GCCDS News

NOAA Coastal Services Center Visits GCCDS

Last week GCCDS staff got the chance to visit with Jillian Lartigue and Marian Hanisko from NOAA Coastal Services Center.  While the conversation covered a wide range of topics, GCCDS was excited to be introduced to Digital Coast. Digital Coast … Continue reading →

GCCDS Helps to Wrap up First Annual Woman’s Build

During the past several months the Gulf Coast Community Design Studio had the opportunity to partner with Women in Construction and INL Construction for the Women in Construction’s first annual Blitz Build. Through a generous donation from Kaiser Permanente and … Continue reading →

GCCDS Wraps Up First Phase of Pre-Development Grant

GCCDS and the South Mississippi Housing and Development Corporation (SMHD) have successfully wrapped up the first phase of the Enterprise Community Partners Inc. pre-development design grant. This pilot program is intended to help enable the developers to define project goals, … Continue reading →

GCCDS Gets Energy Smart

GCCDS participated in the Powering Renewal Energy Open Houses on Saturday, October 6th at the Lynn Meadows Discovery Center and USM’s Gulf Coast Research Lab.  Powering Renewal is a program working to bring more clean energy to the Gulf Coast … Continue reading →

A Comprehensive…and Sometimes Controversial Look at Housing on the Coast

Since early 2011, the Gulf Coast Community Design Studio has been an active partner in a regional planning initiative for Mississippi’s three coastal counties known as the Plan for Opportunity.   The planning process hopes to better understand the housing, transportation, … Continue reading →

About Us

The Gulf Coast Community Design Studio (GCCDS) is a professional service and outreach program of Mississippi State University’s College of Architecture, Art + Design. The GCCDS was established in Biloxi, Mississippi in response to Hurricane Katrina to provide architectural design services, landscape and planning assistance, educational opportunities and research to organizations and communities along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

The GCCDS works through close, pragmatic partnerships with local organizations and communities. In Biloxi, the GCCDS shares work space with a key local partner, the Hope Community Development Agency – a relationship that brings the office into direct and continuous contact with the community’s needs and resources. The GCCDS works with non-profit organizations, local governments, universities, developers and other partners in all three of Mississippi’s coastal counties, putting professional expertise to work in order to shape vibrant and resilient Gulf Coast communities.

Our Mission

To provide professional assistance that increases the capacity of local communities and organizations to address issues of housing, public space, and neighborhood development.

To provide leadership that advances the local, regional, and national dialogue on issues of design, affordable housing, coastal resiliency, and sustainable development.

To expand design education by providing opportunities for students and interns to explore community-based design, design-build, and sustainability.

Partnerships

  • American Institute of Architecture Mississippi
  • Architecture for Humanity
  • Apostolic Christian World Relief
  • Auburn University
  • Back Bay Mission
  • Biloxi Housing Authority
  • Boston Architectural College
  • Carl Small Town Center
  • CARRI
  • The City of Biloxi
  • The City of Moss Point
  • Compassion First - BFS Relief
  • Department of Energy
  • Department of Homeland Security
  • Design Corps
  • ESRI
  • Enterprise Community Partners
  • Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellowship
  • Fuller Center
  • GISCorps
  • Gulf Coast Community Foundation
  • Habitat for Humanity Bay-Waveland
  • Habitat for Humanity Mississippi Gulf Coast
  • Hancock Housing Resource Center
  • Hands On Gulf Coast
  • Hope CDA
  • Hope Force International
  • HUD's Universities Rebuilding America Partnership
  • Institute for Sustainable Communities
  • Knight Foundation
  • Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain
  • Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights
  • Local Initiatives Support Corporation
  • Mercy Housing & Human Development
  • Mississippi State University
  • Mississippi Center for Justice
  • MIT Department of Urban Studies & Planning
  • MSU College of Architecture, Art + Design
  • National Endowment for the Arts
  • NAVASA
  • North Gulfport Community Land Trust
  • Oak Ridge National Laboratory
  • Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
  • Renaissance Corporation
  • The Salvation Army
  • Samaritan's Purse
  • SERRI
  • Small Business Administration
  • South Central Arc User Group
  • State of Mississippi
  • University of Minnesota
  • Urban Life Ministries
  • Warm Welcome Gulf Coast
  • Warnke Community Consulting
  • Youth Build