MSU receives national grant supporting coastal resilience
Contact: Sydni Patrick
STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State is one of eight universities across the country to receive the inaugural Envision Resilience National Design Studio Grant.
The award supports design studios in architecture, planning and landscape architecture education, engaging students in community-based learning focused on climate-relate challenges. MSU’s funded studio is led by Assistant Professor SaMin Han in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Design. The project team also includes Chuo Li, professor of landscape architecture and environmental design, and David Perkes, professor in the MSU College of Architecture, Art and Design’s School of Architecture and director of the university’s Gulf Coast Community Design Studio.
“This award will allow our faculty and students to continue the collaborative, impactful work they do to help communities become more resilient—both environmentally and socially,” said Anne Spafford, landscape architecture and environmental design professor and department head.
Envision Resilience expanded the National Design Studio Grant program nationally in 2025, selecting universities with studios that explore climate adaptation strategies across a range of landscapes, including urban, rural and coastal environments. The organization’s goal is to connect academia, local leaders and community members to design ways of adapting to an evolving climate.
The program emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration and partnerships with community organizations, municipalities and environmental groups. MSU students participating in the studio will gain hands-on experience applying design strategies to real-world climate challenges.
“This studio invites students to critically and creatively reimagine architecture and landscape architecture as tools for adaptation and inclusion,” Han said. “Working closely with community partners, participants will develop sustainable, affordable and context-sensitive design solutions for vulnerable back-bay neighborhoods. Through this process, the studio aims to demonstrate how design can empower communities to confront climate change while envisioning more resilient, equitable and thriving futures along the Gulf Coast.”
Previous faculty and student coastal includes designs for expansion of recreational opportunities along the Back Bay, additional grocery stores, mixed-use housing, improved transportation and expanded park spaces.
“This grant allows us to expand on our previous work and provides our students with hands-on, community-centered studios to prepare them to lead resilient and equitable design efforts along the Gulf Coast and beyond,” Han said. “Dr. Li, Dr. Perkes and I will collaborate closely with Gulf Coast communities, including Gulfport, to make a meaningful and lasting impact in neighborhoods.”
More information about Envision Resilience and the National Design Studio Grant is available at www.envisionresilience.org.
Visit www.lalc.msstate.edu and www.gulfcoaststudio.msstate.edu to learn more about the MSU Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Design and the Gulf Coast Community Design Studio.
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