Hogans, who is an architectural designer at Trapolin-Peer Architects in New Orleans, initiated the campaign in 2023 because of her own experience confronting the financial challenges of studying architecture. Having experienced homelessness as a high school student, she dedicated herself to her studies as a coping strategy. That led her to attend Miami University in Ohio for undergraduate architecture. It was there that she was given donated design supplies through the school without her having to ask or prove her financial hardship. For many, there’s a stigma to receiving “handouts” and therefore they don’t ask for help, Hogans said.
“I didn’t know much about architecture and how expensive it was,” Hogans said. “I had just gotten out of homelessness. I didn’t know how I was going to purchase $300 worth of supplies and be prepared the first day.”
Receiving a supply kit, Hogans said, she felt the school recognized that she deserved to be there no matter her financial background. A design supply kit also helps with the financial burden, Hogans said, because the cost of federal or private student loans range from 5%-7% interest. For Hogans, she would have had to pay for supplies from her loan for living expenses.
After receiving her Master of Architecture and Master of Sustainable Real Estate degrees at Tulane, Hogans wanted to organize a campaign like what she received as an undergraduate. Studying for several years in architecture, Hogans said, she saw a correlation between successful students and how much they invest into their projects with supplies. It’s noticeable who can afford to print and build.
“I decided to turn this frustration into some form of action. I want to move this forward toward paying for other things related to architecture education,” Hogans said. “I feel that architecture can be a bit classist. We want to grow to where we can create grants and scholarships, so they can pay for their supplies and other needs.”
For now, with the donation campaign, Hogans said she hopes new alumni will contribute unused or gently used materials from when they were in school.
“I feel like it’s one of those big missed opportunities,” Hogans said. “We graduate and we think we’ll use these supplies but we just don’t.”
Last year, the campaign received 58 applicants from first-year architecture students from Tulane, University of Louisiana at Lafayette School of Architecture and Design, LSU School of Architecture and Louisiana Tech School of Design. From the applicants, they were able to provide 20 full kits and three partial kits. Hogans said this year’s goal is to provide full kits to as many students as possible that apply. They have also given model building materials to the first-year architecture studio at Tulane, thanks to donations from local professionals in the field.
You can learn more about the design kits campaign at their website.
