Last week, community leaders, service members, and partners gathered in North Wilkesboro, NC to mark a major milestone — the ribbon-cutting for the revitalized North Carolina National Guard Readiness Center. This event celebrated the completion of a modern, mission-ready facility that will support Guard operations and training for years to come.

The ceremony was a testament to collaboration — bringing together military leaders, elected officials, local business partners, and residents to honor the dedication and commitment of those who serve. Attendees heard remarks highlighting how this revitalized facility not only strengthens the Guard’s operational readiness but also reinforces its ability to respond swiftly and effectively to state and federal missions.

The new Readiness Center embodies a commitment to modern infrastructure for our National Guard, ensuring that personnel have the space, technology, and resources needed for training, administration, and logistical support. Its completion is an investment in both national defense and local community resilience.

As part of the celebration, the ribbon-cutting recognized a project that enhances readiness while honoring the community’s support of the Guard and its service members. The center will continue to be a hub for service, training, and community partnerships in Wilkes County and across western North Carolina.

We were honored to attend alongside our fellow partners and to witness this important moment for the National Guard and the people of North Wilkesboro. Congratulations to all involved. Here’s to the future of service, readiness, and community impact!

Smith Sinnett Architecture was honored to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for Freedom Middle School, a transformative project for Craven County Schools that will unite the Tucker Creek and Havelock middle school communities into one shared campus in the Havelock area.

The ceremony brought together district leadership, elected officials, students, and community members to celebrate this important milestone. The future Freedom Middle School represents more than new construction—it reflects long-term investment in students, educators, and the broader eastern North Carolina community.

A Full-Circle Moment

For our team, this project carries special significance.

Nearly 30 years ago, Smith Sinnett Architecture designed Tucker Creek Middle School. Now, we return to the same campus to help shape its next chapter. Freedom Middle School builds upon that foundation, expanding and modernizing the campus to support the evolving needs of today’s learners.

Project Overview

The project includes a three-wing addition and interior renovations to the existing Tucker Creek Middle School facility. The expansion will provide:

• 21 new classrooms
• Outdoor learning spaces
• Enhancements to the cafeteria
• Improvements to the gymnasium
• Upgrades to the performing arts wing

Together, these additions and renovations will create a unified, flexible, and future-ready learning environment designed to foster collaboration, creativity, and student success.

Designed for Community and Growth

Freedom Middle School will bring together students and staff from Tucker Creek Middle School and Havelock Middle School into one cohesive campus. The design prioritizes connection—both academically and socially—while ensuring the facility supports modern educational delivery for generations to come.

We extend our congratulations to Superintendent Dr. Matthew Cheeseman on his recent appointment and look forward to continuing to support Craven County Schools’ vision for student success.

Construction is underway, with a ribbon cutting anticipated in August 2027. We are grateful for the continued trust placed in our team and proud to play a role in shaping the future of education in Craven County.

Design matters. Service matters. Community matters.

A Historic Investment in Readiness

Smith Sinnett Architecture is proud to celebrate the completion and ribbon cutting of the McLeansville Regional Readiness Center Campus in McLeansville, North Carolina — a transformational investment in military readiness and infrastructure for our state.

Originally approved through the 2016 State Bond Referendum at approximately $37.9 million, the project has evolved into the largest financial undertaking ever executed by the North Carolina National Guard’s Construction and Facilities Management Office (CFMO). The current design and construction budget stands at $65.1 million, with additional funds allocated for building upfits.

Building the Largest Regional Hub in the State

Advance planning began in December 2018 to program a facility capable of housing the 113th Sustainment Brigade, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Special Troops Battalion, Support Operations, the 196th Signal Company, and the 882nd Engineer Company.

The completed Regional Readiness Center includes approximately 85,000 square feet of administrative space, classrooms, assembly areas, fitness facilities, locker rooms, and unit storage, along with an 11,000-square-foot unheated storage building and a 400-square-foot guard house. The campus provides 396 personal-owned vehicle parking spaces and a military-operated vehicle area totaling more than 240,000 square feet.

Designed for resilience and reliability, the facility includes two permanent 750-kilowatt diesel generators and an Army Fitness Test field with a one-mile running loop along the perimeter road.

Infrastructure at a Transformational Scale

Significant coordination was required to establish site infrastructure. In partnership with Guilford County and the City of Greensboro, the project team secured and coordinated a $10 million state utility grant to extend water service approximately 2.5 miles to the site — including installation of the largest pump station in Guilford County.

Additional coordination with Duke Energy and Duke Piedmont Natural Gas extended natural gas service approximately one mile to the campus.

The early site package, awarded to Smith Sinnett Architecture in July 2020, included clearing and grading approximately 70 acres and drilling and blasting nearly 37,000 cubic yards of rock. Construction for this phase began in April 2021 and was completed in July 2022.

Field Maintenance Shop: Supporting Operational Readiness

The McLeansville Field Maintenance Shop (FMS 9), a separate MILCON project, was designed to replace FMS 8 in High Point and FMS 9 in Greensboro. Originally budgeted at $15 million, the project ultimately reached a design and construction budget of $23 million.

The 32,000-square-foot facility includes office space, classrooms, storage, and a six-bay maintenance area, along with a 3,200-square-foot covered wash rack. Supporting infrastructure includes a permanent 450-kilowatt diesel generator, additional storage facilities, dedicated parking, and a 170,000-square-foot motor vehicle operations area.

The building package bidding process resulted in a $10 million value engineering reduction, demonstrating disciplined cost management while maintaining performance standards.

Delivering Complex, Mission-Critical Campuses

The McLeansville Regional Readiness Center Campus reflects years of planning, coordination, and collaboration among state agencies, utility providers, contractors, and the design team.

From infrastructure development and value engineering to sustainability and long-term resilience, this project demonstrates Smith Sinnett Architecture’s ability to deliver complex, large-scale campuses that support mission-critical operations.

We are honored to contribute to a facility that strengthens readiness, supports the men and women of the North Carolina National Guard, and will serve our state for generations to come.

We’re excited to celebrate a major achievement for one of our own: Jack Pierce is officially a licensed architect and proud new member of the AIA.

Jack joined Smith Sinnett after graduating from NC State with degrees in Environmental Design and Architecture, bringing with him an impressive mix of curiosity, technical skill, and an eagerness to learn. From the start, he’s stood out for his ability to dive into the details—whether he’s exploring how a façade anchors to a structural system or thoughtfully coordinating the functional layers that bring a building to life.

This milestone reflects the qualities we’ve seen in Jack every day. He’s disciplined, focused, and genuinely enthusiastic about the craft of architecture. His thoughtful questions and drive to understand why things work make him a valued collaborator across project teams.

Achieving licensure is no small feat, requiring hundreds of hours of experience and a rigorous series of exams. Jack reached this milestone with the same steady determination he brings to his design work, and we couldn’t be prouder.

Please join us in congratulating Jack on this accomplishment. We’re thrilled to see where his career goes from here—and grateful to have him shaping the future of Smith Sinnett’s work.

Smith Sinnett is proud to announce that we were selected as one of 15 firms featured in the latest edition of NC Architecture Magazine! The special “Unconventional Projects” issue celebrates innovative, bold designs that expand the possibilities of architecture.

Our two featured projects—The American Cooperative School of Tunis and the School of Aerospace Technology—highlight our passion for designing future-ready educational environments that respond to community needs.

The American Cooperative School of Tunis (ACST)
Serving a diverse, global community, ACST needed a flexible master plan that would expand opportunities for collaboration, cultural exchange, and project-based learning. Our design introduced STEAM labs, study rooms, and a central learning commons that connects new academic wings. Outdoor learning areas at multiple levels further enrich the campus experience. A detailed phasing plan ensured the school remained safe and fully operational throughout construction.

School of Aerospace Technology
As a regional hub for innovation, the School of Aerospace Technology prepares students for high-demand careers in aerospace, aviation, and advanced STEM fields. At the heart of this 52,220 SF facility is a 15,000 SF air hangar surrounded by flexible workspaces, classrooms, and labs. Designed in partnership with local colleges and military divisions, the school equips students with hands-on training and industry-aligned skills while supporting military-connected families in the region.

We are honored to see these projects included in NC Architecture Magazine’s pages and grateful to our clients, partners, and collaborators who helped bring these designs to life. Together, we’re shaping spaces that inspire innovation, foster community, and prepare students for the future.

Forsyth Tech Community College held a ribbon cutting on August 18 to officially open its brand-new courtyard at the Silas Creek Campus. The event marked an exciting milestone for the college—the first time students will enjoy a dedicated quad on campus.

The courtyard, completed as part of Phase 2 of the ongoing Learning Commons project, was designed to give students a vibrant outdoor space to learn, connect, and recharge.

Smith Sinnett is proud to be part of this transformation alongside our consultants, Bolton & Menk and PDC. Architect Jay Sikes represented our team at the ribbon cutting, celebrating with FTCC leadership, faculty, and students.

Congratulations to Forsyth Tech on this new addition to campus life!

Smith Sinnett Architecture is proud to share that we took home First Place in this year’s AIA Triangle LEGO Design Competition! The event brought together local architecture firms and students to reimagine their designs in miniature using LEGO bricks — and our team was thrilled to participate.

Our Winning Entry: NC State Highway Patrol Auditorium and Museum

Our submission was inspired by an in-progress project for the North Carolina State Highway Patrol and Department of Public Safety, located on South Garner Road in Raleigh. The facility will feature a 500–750 seat auditorium and a museum housing important historical artifacts — including 22 vintage vehicles — to preserve the legacy of the department and inspire future generations of law enforcement.

Recreating the concept in LEGO form was a fun (and surprisingly complex) design challenge. It pushed our team to think differently about form, scale, and storytelling — and to express a contemporary civic building using only standard bricks.

“This submission exemplifies the spirit of the competition: a thoughtfully executed LEGO model of an active architectural project by a local firm. The jury was especially impressed by the clarity of the design concept and the sophisticated level of development achieved using standard LEGO bricks,” said AIA Triangle in their award announcement.

On Display at BrickUniverse Raleigh

All winning designs were showcased this past weekend at LEGO BrickUniverse, a fan convention held at the Raleigh Convention Center. The event was packed with energy and creativity — and we loved seeing visitors of all ages stop by to explore our build and the other inventive designs on display.

From futuristic schools to whimsical public spaces, every entry was a reminder of how architecture can capture the imagination — even in miniature form.

Celebrating Our Peers in Design

We’d also like to extend a round of applause to our fellow competitors:

🥈 2nd Place – Ratio

🥉 3rd Place – Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates

🎖️ Honorable Mention – Chris Reno, Wake Tech AIAS

The talent and creativity from across the Triangle design community was inspiring — and we’re grateful to AIA Triangle for organizing a fun and meaningful event that brings people together through design.

Bringing Vision to Life

Whether we’re designing civic spaces, educational facilities, or playful builds made of LEGO, we’re always looking for ways to bring visionary ideas into tangible form — and to make a positive impact in our communities.

We’ll be sharing more about the NC SHP Auditorium and Museum project as it progresses, so stay tuned!

📸 Scroll through the images for a few behind-the-scenes photos of our team in action and highlights from the BrickUniverse event.

On May 15, the design universe aligned at the IIDA Triangle Product Runway: Celestial Couture Fashion Show, where we partnered with the talented team at Studio 310 to bring Event Horizon—a couture dress inspired by the raw power and mystery of black holes—to life.

We’re thrilled to share that our entry received Judge’s Choice and Best Runway Walk, the latter selected by Dawn from RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 16, who emceed the evening at PMC Commercial Interiors.

About the Design

Event Horizon is a wearable interpretation of gravitational force—a gown that distorts the human form as black holes distort space itself. At its core is a sculptural chest piece that draws the eye inward, symbolizing the point of no return. The silhouette elongates and warps using unexpected materials: carpet backing, fiber, layered tile mesh, and mosaic tile—all generously provided by our sponsors, Dal-Tile and Mohawk Group.

The result? A dramatic, otherworldly ensemble that walked the line between destruction and elegance—earning top marks for both concept and catwalk.

Design Team:

• Smith Sinnett Architecture: Becca Seagondollar, Allison Harris, Veronica Wyatt
• Studio 310: Monica Carpenter, Isaac Mullen, Gabby Schiltz (model)
• Sales Sponsors: Michele Miller (Dal-Tile), Rene Haithcox (Mohawk Group)

Supporting a Cause

Beyond the glam and gravity, the evening benefited Dress for Success, an organization empowering women through professional attire and support. We were honored to contribute our creativity to a cause that uplifts our community.

Thank you to IIDA Triangle, PMC Commercial Interiors, Dawn, our amazing sponsors, and everyone who made this event unforgettable. We’re walking away with more than just awards—we’re inspired, energized, and grateful.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month—a time to reflect on how our environments affect emotional well-being. For students, the design of a school is far more than just walls and windows; it’s a space that can either support or hinder their development, comfort, and mental health. Dixon Middle School in Onslow County, North Carolina, is a standout example of how student-centered architecture can foster a sense of safety, engagement, and community.

Students at the Center of Design

The story of Dixon Middle School’s design is rooted in collaboration—not just between architects and administrators, but with the students themselves. Even before the first sketches were drawn, students were involved. A math teacher at the original Dixon Middle School challenged her class to design their ideal school as a project. Their ideas—complete with hand-drawn sketches, models, and thoughtful narratives—inspired core elements of the final design, such as courtyards and collaboration spaces.

When the design team from Smith Sinnett Architecture visited the students to see their ideas, they didn’t just listen—they invited them into the professional design process. Students later toured the architecture office to review early design concepts and offer feedback. Their involvement didn’t stop there: equipped with custom hard hats, students visited the site during construction, participated in the groundbreaking, and even toured the finished school as high schoolers, seeing their ideas brought to life.

A Building That Promotes Mental Well-Being

The final design of Dixon Middle School supports mental health and wellness in several key ways:

• Collaborative Learning Spaces: The layout includes multiple “nodes” or “bullpens” designed for breakout sessions, small group work, and informal gathering. These adaptable spaces give students autonomy and promote project-based learning.
• Access to Nature: Constructed wetlands and natural site features not only enhanced the environmental sustainability of the campus, but also created opportunities for outdoor learning and restorative moments in nature—known to reduce stress and increase focus.
• Daylighting and Acoustics: East-west orientation of classroom wings, strategic window placement, and acoustic treatments throughout the school create a bright, quiet, and comfortable environment—crucial for concentration and emotional regulation.
• Safety by Design: Thoughtful site planning includes natural barriers, a single point of entry, and secure internal circulation. Security elements are integrated into the landscape, balancing student safety with a non-institutional, welcoming feel.
• Flexible, Student-Friendly Spaces: From soft seating in nooks along classroom corridors to multi-use spaces like a dining hall that doubles as a performance venue, every area was designed with student comfort, flexibility, and engagement in mind.

The Long-Term Impact

By actively engaging students in the design process and prioritizing spaces that support learning, exploration, and well-being, Dixon Middle School has become more than a building—it’s a community. The design process empowered students, and the resulting environment helps them thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

Dixon Middle School stands as a reminder that when we build with students rather than just for them, we create environments that are not only functional, but transformative.

This week, we reflect with gratitude and sadness on the life of John Llewelyn Hitch, a longtime partner of Smith Sinnett Architecture, who passed away surrounded by family and loved ones.

John played a pivotal role in shaping our firm and the communities we serve. Over the course of his career, he brought a thoughtful and enduring approach to design, leaving his mark on a wide range of projects—from K-12 and higher education facilities to parks and recreation, military, commercial, and residential work. His dedication to functionality, community, and craft helped define our firm’s ethos from the beginning. Some of John’s notable repeat clients include William Peace University, the Town of Apex, and the Town of Morrisville, among others. Notable projects include the Kerr Lake State Park’s Campgrounds, Jordan Lake Visitor Center, Pilot Mountain State Park, Creedmoor Elementary School, Morrisville Town Hall, Apex Community Center, and William Peace University’s Little Theater.

Beyond his work at Smith Sinnett, John’s impact reached across North Carolina. He served for many years on the North Carolina Building Code Council, helping to ensure safety, innovation, and integrity in the built environment statewide.

John retired from the firm in 2015, but his legacy continues to shape our work and culture. Those who knew him remember not just his design acumen, but his generosity of spirit, deep commitment to mentorship, and unwavering belief in architecture’s power to serve others.

We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends, and we honor his remarkable contributions to our profession and to the communities he served.

You can read more about John’s life here: John Hitch Obituary