The Pit Redesign - University of Houston

Client
University of Houston, Cullen College of Engineering
Services
Environmental Design
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Year
2025

Team + Roles

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Kristian Armstead: Lead Designer & Researcher

Sean Sobresama: Lead Designer

Hailey Nyugen: Lead Motion Designer

Kei Calma: Motion & Supporting Designer

Lisa Alsahli: Visual & Mockup Designer

Addilyn Glenn: Supporting Designer

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Scope

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The Pit, located in the heart of the Cullen College of Engineering, serves as a central student gathering space for events, presentations, and everyday use. However, the space lacked intentional design and failed to reflect the college’s legacy, innovation, or sense of community. Working within one of six competing groups, our objective was to reimagine The Pit through environmental, spatial, and multimedia design solutions that would honor Cullen’s past while inspiring its future. Our proposals were ultimately reviewed and selected by faculty and college leadership.

Deliverables Included:

  1. A full conceptual redesign of The Pit
  2. Environmental graphics and murals
  3. Motion media concepts for digital screens
  4. High-fidelity mockups and stakeholder-ready presentations
  5. A cohesive visual narrative and storytelling strategy
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What I did?

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As Lead Designer & Researcher, I co-led the creative direction alongside Sean Sobresama. I helped define the tone, visual language, and narrative that shaped the entire project. My responsibilities included:

  1. Leading the overall design strategy and original concept development
  2. Creating the Cullen Student Mural from initial concept to final mockup
  3. Bridging research and visual storytelling to connect Cullen’s history with the student experience today
  4. Supporting our motion and mockup designers to ensure cohesion across mediums and touchpoints
  5. Conducting material and environmental research, particularly addressing facility-specific concerns like brick sweating, outdated finishes, and environmental durability. I took initiative in identifying long-term solutions and material upgrades that the college had previously struggled to resolve.

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Challenges‍

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  • Outdated Space: The Pit felt cold, impersonal, and underutilized. It lacked identity and didn’t reflect the energy or excellence of the Cullen College of Engineering.
  • Stakeholder Alignment: Our redesign needed to satisfy a wide range of voices—including students, faculty, alumni, and administrative leaders—while staying within branding and feasibility constraints.
  • Design Integration: One of our biggest hurdles was creating cohesion between static environmental graphics, digital motion design, and spatial layout in a single functional space.
  • Competitive Selection: With six student teams tasked with reimagining The Pit, we knew our proposal had to be thoughtful, polished, and clearly presented to stand out.

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    Solution‍

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    To guide our design process, I proposed a Swiss/Bauhaus-inspired direction, emphasizing structure, clarity, and timelessness, all values that align naturally with engineering disciplines.

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    We leaned into storytelling to bridge Cullen’s past with its present, highlighting legacy while uplifting current students through empowering visuals and messaging.

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    One of my most significant contributions was the Cullen Student Mural, which I conceptualized and designed independently. The mural features the word “Cullen” breaking through the wall, symbolizing strength, resilience, and the idea that Cullen students are here to break boundaries. It’s meant to be more than a visual element, but a symbol of pride for students that can simultaneously function as photo-ops for graduating seniors.

    Additional solutions we implemented included:

    • Vertical digital screens to showcase student work, research, events, and real-time information
    • Environmental graphics that tie the space together with motivational messaging and historical nods

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    Team Selection & Final Implementation

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    Out of six competing groups, our team was selected by faculty and college leadership to have the majority of our concepts implemented in the final redesign of The Pit. Four of our designs were chosen:

    1. The Cullen Student Mural — featuring the word “Cullen” breaking through the wall as a symbol of pride, resilience, and student empowerment.
    2. Central Feature Wall — our visual design centering around Hugh Roy Cullen’s portrait, paying homage to the college’s namesake and legacy.
    3. Vertical Screen Wall — a modular digital display concept used to highlight current student achievements, news, and announcements.
    4. Dual Motion Media Walls — featuring alumni profiles and historical moments through synchronized motion content across two opposing screens.

    Two remaining wall areas and the window film were selected from the work of two other student teams, combining the strongest elements from all six groups into a unified redesign.

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