Digital Design Center

Student stands wearing AR / VR headset and controllers.

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The Digital Design Center (DDC) is a powerful example of the University of Minnesota's pursuit of bringing to life some of its best design and technology ideas, theories, and research in ways that have tangible impacts on the world.

Digital rendering of individuals wearing VR headsets in the Rapson Courtyard.
Two students use VR headsets in the Rapson Courtyard.
Student sits in chair while using VR equipment.

Welcome to the DDC

Person wearing a virtual reality device in a building courtyard

In 2002, University of Minnesota alumni Linda and Ted Johnson provided a generous gift dedicated to establishing interdisciplinary collaborations between our programs in computer science and design. Their vision was to provide the resources necessary for leading minds to explore and understand the intersections between the creative processes that underlay science and design.

That vision has led to a tremendously successful collaboration between the University’s Colleges of Science and Engineering and Design. Originally known as the Digital Design Consortium, and now called the Digital Design Center (DDC), that collaboration has produced a state-of-the-art program in virtual reality.

Building Connections, Building the Future

The Digital Design Center offers a wonderful opportunity for collaboration between computer science faculty and architecture faculty.

Leveraging our benefactors’ initial investment, the DDC has been able to attract a great deal of interest and funding from a variety of conventionally scholarly sources like the National Science Foundation; from industry innovators like Mortenson Construction, HGA architects, and Fairview Medical; and from the Office of Information Technology and other University entities. This support has created fertile ground for faculty to explore unconventional and conventional hardware and software systems to advance virtual reality (VR) technology.

The timing of the original gift has worked perfectly to catch – and even lead – the wave of VR interest globally. The DDC is way ahead of the market. The group is looking forward to seeing how its leading-edge position can be capitalized upon and how it can maintain its spirit of exploration and invention.

Project Reports

VR and Construction: Investigating the Potential of Immersive Virtual Reality Technologies in the Operations of Mortenson Construction

Creating Metallic Color Sequences for an Architectural Wall

Cloak Wall / Cloak House