Transforming Through Design
UGA interior design students reimagine Appling Courthouse
The Appling County Courthouse in downtown Baxley is a familiar landmark for residents and visitors alike. Built in the early 1900s, it serves as a community anchor like many classic courthouses in small towns across Georgia.
But the building no longer meets the demands of today’s courthouse services, particularly in terms of security and technology.
Now, with creative input from University of Georgia students, the county has a vision for how this historic structure can adapt to modern community needs while maintaining its legacy.
Appling County’s Neoclassical-style courthouse was completed in 1908 and listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 as part of a statewide county courthouse thematic nomination.
Bright Ideas
“Our main goal was to preserve as much as we could of the courthouse and remodel it into something that was going to benefit the town,” said Samantha Toth, an interior design major from Savannah in the Lamar Dodd School of Art.
Toth was one of 24 students in the junior studio class that contributed ideas for the courthouse.
The students proposed transforming the courthouse into a boutique hotel, a welcome center, or an event venue. They displayed renderings and design details, including fabrics and building materials, at an exhibit this past spring. Students also created AI-rendered videos showing their imagined spaces in use.
“Our main goal was to preserve as much as we could of the courthouse and remodel it into something that was going to benefit the town.”
The engaging designs for the courthouse will help community leaders plan the future development.
UGA interior design students Emma Etheridge and Samantha Toth worked on the Appling County Courthouse project.
UGA interior design students Emma Etheridge and Samantha Toth worked on the Appling County Courthouse project.
“Now I’ve got ideas that I can take to an architect and engineer to figure out what might be possible,” said Reid Lovett, Appling County manager. “It will help me do a better job of utilizing the funds that citizens have reserved for courthouse renovations or a judicial center.”
The collaboration between the county and the art school is an offshoot of the community’s earlier participation in the UGA Carl Vinson Institute of Government’s PROPEL (Planning Rural Opportunities for Prosperity and Economic Leadership) program. The nationally recognized program supports rural communities’ economic and community development through coaching and resources.
“[The designs] will help me do a better job of utilizing the funds that citizens have reserved for courthouse renovations or a judicial center.”
Greg Wilson, associate director at the Institute of Government, described the project as a perfect example of his team’s ongoing partnership with PROPEL communities even after they finish the formal two-year program.
“We know that providing visuals to our partner communities helps them generate ideas for what they want and need,” he said. “It was amazing to see the level of creativity the students brought to the assignment.”
(FROM TOP): Fabric, building materials and renderings for a proposed hotel on display at a spring exhibit at the Lamar Dodd School of Art. The collaboration between Appling County and the art school was made possible through the institute's PROPEL program, led by Greg Wilson. “We know that providing visuals to our partner communities helps them generate ideas for what they want and need,” he said.
Valuable Experience
“It mimics real-life client work, with information gathering and coming up with design proposals that could meet community needs.”
Lamar Dodd School of Art faculty member Catherine Trugman partners with the institute on experiential learning opportunities for students.
“It mimics real-life client work, with information gathering and coming up with design proposals that could meet community needs,” she said. “They’re using their creativity to help solve an issue, so there are multiple benefits.”
Students welcomed the assignment to redesign an historic building, especially after visiting Baxley to tour the courthouse and meet with residents.
“We’ve done other projects like a house and a huge commercial project, but being able to work with a community and get real hands-on experience is going to benefit us the most,” Toth said.
Likewise, the community sees promise in the venture.
“The experience also shows what possibilities are out there for spaces like this in other communities,” said Lovett.
More about PROPEL, our award-winning community and economic development program
Rural Georgia community leaders gathered in Baxley to learn from each other and share their successes as part of the University of Georgia’s award-winning PROPEL rural development program.
Representatives from Appling and Pulaski counties and the Lower Chattahoochee Council of Governments (Clay, Quitman, Randolph, and Stewart counties) met in Athens to share community and economic development efforts and lessons learned from the two-year program.
PROPEL Rural Scholars offers UGA undergraduates a unique experiential learning opportunity. During the yearlong program, students learn about economic development, community development and civic leadership.
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