design Resources

Architecture & Landscape Architecture Library

The Architecture and Landscape Architecture Library serves the University of Minnesota and the College of Design faculty, students, staff, and community professionals.

CDes IT

CDes Information Technology.

Computer Labs

The CDes Computer Labs are available to students in both McNeal Hall (St. Paul campus) and Rapson Hall (Minneapolis campus). The McNeal Hall labs are operated by ADCS with the main lab in room 305 and other labs located elsewhere in the building. Rapson Hall labs are operated by the college and are located in rooms 33, 35, and 127. Rooms 33 and 35 are teaching labs and Room 127 is the working lab where classes are never held and where the lab attendant's work area and lab manager's office are located. All of the CDes Computer Labs have state-of-the-art computers complete with many of the specialized application software titles that design students need to be successful in their academic career. There are also high-quality color and black & white laser printers and plotters available on both campuses.

Digital Collections and Archives

The Digital Collections and Archives Unit (DCA), a resource for digital content production and discovery, is available to all CDes faculty, students, and staff. 70,000 of our 300,000 35mm slides have been scanned and cataloged and are available for searching and download at the Digital Content Library. The collection continues to grow through requests and donations. All images are available for educational use consistent with the fair use provisions of U.S. copyright law. Log-in using your X.500 username and password in order to download presentation size images.

Imaging Lab

Photographic documentation is an important part of design at the University of Minnesota. The College of Design Imaging Lab provides students with the resources and support to work with digital and film photography within a studio setting as well as the equipment to record and edit both digital and VHS video. The Imaging Lab is staffed daily to educate and assist students, faculty, and staff with a wide variety of technological resources they may use within their coursework and classes.

InformeDesign®

InformeDesign is the first searchable database of design and human behavior research on the Web and is available to students, faculty, and staff at the University. It is used world-wide by practitioners, educators, researchers, and students involved with the built environment. The Web site currently contains more than 1,800 "practitioner-friendly" "Research Summaries" containing research findings transformed from articles found in more than 175 scholarly journals into evidence-based design criteria. In addition, the site features "Web Casts" by design experts; Implications, a monthly newsletter on a design topic of interest; and MyInformeDesign, personal folders for users to catalog and store information from the site. New research summaries are posted weekly and e-mail notification is available. InformeDesign facilitates designers' use of current, research-based information as a decision-making tool in the design process, thereby integrating research and practice.

W. L. Hall Workshop

The W. L. Hall Workshop provides equipment, facilities, staff, and instruction to College of Design students for the execution and enrichment of their educational experience. The Workshop provides a full complement of power and hand tools for the manipulation of wood and related media and a limited selection of equipment for the working of metals and other materials is also available. Workshop staff provide user assistance, training, and supervision while offering users an extensive knowledge of materials, tools, processes, and safety. Students must attend an orientation session to obtain a Shop User Card. User orientations include an introduction to the facility and staff as well as an outline of safe shop practices and equipment usage. Unsafe use of Workshop facilities or equipment may result in revocation of access to the facility.