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NC State's first library, Brooks Hall resembles Thomas Jefferson's Monticello in Virginia. The front facing and portico columns are made from white Vermont marble, while the balcony is set with a balustrade of Italian marble. To the rear of the entrance hall is a large reading room across the length of the building with five arched skylights of imported cathedral glass from Scotland and a cork floor to muffle the sound of footsteps.

Today, Brooks Hall houses the School of Design. One wall displays an image taken from a structure designed by Louis Sullivan, a famous American architect known for his skyscraper designs. Student work and exhibitions of notable design work are displayed in the building's corridors.

The School of Design has gained a worldwide reputation in the past few decades and its building is named after an exceptional educational leader, Eugene Clyde Brooks (1871-1941). After Brooks graduated from Duke University, he fought for greater state support of its schools and colleges, and founded the magazine North Carolina Educator. Honorary degrees were awarded to him from Davidson, Duke, and the University of North Carolina. Brooks became president of NC State in 1923, and helped to organize the college into schools, and guided the University through a crisis of the 30's involving the consolidation of all North Carolina colleges.