Community Celebrates Auburn in Birmingham and Welcomes New Dean

Formerly home to Hood-McPherson Furniture, the six-story building includes over 44,000 square feet of studio, classroom and office space, serving CADC as well as the Harbert College of Business and the Provost’s Office.

Urban Studio Director Alex Krumdieck ‘86 welcomed the crowd and gave a short history of the plans to find a permanent home for the Urban Studio, appreciating both the CADC and Auburn Facilities team as well as Williams Blackstock Architects (WBA) and Stone Building Company for this years-long collaboration. From there, he welcomed Dawn Finley, who recently stepped into her role as CADC Dean and McWhorter Endowed Chair.

“From the beginning, Urban Studio has worked with Birmingham’s building community through student projects and internships, as well as a variety of partnerships. We are excited to show off the results of Auburn’s latest investment in Birmingham,” said Krumdieck. “We are also fortunate to have the opportunity to introduce the new dean to our alumni and community partners.”

Dean Finley brings decades of professional and academic experience to the CADC. She’s both an award-winning architect and an award-winning educator, most recently at her alma mater Rice University, where she earned her master’s degree in architecture. Finley’s bachelor’s degree is from The University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. In addition to her early work in New York, Finley founded Houston’s Interloop–Architecture in 2001, and, with her partner at Interloop, Mark Wamble, published her book System of Novelties in 2022.

“The CADC’s Urban Studio program affirms that we don’t always need to fly students across the world to educate globally minded future leaders and design practitioners,” Finley stated. “So many of the social, historical, infrastructural, climatic and economic issues found in Birmingham, while unique in their combination and regional circumstances, are concerns that cities worldwide face. Design—with its complexities, range of scales, types and mediums—is essential for addressing such concerns.”

Urban Studio alumni are among the strongest supporters of the program and often stay involved years after graduation. From participating in thesis juries and hosting interns to simply stopping by for a visit, former students are committed to contributing to the studio’s future. Many were in attendance at the open house.

“It’s always great to be part of a gathering of CADC alumni in Birmingham. When we’re together you really get a sense of the impact Auburn University has had in shaping the leadership of Birmingham’s architectural community,” Bruce Lanier ‘00, Partner at ArchitectureWorks and Executive Director of MAKEbham. “As an alum from the early days, it is fantastic to see the Urban Studio growing from the seeds Cheryl Morgan and Frank Setzer planted in the early 1990s to this new, beautifully lit and well-equipped home in Auburn’s new Birmingham outpost. I’m excited for the future of Urban Studio.”