1st
Pre-Architecture concentration at an HBCU in North Carolina
The Eyrie Initiative Community Design Center
The only community design center at an HBCU in North Carolina. Students in the NCCU Pre-Architecture concentration work alongside Durham residents on the design of the places they live.
Scott Singeisen is an associate professor of art and design and coordinator of the Pre-Architecture concentration. He coordinates the Eyrie Initiative, which places NCCU students in working relationships with Durham community partners on preservation, planning, and design projects.
6
Paid student documentation fellows, summer 2026
3
Active community design programs
919-530-6443 
Fine Arts Building, Room 110 
This annual public lecture and intergenerational panel documents the contributions of Black architects to North Carolina’s built environment. The inaugural edition drew a Durham audience and National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMAS) chapters at three universities.
The Eyrie’s anchor project. Under contract with Preservation Durham, students conduct corridor-scale planning and urban design studies with Durham-Hayti Promise and the NC State College of Design.
Six paid NCCU fellows spend June through August 2026 documenting culturally significant sites on the Fayetteville Street corridor, working with National Trust preservationists, mentor architects, and trades experts.
Building Black North Carolina
The inaugural forum on February 23, 2026, paired a lecture by NCModernist founder George Smart with a panel of North Carolina architects. It sold out — 65 in the room and 44 more online, including NOMAS chapters at NC State, UNC Charlotte, and the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).
Working on the Corridor
Fayetteville Street runs through Hayti, one of Durham’s most historically significant neighborhoods. The Eyrie leads corridor-scale design studies there, working from what residents identify as worth keeping rather than from a plan handed down.
Announcements
Events, calls for participation, fellowship openings, and news from the center are updated by the Eyrie throughout the academic year.
Projects and Design Studies
These drawings, corridor studies, documentation sets, and final reviews are produced by NCCU students, collaborating studios, and their community partners. They are published as work is completed.
Studio Faculty
Singeisen, Scott R
Associate Professor
Art and Design
Collaborators and Past Studio Participants
The Eyrie’s work is done with people, not for them. This is who has built it: student fellows, community partners, and the organizations that opened doors along the corridor.
Contact the Eyrie
The Eyrie partners with neighborhood organizations, preservation groups, and public agencies on design work that communities ask for. If you have a project, we would like to hear about it.