Southern California Institute of Architecture
 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Established | 1972 |
| Director | Eric Owen Moss |
| Dean Graduate Undergrad | Hsinming Fung Hernan Diaz Alonso John Enright |
| Students | ±500 |
| Location | , , 34°02′46″N 118°14′00″W / 34.045984°N 118.233431°W |
| Campus | Urban |
| Nickname | SCI-Arc |
| Website | http://www.sciarc.edu |
 | |
The Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) in Los Angeles , California, is an independent, nonprofit school offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in architecture. It offers community design and outreach programs, and free public access to frequent exhibitions and lectures by leading thinkers in architecture. Founded in 1972, SCI-Arc is widely regarded as one of the most avant-garde U.S. architecture schools, with a reputation for pushing the boundaries of academic study.[1] SCI-Arc's approximately 500 students and 80 faculty members - most of whom are practicing architects - work together to explore and test the limits of architecture. The school is based in the quarter-mile long former Santa Fe Freight Depot in the Arts District in downtown Los Angeles.
Degrees
Approximately half of SCI-Arc’s students are enrolled in its undergraduate program and half in its graduate programs. It offers a five-year Bachelor Degree in Architecture (B.Arch); a three-year professional Master of Architecture program, open to applicants who hold a bachelor’s degree or equivalent in any field of study (M.Arch 1); and a two-year professional Master of Architecture program, open to applicants with a minimum of a four year degree in Architecture, or its equivalent abroad (M.Arch 2). Additionally, the school offers Master in Design Research (MDesR) degrees in media and urban studies. In the summer, the school offers a 5-week foundation program, Making + Meaning, which introduces architecture to those considering entering the field or about to enroll in a degree program.
History
SCI-Arc was founded in 1972 in Santa Monica by a group of faculty and students who wanted to approach architecture from a more experimental perspective than traditional schools offered. They were led by Ray Kappe, who became the school's first director and served in that position until 1987. Originally called the New School, SCI-Arc was based on the concept of a "college without walls" and it remains one of the few independent architecture schools in the world. Kappe, who earlier founded the Department of Architecture at the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, was awarded the AIA/ACSA Topaz Medal, the highest honor awarded for excellence in education in architecture.[2] Kappe was succeeded as director by Michael Rotondi, one of SCI-Arc's founding students. Neil Denari became director in 1997; Eric Owen Moss has been director since 2002.[3]
Campus
The school has been based in three locations - the first an industrial building in Santa Monica and the second an industrial building in Marina del Rey. In 2000, it moved to its current home, on the eastern edge of Downtown Los Angeles. When SCI-Arc arrived, the 1907 Santa Fe Freight Depot that had been designed by Harrison Albright was a stripped-down concrete shell. Today the building is on the National Register of Historic Places and the school has become an anchor for the city's Arts District. The school conducts design projects that engage with the most under-served members of the community.
School Culture
SCI-Arc attracts students from nearby and throughout the world in pursuit of the unique education the school offers. Most students have already completed some college level work; some already hold professional architectural degrees. SCI-Arc is serious about educating and challenging its students—but does it so in an unconventional atmosphere. It is not uncommon to see a student using his or her skateboard to get from one end of the building to the other, or to be working on a model with his or her dog napping nearby. Students actively engage in preparing the SCI-Arc Gallery exhibitions, help fellow graduating students in setting up their models for thesis presentations, and contribute to workshops that result in projects throughout the school, such as the graduation pavilion and other unique structures. Students have access to their SCI-Arc studio spaces 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Academic programs
SCI-Arc offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), including a five-year Bachelor of Architecture program, a 3-year Master of Architecture open to applicants who hold a bachelor's degree or equivalent in any field of study, and a 2-year Master of Architecture open to applicants with a prior undergraduate degree in architecture.
In the fall and spring terms, design studios, seminars and workshops led by SCI-Arc faculty and visiting instructors offer students a multitude of choices and perspectives. During the summer term, some courses are also open to upper-level students from other architecture programs and to the public. Summer at SCI-Arc features two intro to architecture programs open to the public: Design Immersion Days, a four-week intense design and architecture workshop for high school students, and MAKING+MEANING, a five-week foundation program in architecture that introduces the principles of architecture in a hands-on exploration of spatial experimentation, design methodologies and the creative process.
In addition to its undergraduate and graduate programs, SCI-Arc offers three one-year postgraduate programs in City Design, Planning and Policy (Future Intiatives), Media Art and Architecture (MediaSCAPES), and Emerging Systems and Technologies (EST). Successful candidates in the post-graduate programs receive a SCI-Arc Masters of Design Research Degree (MDesR) in the respective fields.
SCI-Arc's undergraduate and graduate programs culminate in two public events in which students present their thesis projects to renowned critics from all over the world. A celebration of academic achievement, SCI-Arc's thesis reviews are regarded as a major forum for the discussion of insights and innovative concepts among theoreticians and practicing architects.
Making + Meaning
Making + Meaning is a five-week summer program at the Southern California Institute of Architecture that introduces the principles of architecture in a hands-on exploration of spatial experimentation, design methodologies and the creative process.
During this intensive program, students survey and challenge the discipline's boundaries by drawing, making and constructing. Methodologies range from material experimentation to compositional strategies; from imagination to inhabitation.
Making + Meaning students meet leading thinkers in architecture, engage in open dialogue, delve into the city of Los Angeles' wealth of experimental architecture and produce a rich creative portfolio crystallizing their explorations.
The program derives its strength from the diverse backgrounds of its students. From those gauging their interest and curiosity in architecture, to those beginning an architectural degree, Making + Meaning is a platform for individual learning in a collective environment; an introduction to the discipline of architecture and a welcome to SCI-Arc's culture and community.
Public Programs
SCI-Arc's public programs invite the community into the school to foster debate and understanding of architecture's capacity to transform the world. A recent program and exhibition, "LA in Wien/Wien in LA," investigated the architecture of Los Angeles and Vienna and their respective influences on one another in over the last century. It brought together six esteemed international architects—Hitoshi Abe, Peter Cook, Eric Owen Moss, Thom Mayne, Peter Noever, and Wolf Prix of Coop Himmelb(l)au—to share their perspectives and experiences in a discussion led by Anthony Vidler. The full scope of SCI-Arc public programs includes lectures, exhibitions, faculty talks and other opportunities for interaction between the school and the community.
Lecture Series
Each semester's lecture series produces an eclectic selection of speakers from multiple disciplines, including architects, artists, film-makers, engineers, theoreticians, and performers. Speakers are selected by a forum of students, faculty, alumni, and administrators and the lectures are free and open to the public. Lectures are followed by a dinner in honor of the speaker, allowing students and faculty to interact more personally with the invited speaker. SCI-Arc lectures are broadcast live for simultaneous viewing on the internet at SCI-Arc Live
-
Stainless Steel Structure- Final Installation by the first year undergraduate studio 2005 -
1 1336 eom-gallery view 1.jpg
References
- ^ "Justin McGuirk, "The New LA School", October 2007". IconMagazine.
- ^ Volume5. 25 Years of SCI-Arc 1990-1997 19 sept 07. [dead link]
- ^ Barrie-Anthony, Steven. Landscape of constant change. Los Angeles Times. July 7, 2005. Retrieved 15 January 2007.