Hannah McCleery started college unsure of exactly what she wanted to do. She tried out a few different majors before realizing she needed a field that engaged both her analytical skills and her creativity.
McCleery is now a senior at Purdue University in the Interior Architecture program in Indianapolis. She found her fit in a curriculum that demands both technical expertise and design thinking.
"I realized I wanted something that scratched my creative itch while still using the science and math skills I enjoyed," McCleery said. "Interior Architecture gives me a good balance of the creative and technical sides of design, which is what I was looking for."
She currently applies that balance to a collaborative residential construction project. McCleery and her classmates are designing a cohesive neighborhood on a shared site in Indianapolis. The project requires the students to consider affordability, functionality, and accessibility in their designs. The class partnered with Habitat for Humanity and Access Uprising to ground the theoretical neighborhood in real-world nonprofit housing standards.
"We were asked to design individual homes within one shared site, so there's a lot of variety in what everyone is creating," McCleery said. "My group is designing a mix of one-story homes, two-story homes, and duplexes, and I'm working on one of the one-story homes."
The scope of the assignment goes beyond the house itself. The student teams must also design the surrounding infrastructure, including sidewalks, parking areas, and a community center.
"It's exciting to work on something local and see how our designs could actually come together as a community," McCleery said.
The project shifted how McCleery views the physical world around her. She noted that the assignment highlighted the direct impact architectural decisions have on daily life and accessibility.
"Something that has stuck with me is that almost everything we see and experience has been designed by someone," McCleery said. "If you go to a park, there might be a trail that leads you through a specific experience, or if you go to a museum, someone has thought about how people will move through the space. With housing, those decisions can have an even more direct impact on someone's daily life."
McCleery already leverages her classroom experience in the professional workforce. She works as a technical designer for a firm involved in historic preservation. Her role requires her to translate conceptual ideas into actionable drawings and visual renderings. She works on a variety of spaces, including historic buildings and public parks.
"I've learned a lot about how important accuracy and attention to detail are when turning an idea into something that can actually be built or used," McCleery said. "In class, we learn the design concepts and technical skills, and at work, I get to see how those skills are used on real projects. My classes give me a better understanding of the design decisions behind the drawings I'm creating at work."
The technical skills she developed through both her coursework and her job recently secured her a full-time position after graduation. She credits the structure of the Interior Architecture program for preparing her for the transition.
"A lot of our classes are set up similarly to how an architecture or design firm operates, so we're not just learning concepts," McCleery said. "We're learning how to create drawings, solve problems, and work through a project in a way that prepares us for the professional world."
McCleery advises prospective students to consider the program if they enjoy problem-solving as much as aesthetics.
"There's a lot more to interior architecture than just picking colors and furniture," McCleery said. "You get to learn how spaces work, how people use them, and how to bring your ideas to life through drawings and renderings."
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