It’s 1 a.m. in the Armory. Hanging in the air are the smells of pizza and Diet Coke. Amid the interior design projects towering over desks, a group of students are taking bets. They’re wagering on how late they’re going to be in the building tonight.

This scene isn’t atypical, as the Armory has long been the gathering grounds for students in the College of Design who often toil late into the night – or early into the morning – on projects for classes.

This is the setting Kelly Houge, freshman in pre-architecture, found herself in on a Wednesday evening as she helped work on a group project for her Architecture 102 course.

“We take bets on how long we’re going to be here,” Houge said. “We’ll be here until 1:30 [a.m.] at the earliest. But last time we were here until 3 o’ clock.”

Houge is one of many students in the College of Design who spend most of their time at the Armory. As she’s spent more time working in the building, she’s grown more fond of it. “I like it here more than I first did,” she said. “I bring my other homework here.”

Although Jessica Seglar expected to be done with her work by 2 a.m., the freshman in pre-landscape architecture said pulling all-nighters gives her an adrenaline rush – though even those don’t make up for the long hours she puts in during most evenings.

“It doesn’t leave a lot of time for my other classes,” she said.

The drive for logging these hours in the Armory, for many students, is to gain acceptance into their programs of study at Iowa State.

“[Architecture] is really what I want to do, so I put an immense amount of pressure on myself,” Houge said. “You have to be a little insane to be an architecture major.”

Seglar said she sometimes stays up at nights worrying about being accepted into landscape architecture.

“It’s the last thing that crosses my mind before I go to sleep, but it makes me work harder,” she said.

What helps B.J. Buzynski, who, as a sophomore, has already been accepted into the architecture program, get through nights in the Armory is the fun atmosphere.

Snacking during breaks helps, too.

“We order pizzas and go to the vending machines,” he said.

Houge and Seglar agreed with the strategy of taking breaks – drawing on the chalkboards, visiting other friends or downing a Diet Coke.

Another thing Buzynski likes about working at the Armory is that there are always people working there.

“There’s always someone here to help you,” he said.

Houge said she appreciates the atmosphere of the building.

“It’s normally pretty quiet, but there’s lots of music, and people will yell at random,” Houge said. “You get to work with really weird people.”

Seglar, who works in a different studio in the Armory than the architecture students, said she’s glad she has a stereo to keep her company.

“There’s only one or two people in here, so it’s kind of quiet,” she said.

Houge said the time she spends at the Armory will be worth it if she is accepted into the architecture program.

“This is a culmination of things I love. I like walking around and looking at buildings. You have to eat, think – but not sleep – architecture.”

Seglar also said it would be worth the effort if she were accepted into landscape architecture.

“The ends are definitely worth the means,” she said. “It’s the only thing I can see myself doing.”