STEAM Studio
Where Art, Engineering, and Innovation Meet
Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math
STEAM Studio was founded by a collective of artists and engineers at UNC Asheville who saw limitless potential in making-based education. Open to students across every discipline. Students collaborate with faculty, visiting artists, and industry partners on everything from senior engineering projects to public art installations. Our three areas of focus: academic classes, special projects, and community outreach, are designed to reinforce and inspire each other.
Special Projects
Students collaborate with artists, institutions, and entrepreneurs on high-impact projects — including Mel Chin’s Wake sculpture in NYC’s Times Square.
Academic Classes
Seven courses spanning art, engineering, liberal arts, and beyond. From intro fabrication to senior capstone design — all taught inside the studio.
Community Outreach
SkillSet offers community classes for youth and adults across Western North Carolina. Students gain real teaching experience while giving back. Fab nights are informal drop-in sessions open to all UNCA students, faculty, and staff.
Special Projects
From Times Square to the NC Arboretum — STEAM Studio students collaborate on high-impact public projects that develop real-world skills and reach real audiences.
Community Lumber Project
Community Lumber Project is a sustainability-driven initiative created by UNC Asheville’s STEAM Studio to transform storm-felled trees into usable lumber for local rebuilding efforts. Launched in response to hurricane damage, the project uses mobile sawmilling, drying, and fabrication processes to convert salvaged timber into materials for homes, public spaces, and community projects. Blending environmental stewardship, hands-on engineering, and community impact, the initiative turns natural disaster debris into a resource for recovery while giving students real-world experience in design, fabrication, and collaborative problem-solving.
Formula SAE: Electric Race Car
FSAE Electric Team Digital Hub is a comprehensive engineering and training platform developed by UNC Asheville’s Formula SAE Electric team. Designed to support the creation of a student-built electric race car, the site brings together detailed subsystem documentation, annotated competition rules, and hands-on fabrication guides. Blending engineering education, collaboration, and knowledge preservation, the platform helps students design, build, and refine a high-performance vehicle while passing critical technical inspections and sustaining team knowledge across generations.
Storytime at Woodland Cove
Storytime at Woodland Cove is an animatronic woodland scene created by UNC Asheville’s STEAM Studio for the NC Arboretum’s Winter Lights. Featuring talking animals like an elk, bear, and raccoon, the project blends mechatronics, storytelling, and art in a magical holiday display.
STEAM Cycle
STEAM Cycle is an interactive sculpture at the Asheville Art Museum, created by UNC Asheville’s STEAM Studio. Using a hand-crank elevator and rolling steel balls, it transforms motion into a vibrant display of LED lights—blending art, physics, and design in a playful, hands-on experience.
Safehouse Temple Door
The Safehouse Temple Door is a 10-foot steel vault door designed by artist Mel Chin and built in collaboration with UNC Asheville’s STEAM Studio. Installed in Chicago, the piece raises awareness about lead contamination while giving students hands-on experience in public art and social impact design.
Wake: Asheville
In the Fall of 2019 a collective team of Asheville organizations (The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, Ellington Realty Group, Asheville Area Arts Council, The City of Asheville, and STEAM Studio) came together to revive and install Wake at 44 Collier Avenue.
Wake: NYC Times Square
Designed, engineered, sculpted and fabricated in UNC Asheville’s STEAM Studio, Mel Chin’s Wake sculptural installation was officially unveiled in New York City’s Times Square at a public and media event on July 11, 2018.
STEAM Studio In The News
STEAM Studio In The News
UNC Asheville’s STEAM Studio has been featured in the news for its innovative, community-driven projects that blend art, engineering, and education. Highlights include the creation of Wake, a large-scale sculpture designed with artist Mel Chin and unveiled in Times Square, as well as the STEAM Cycle sculpture commissioned by the Asheville Art Museum. The studio’s SkillSet program also received a major grant to expand after-school STEAM opportunities for underserved youth, reinforcing its mission to inspire through hands-on, interdisciplinary learning.
Academic classes
Courses open to all majors
No prior experience required — just curiosity. Every class is designed to welcome students from any discipline. Completing LA 172 is the gateway to full studio access.
Introduction to STEAM Studio
LA 172
An elective course in Art and Engineering. Hands-on projects train participants in the safe operation of manual equipment including mills, grinders, saws, planers, jointers, sanders, and drill presses — as well as digital technologies like the laser-cutter, ShopBot CNC router, and waterjet. Successful completion is the first step to gaining full STEAM Studio access.
Creative Fabrication
ENGR 173
Explores creative problem-solving through digital and analog fabrication. Students develop skills in design thinking alongside hands-on fabrication methods.
Craft for a greater good
ART 374
Examines craft as a vehicle for social change. Students develop projects that engage with community issues through intentional making and design.
Sculpture II
ART 346
Intermediate sculpture with expanded use of STEAM Studio equipment. Builds on foundational skills with increasing conceptual depth and material complexity.
Engineering senior design
JEM 484/485
The capstone experience for engineering students. Teams work on real-world design challenges with faculty mentorship and full access to STEAM Studio’s fabrication capabilities.
First year seminar at STEAM
FYS 178 · Open to first-year students
An introduction to college-level inquiry through the lens of making. Ideal for first-year students from any major who want to begin their UNCA experience in the studio.
Bachelor of fine art (BFA) Program
Bachelor of fine art (BFA) Program
UNCA Art students enrolled in the BFA in Studio Art program undertaking sculptural work may use the STEAM Studio space and facility to create their work, accessing equipment not available elsewhere on campus.
Our Space
Our Space
More than a container for tools and equipment, STEAM is a space for radical collaboration and the manifestation of big visions. Our 12,000 sq ft facility is located a short distance from campus at the River Arts Makers Place (RAMP), 821 Riverside Dr. Suite 140. The Studio is comprised of a state-of-the-art wood shop, machine shop, welding fabrication bay, 3,800 sq ft configurable workspace, and a mezzanine-level computer lab/classroom. We have water jet cutting, CNC machining, CNC routers, laser cutting, and 3D printing in addition to a myriad of hand tools and standard shop machines.
Policies & Procedures
Policies & Procedures
Meet the Staff
Meet the Staff
UNC Asheville STEAM Studio faculty and staff bring together expertise across art, engineering, design, and the humanities to create a uniquely collaborative, interdisciplinary environment. From co-founders and professors to design specialists and studio technicians, our team is united by a shared passion for hands-on, creative problem-solving at the intersection of science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics. Whether guiding students through fabrication projects, public art installations, or senior engineering design, our faculty and staff are committed to empowering every student to think boldly, make confidently, and connect their ideas to the world around them.