Southern California Institute of Architecture
Encyclopedia
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. 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.
by a group of faculty and students from Department of Architecture
at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
, who wanted to approach the subject from a more experimental perspective than traditional schools offered. 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. Ray Kappe
, who had founded the Pomona department, became the new school's first director, served in that position until 1987, and was awarded the AIA/ACSA Topaz Medal for excellence in architecture education in 1990.
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. Although SCI-Arc was once unaccredited and its finances unstable—Moss joked, "We used to be considered one step ahead of the IRS, one step ahead of creditors"—the school is now fully accredited, and its finances improved to the point that SCI-Arc was able to pay $23.1 million to buy its campus building in 2011.
designed by Harrison Albright
on the eastern edge of Downtown Los Angeles
. When SCI-Arc arrived, the building 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.
(NAAB) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
(WASC), including a five-year Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) program, a 3-year Master of Architecture (M.Arch 1) open to applicants who hold a bachelor's degree or equivalent in any field of study, and a 2-year Master of Architecture (M.Arch 2) 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 two one-year postgraduate programs in City Design, Planning and Policy (Future Initiatives) 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.
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.
, 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.
Situated conceptually and physically between studio and shop, academy and industry, the lab focuses on multi-robot cooperation and collaboration using six state-of-the-art Staübli robotic systems. The SCI-Arc Robot House offers a new design interface extending beyond a production facility. It creates unprecedented emulation, simulation and animation environments in which computational geometry, material agency and fabrication logistics merge. The introduction of video, vision and sensing technologies with the lab's robotic systems will support feedback and exchanges between matter, data and form.
Projects will explore additive free-form fabrication tied to advanced composite materials. The robots themselves, relatively small in size and dexterity, support a reconfigurable 3D workspace with a wide range of applications including on-site construction.
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, 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
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
U.S. architecture schools, with a reputation for pushing the boundaries of academic study. 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
Santa Fe Freight Depot
Santa Fe Freight Depot is a quarter-mile-long building in the industrial area to the east of Downtown Los Angeles, now known as the Arts District. The Southern California Institute of Architecture converted the structure into its campus in 2000...
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 professional 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 urban studies (Future Initiatives) and emerging systems and technologies (EST). 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 MonicaSanta Mônica
Santa Mônica is a town and municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil.-References:...
by a group of faculty and students from Department of Architecture
Cal Poly Pomona College of Environmental Design
The California State Polytechnic University, Pomona College Environmental Design also known as the Cal Poly Pomona College of Environmental Design is one of Cal Poly Pomona's seven colleges. The college houses over 1,600 students; making it one of largest environmental design programs in the...
at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, or Cal Poly Pomona, is a public university located in Pomona, California, United States...
, who wanted to approach the subject from a more experimental perspective than traditional schools offered. 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. Ray Kappe
Ray Kappe
Ray Kappe is an award winning architect and educator in Southern California. In 1972, he resigned his position as Founding Chair of the Department of Architecture at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and along with a group of faculty and students, started what eventually came to be...
, who had founded the Pomona department, became the new school's first director, served in that position until 1987, and was awarded the AIA/ACSA Topaz Medal for excellence in architecture education in 1990.
Kappe was succeeded as director by Michael Rotondi, one of SCI-Arc's founding students. Neil Denari
Neil Denari
Neil Denari is an American architect, professor, and author. Based since 1988 in Los Angeles, Denari emerged in New York during the 1980s with a series of theoretical projects and texts based on the collapse of the machine aesthetic of Modernism. His office, Neil M...
became director in 1997; Eric Owen Moss
Eric Owen Moss
Eric Owen Moss practices architecture with his eponymously named LA-based 25-person firm founded in 1973.Throughout his career Moss has worked to revitalize a once defunct industrial tract in Culver City, California....
has been director since 2002. Although SCI-Arc was once unaccredited and its finances unstable—Moss joked, "We used to be considered one step ahead of the IRS, one step ahead of creditors"—the school is now fully accredited, and its finances improved to the point that SCI-Arc was able to pay $23.1 million to buy its campus building in 2011.
Downtown LA 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, the 1907 Santa Fe Freight DepotSanta Fe Freight Depot
Santa Fe Freight Depot is a quarter-mile-long building in the industrial area to the east of Downtown Los Angeles, now known as the Arts District. The Southern California Institute of Architecture converted the structure into its campus in 2000...
designed by Harrison Albright
Harrison Albright
Harrison Albright was an American architect best known for his innovative design of the West Baden Springs Hotel in Orange County, Indiana, which boasted the largest free-spanning dome in the world at the time of its construction.- Biography :Born in the Ogontz neighborhood of North Philadelphia,...
on the eastern edge of Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area...
. When SCI-Arc arrived, the building was a stripped-down concrete shell. Today the building is on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
and the school has become an anchor for the city's Arts District
Arts District
The Arts District is an area containing many of Oklahoma City's best attractions and venues. Many of the buildings in the district are known for urban art deco architecture and charm....
. 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 BoardNational Architectural Accrediting Board
The National Architectural Accrediting Board is the sole authority for accredited US professional degree programs for architecture in the United States, developing standards and procedures to verify that each accredited program meets standards for the appropriate education of architects...
(NAAB) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Western Association of Schools and Colleges
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges is one of six official academic bodies responsible for the accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in the United States and foreign institutions of American origin. The Western Association of...
(WASC), including a five-year Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) program, a 3-year Master of Architecture (M.Arch 1) open to applicants who hold a bachelor's degree or equivalent in any field of study, and a 2-year Master of Architecture (M.Arch 2) 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 two one-year postgraduate programs in City Design, Planning and Policy (Future Initiatives) 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 CookPeter Cook
Peter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
, Eric Owen Moss, Thom Mayne
Thom Mayne
Thom Mayne is a Los Angeles-based architect. Educated at University of Southern California and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design in 1978, Mayne helped found the Southern California Institute of Architecture in 1972, where he is a trustee...
, Peter Noever, and Wolf Prix of Coop Himmelb(l)au
Coop Himmelb(l)au
Coop Himmelbau is a cooperative architectural design firm primarily located in Vienna, Austria and which now also maintains offices in Los Angeles, United States and Guadalajara, Mexico...
—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 LiveSCI-Arc Robot House
Accelerating SCI-Arc's pace, already at the leading edge of digital design and rapid prototyping, the new SCI-Arc Robot House, initiated by faculty members Peter Testa and Devyn Weiser, builds upon the school's strengths to create a next generation platform for experimentation and speculation on the future of architecture.Situated conceptually and physically between studio and shop, academy and industry, the lab focuses on multi-robot cooperation and collaboration using six state-of-the-art Staübli robotic systems. The SCI-Arc Robot House offers a new design interface extending beyond a production facility. It creates unprecedented emulation, simulation and animation environments in which computational geometry, material agency and fabrication logistics merge. The introduction of video, vision and sensing technologies with the lab's robotic systems will support feedback and exchanges between matter, data and form.
Projects will explore additive free-form fabrication tied to advanced composite materials. The robots themselves, relatively small in size and dexterity, support a reconfigurable 3D workspace with a wide range of applications including on-site construction.