Southern California Institute of Architecture www.sciarc.edu
2009–10 Catalog
SCI-Arc’s Course Catalog is a living document, and as such, SCI-Arc reserves the right to revise, add or delete information in this catalog at any time. Therefore, changes to the Course Catalog may be distributed after this initial posting. In addition to the Course Catalog, students should consult the Student Handbook and the IT Handbook, and any other student policy documents. Regular updates are available at www.sciarc.edu.
Contents 5 INTRODUCTION 6 DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
Section 1 Procedures and Academic Policies
Section 2 Courses and Degree Requirements
10 ACCREDITATION 10 ADMISSIONS 12 Advanced placement for transfer students 13 A pplication procedures 15 International students 16 Reading/writing competency test 16 HOUSING 17 REGISTRATION POLICIES 17 Online registration 17 Course and credit system 17 Add/drop procedure 18 Leave of absence/Withdrawal 18 Transfer of credit 19 Waiver of required courses 19 Residency 19 Vertical studio procedure 20 GRADING AND ACADEMIC PROGRESS 20 Grading 20 Attendance 20 Incomplete work 21 Appeal of a grade 21 Academic standing 22 Academic warning 22 Academic dismissal 22 Academic counseling 23 Portfolio review 23 Ownership of student work 24 Archiving 24 Access to records 26 EQUAL OPPORTUNITY 27 STANDARDS OF CONDUCT 30 SCI-ARC DRUG AND ALCOHOL POLICY 33 FINANCIAL INFORMATION 33 Privacy of personal information 33 Tuition and expenses 36 Tuition refunds 36 Delinquent payments 36 Financial aid 39 Employment 41 Enrollment status 44 Financial aid status 47 Scholarships 48 ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE 52 SAFETY RULES 52 SECURITY 52 Student IDs 52 PARKING
56 UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAM 63 GRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAMS 63 M.Arch 1 67 M.Arch 2 70 Post Graduate Programs 70 SCIFI 71 MediaSCAPES 72 2009–10 Academic Calendar 75 DESIGN STUDIOS 75 Core studios 75 Undergraduate 77 M.Arch 1 78 M.Arch 2 79 Vertical studios 85 Graduate thesis 87 CULTURAL STUDIES 87 Core CS seminars 87 Undergraduate 90 M.Arch 1 92 M.Arch 2 92 Recurring CS electives 94 Recent special project CS electives 99 APPLIED STUDIES 99 Core AS seminars 99 Undergraduate 102 M.Arch 1 104 M.Arch 2 105 Recurring AS electives 106 Recent special project AS electives 109 VISUAL STUDIES 109 Core VS seminars 109 Undergraduate 110 M.Arch 1 111 M.Arch 2 111 Recurring VS electives 114 Recent special project VS electives 118 S TUDY ABROAD/EXCHANGE PROGRAMS 119 COMMUNITY DESIGN PROGRAM 121 SUMMER AT SCI-ARC 121 MAKING + MEANING
Section 3 Resources, Public Programs, People 124 SCI-ARC RESOURCES 124 Kappe Library 125 Wood and metal shop 125 CNC/Digital fabrication facilities 125 Computer resources 125 Print center 126 SCI-Portal 126 Supply Store 126 Student Union 126 Psychological counseling program 127 PUBLIC PROGRAMS 127 Lecture series 127 SCI-Arc Gallery 128 SCI-Arc Press 128 DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNI RELATIONS 128 Development office 128 Alumni relations 130 PEOPLE 130 CONTACT 130 Leadership 130 Faculty 134 Staff 136 Board of Directors
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the Southern California Institute of Architecture. SCI-Arc is a center of innovation and one of the nation’s few independent architecture schools. We are dedicated to educating architects who will imagine and shape the future. Located in a quarter-mile long former freight depot in the Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles, SCI-Arc is distinguished by its vibrant studio culture and emphasis on process. We offer students a unique experience as they pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees. Our approximately 500 students and 80 faculty members— most of whom are practicing architects—work together to re-examine assumptions, create, explore and test the limits of architecture.
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DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
SCI-Arc opened its Santa Monica warehouse doors in 1972 to a small group of emancipated faculty and students, most of whom had rejected the prevailing institutional models of the time, in favor of a more free form intersection of teachers and learners, a patient critique of the old idioms, and an aggressive pursuit of the promise of an ever-re-newable pedagogy. Free form, patience, and aggressive pursuit are intact today. The aspiration to determine new pedagogy was never an aspiration to formulate doctrine. It was innocent, perhaps naive, less self-conscious at first–a shared instinct that the imaginative future of architecture is not a destination but a way of thinking critically, independently testing prospects which, in retrospect, represent a chronology of provisional paradigms—first fragile, then established, later decayed, and finally replaced. The pursuit of the fragile—conception in process—is intact today. SCI-Arc is the institute of the provisional paradigm. And when the provisional paradigm threatens to become a permanent allegiance—and it inevitably does —we begin again. In that warehouse in 1972 the conventional educational hierarchies of administrators and senior and junior faculty members disappeared in favor of a more fluid management model that mandated an essential connection of pedagogical content with the administrative direction of the school. Architects who reimagine the design discourse also re-imagine the administrative discourse, unlike the conventional institutional model where those functions are typically segregated. Today administrators continue to teach; teachers continue to administrate. 6
SCI-Arc had little or no interest in academic rivalries that so often fractionalize the discourse. It is never “our guys” versus “your guys”—but simply an enduring pursuit of that changing model of the discourse, wherever it leads. Those who joined that debate, whether they belonged to Los Angeles or to other venues, came to SCI-Arc regularly to discuss the prospects for architecture’s future. So SCI-Arc, almost immediately, began to develop a constituency of colleagues and friends, not joined by particular allegiances, but simply by a shared interest in the exploration of the architecture prospect. SCI-Arc began as a race with a moving finish line. SCI-Arc is still running, and the finish line is still in motion. Today SCI-Arc resides in an old freight depot on the east side of downtown Los Angeles. New time, new facility, new faculty, new tools, new friends. Everything has changed, and nothing has changed. SCI-Arc will forever believe that SCI-Arc—that coalition of individuals, faculty, students, and colleagues—will continue to re-write history, and that history will continue to become the history we write. — Eric Owen Moss, Director
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Michael Sorkin, SCI-Arc Graduation 2009
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1
Procedures and Academic Policies
Procedures and Academic Policies
The academic year at SCI-Arc is divided into three terms: fall, spring, and summer. Important deadlines are printed in the academic calendar but students should check regularly for official notices posted on SCI-Portal (SCI-Arc’s intranet) and around the school. Important school-related information is also sent out via email, and it is the student’s responsibility to check his or her SCI-Arc email on a regular basis.
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Procedures and Academic Policies
ACCREDITATION The professional degrees awarded by SCI-Arc, the B.Arch and M.Arch (offered through the M.Arch 1 and M.Arch 2 programs), are accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).
Next NAAB accreditation visit for all programs: 2012.
The NAAB states that In the United States, most state registration boards require a degree from an accredited professional degree program as a prerequisite for licensure. The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), which is the sole agency authorized to accredit U.S. professional degree programs in architecture, recognizes three types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture, the Master of Architecture, and the Doctor of Architecture. A program may be granted a 6-year, 3-year, or 2-year term of accreditation, depending on the extent of its conformance with established educational standards. Master’s degree programs may consist of a preprofessional undergraduate degree and a professional graduate degree that, when earned sequentially, constitute an accredited professional education. However, the preprofessional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree. The NAAB Conditions of Accreditation, including Student Performance Criteria, are accessible at www.naab.org. WASC accreditation SCI-Arc is also accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), 985 Atlantic Avenue, Suite 100, Alameda, CA 94501, 510.748.9001, www.wascweb.org. Institutional and academic amendments undertaken in support of these accreditations may be viewed on the SCI-Arc Portal, the institute’s intranet. The SCI-Arc Portal is a digital “bulletin board” for SCI-Arc’s community.
ADMISSIONS The Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc)—accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)—seeks applicants who demonstrate interest, ability, and academic achievement that reveal potential for the study of Architecture. SCI-Arc admits students into a particular degree program or as visiting students who do not wish to matriculate.
Section 1 • 10
Undergraduate admission The undergraduate program at SCI-Arc is a five-year (ten-term) professional Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) program, accredited by the National Architec-
Procedures and Academic Policies
tural Accrediting Board (NAAB). The undergraduate program admits approximately seventy students per year. Students may apply directly from high school or may transfer from two- or four-year architecture programs. Applications for first-year placement are accepted for the fall term; applications for advanced placement are accepted for the fall and spring terms. Students who have completed general, non-architecture coursework at other two-or four-year colleges may only apply for placement in the first year of the B.Arch program. This includes students who have completed associate degrees (A.A. or A.S.) in disciplines other than Architecture. Admission to the undergraduate program is competitive, and admissions decisions are based on the applicant’s creative portfolio, personal statement, academic record, and letters of recommendation. A GPA of 3.0 or higher is recommended. Advanced placement for transfer students from other Architecture programs is not guaranteed, but is determined by the Admissions Committee upon review of the applicant’s portfolio of architectural and creative work, the number of architectural design studios completed, their personal statement, academic standing, and letters of recommendation. Students who begin their studies in the B.Arch program with advanced standing (1B studio placement or higher) may be required to complete additional prerequisite seminars at SCI-Arc before advancing to the next studio level. Graduate admission Students are admitted into the graduate programs in the fall term only. Admission is determined by a review of the applicant’s personal statement, letters of recommendation, academic record, and portfolio of architectural and creative work. SCI-Arc offers four graduate programs:
Recommended (and in some cases required) preparatory course for M.Arch 1: Making + Meaning: The Foundation Program in Architecture, offered during the summer term.
M.Arch 1 A three year (seven term) professional Master of Architecture program, accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) and open to applicants who hold a bachelor’s degree or equivalent in any field of study. This program requires attendance for the fall and spring terms of the first two years, and the fall, spring and summer terms of the final year. All M.Arch 1 applicants are required to have completed at least one college-level course in Calculus and in Physics, receiving a grade of “C” or higher. Transcripts documenting these courses must be submitted with the application. Applicants who do not have these courses completed may receive a conditional acceptance by the committee, and will be required to complete these courses prior to enrolling into the program. Applicants with prior graduate-level architectural experience may be eligible for advanced placement into the second year of the M.Arch 1 program. Advanced placement is not guaranteed, but is determined by the Admissions Committee
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Procedures and Academic Policies
upon review of the applicant’s portfolio of architectural and creative work, the number of architectural design studios completed, their personal statement, academic standing, and letters of recommendation.
Prerequisite course for M.Arch 2: Introduction to Digital Design, offered in the summer term prior to entering the program.
Familiarity with the following programs if recommended for students entering the MediaSCAPES program: Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, Illustrator, Adobe Flash, Adobe Premier.
It is recommended that students entering the SCIFI program are familiar with the following software: InDesign, Final Cut Pro, Photoshop, Maya, Rhino, Illustrator, After Effects, Flash, and 3D Studio Max.
M.Arch 2 A two year (five term) professional Master of Architecture program, accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) and open to applicants with a minimum of a four-year degree in Architecture, or its equivalent abroad. This program requires attendance for the fall and spring terms of the first year, and the fall, spring and summer terms of the final year. MediaSCAPES A one year (three semester) non-professional Master of Design Research (M.DesR) degree program blending research and design studios with intensive seminars and workshops. MediaSCAPES welcomes interdisciplinary applicants from the fields of new media, interactive media, film, urban design, landscape design and architecture. Both designers and theorists are encouraged to apply. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the program, it is strongly suggested that applicants have a prior graduate degree in their discipline. Selected undergraduate students and non degree students will be evaluated on a case by case basis. SCIFI (Southern California Institute of Future Initiatives) A one year (three term) non-professional Master of Design Research (M.DesR) degree, open to students with a professional degree in Architecture or a bachelor degree or equivalent in any field. The SCIFI program prepares its members to successfully meet the challenges of leadership in Architecture, planning, politics and other endeavors that impact the planning, design, development, operations and governance of cities. Advanced placement for transfer students Advanced placement is not applicable to the M.Arch 2, SCIFI and MediaSCAPES programs. Also see Transfer of Credit section.
Application deadlines M.Arch 1: January 15, 2010 M.Arch 2: January 15, 2010 B.Arch, first year placement: February 1, 2010 SCIFI & MediaSCAPES: March 1, 2010 B.Arch, advanced placement: May 1, 2010 B.Arch (Spring enrollment, advanced placement only): October 1, 2009 All application deadlines are postmark deadlines. Late applications are considered on a case-by-case basis. Section 1 • 12
Procedures and Academic Policies
Application procedures Inquiries and requests for application, as well as completed application forms, should be sent to: SCI-Arc Admissions Office 960 East 3rd Street Los Angeles, California 90013 T: 213.613.2200 x320 admissions@sciarc.edu
Application materials All applications must include the following materials:
Application materials will be stored in the admissions office
– Completed application form – $75 application fee – Statement of purpose – Three letters of recommendation – Official transcripts – Test scores, if applicable (SAT or ACT, GRE) – TOEFL or IELTS (for international students only) – Résumé or curriculum vitae – Printed Portfolio of work.
for up to two years; portfolios for up to one year. Unclaimed portfolios will be discarded if not picked up by the applicant.
For more information on application materials, refer to the SCI-Arc Application for Admissions, available at www.sciarc.edu or contact the admissions office. Portfolio All applicants are required to submit a portfolio of creative work. Individuals who have no formal architectural education or experience should include work that demonstrates his or her visual design sensibilities, sense of form and space, experience with different materials or media, craftsmanship, and imagination. This work may include, but is not limited to: drawings/sketches, photography, painting, sculpture, ceramics, or wood and metal work. Applicants with a background in architecture are expected to present appropriately documented architectural projects in place of or in addition to other creative work. Portfolios larger than 10 x 13 inches or smaller than 5 x 7 inches will not be accepted. Submissions must be printed and bound. Work submitted on slides, CDs, or DVDs will not be accepted. (Exception: MediaSCAPES applicants are allowed to submit CDs, DVDs or other types of media files as a part of their application). The applicant’s name and program for which he or she is applying must appear on the front of the portfolio. If you would like your portfolio returned, include a self-addressed envelope with sufficient postage (postage should be in the form of stamps only). Unclaimed portfolios will be discarded at the end of the year.
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Procedures and Academic Policies
Notification of acceptance Graduate applicants will be notified of their admission status in early April; undergraduate applicants will be notified on a rolling basis between the months of April and June. Students who accept SCI-Arc’s offer of admission are required to submit a non-refundable deposit which reserves them a place in the entering class. This deposit is applied toward tuition for their first semester at SCI-Arc. M.Arch 2 students submit a deposit of $850, which is the cost of the prerequisite course Introduction to Digital Design. International students are required to submit an additional tuition deposit in order to begin the I-20 process (please contact the admissions office for more information). If the enrollment deposit is not received by the appropriate deadline, the applicant may forfeit their place in the entering class. Waiting list placement If an applicant is placed on the waiting list, he or she will be notified as positions open in the entering class or as information becomes available. Portfolios belonging to applicants on the waiting list may need to be retained after the notification date for admission purposes. Applicants accepted from the waiting list are not eligible for deferment. Admission appeals Applicants who wish to appeal an admission decision or studio placement must make their requests in writing. Appeals should be addressed to the Admissions Committee and should include applicable support materials (additional portfolio work and/or additional letters of recommendation, resume, etc.). Appeals are reviewed by the Admissions Committee and may require a personal interview with one or more committee members. The applicant receives written notification of the decision. Admission deferment Admission deferment is granted on a case-by-case basis for up to one year (two terms). Applicants must petition the school in writing to defer their admission. Petitions are reviewed by the Admissions Director and the applicant receives written notification of the decision. If an applicant fails to enroll in the following year, he or she must reapply for admission and they forfeit their deposit and must resubmit application fees. Reapplication for admission Reapplication within two years—Applicants must submit the following when reapplying: – New application form – New application fee – New portfolio (with recent work, if applicable) – At least one new letter of recommendation pertaining to work or study done Section 1 • 14
Procedures and Academic Policies
since the last application was filed – It is recommended that applicants revise and update their Statement of Purpose and Resume, citing any changes that have occurred since their previous application Reapplication after two year —If an applicant wishes to reapply for admission after two years of absence from the program, he or she must resubmit all application materials specified for the initial application. International students Citizens from other countries are admitted to the school on exactly the same basis as citizens of the United States. All application materials must be submitted in English. Transcripts in English translation are accepted. The Admissions Office reserves the right to request that international transcripts be evaluated by a credentials evaluation agency. English proficiency All international students, with the exception of those who have completed their secondary education in an English-speaking school or those who have completed at least two years of study at an English-speaking university, must submit the results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Test System (IELTS) to the admissions office. Minimum requirements for the TOEFL are 560 for the paper-based exam, and 83 on the internet-based exam; for the IELTS, applicants must score a minimum of 6.5. Accepted applicants who do not meet these minimum requirements may receive a conditional acceptance, and will be required to either submit a higher test score, or enroll in a 10-12 week ESL course. Also see Reading/Writing Competency Test section, below.
Finances for international students To ensure that students from other countries will not have financial difficulties after they have begun their studies at SCI-Arc, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) requires that international students certify they have the necessary funds available to cover tuition and living expenses while studying in the US. The I-20 will be issued when the completed certification form is submitted and the required tuition deposit is paid. Certification is required for the first year of study only.
Note: Students may not start work until the international advisor (IA)
Curricular Practical Training (CPT) Curricular Practical Training authorizes employment when it is required as an integral part of the academic program for which academic credit is given. CPT is recorded as units toward a degree. A student cannot take more than 6 units of CPT (equivalent to two courses), please see Courses and Degree Requirements,
authorizes them to engage in CPT. The IA will update the I-20 with the information when all paperwork is finalized. CPT must be applied for before the end of the Add/Drop period (the first two weeks of the
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Procedures and Academic Policies
section 2.0. Employment for more than 20 hours per week is considered full-time CPT, regardless of whether a student is enrolled full-time or part-time. If a student receives one year or more of full-time CPT, the student is no longer eligible for Optional Practical Training (OPT) after completion of the degree. Part-time CPT of any duration does not limit post-completion OPT. The IA (international advisor) must review each request and have prior approval from the Academic Counselor for all CPT requests. To make a request, students should submit the following documents to the IA: – An I-538 form with Section A completed and signed by the student – Original form I-20 ID – A letter from the Academic Counselor (AC) stating that the employment is for credit. This is in addition to the IA’s approval of the employment and is verified by the AC for elective/internship credit on the degree checklist – A letter from the employer stating the name of the firm, beginning and ending dates of the position, job description and whether the job will be full- or parttime. Reading / Writing competency test All entering students, as well as returning students, are required to take a language placement exam to determine their level of fluency in reading and writing English. Entering students unable to demonstrate competency in English language skills will be enrolled in English writing classes (ESL/ELL) in their first semester at SCI-Arc. Students who have continuing language difficulties may petition, or be required, to repeat ESL/ELL .
HOUSING SCI-Arc provides housing listings as an accommodation to students and does not endorse or independently investigate the quality or safety of such housing.
SCI-Arc is located in the Arts District on the eastern edge of downtown Los Angeles. Most students live in apartments or lofts downtown or in the surrounding communities–including the Arts District, Little Tokyo, Echo Park, Chinatown, Silverlake, Koreatown and others. Each community has a distinctive flavor that can best be understood by visiting; some are close enough to walk or ride a bike to school, others require a vehicle. We do not have on-campus housing. In addition to traditional methods of finding housing, students who have decided to enroll gain access to a Google group that allows easy communication among those who are looking for roommates or have sublets or apartment openings. The admissions staff is also available to help incoming students learn about neighborhoods and living options. While finding housing in any new city can be challenging, our experience is that most SCI-Arc students find suitable accommodations within a week or two. We always recommend that you visit your future home in person before signing any
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Procedures and Academic Policies
contracts. The following links will give you an idea of rental options available: www.apartments.com www.downtownnews.com/classifieds www.gostudentrentals.com www.latimes.com/classified/realestate/rentals www.losangeles.craigslist.org www.westsiderentals.com (membership fee required)
REGISTRATION POLICIES Online registration Registration for classes is done over the internet. Students must enroll in at least a full load of classes until they have completed their core study. During the summer, students are allowed to enroll in individual studios and seminars and pay tuition accordingly. Enrollment must be completed during the prescribed enrollment period. All core graduate students (1GA to 2GB) and all undergraduate students (1A to 5B) must see the Academic Counselor at their appointed times before they will be allowed to register online. Typically, registration opens approximately thirty days prior to the beginning of each term (refer to the Academic Programs section for course requirements). Please note that students in poor standing, or who are on academic or financial aid warning, cannot register online and must register with the Academic Counselor or Registrar in person.
Students must print and keep a copy of their registration for verification purposes. Online registration is binding. By enrolling online, the student agrees to comply with and accept the policies and procedures as described in this catalog.
Course and credit system Academic study at SCI-Arc is recorded in course units. In order to complete degree requirements on time, students should take a minimum of one studio (6 units) and three seminars (3 units each) per term. Workshops (units vary) are offered periodically. Eighteen (18) units is the maximum number a student can carry before they are charged for additional units. Add/drop procedure Students can change courses by completing the add/drop process online during the first 7 calendar days of each term (period subject to change). Students may access their course schedule by using their PIN (personal identification number) and student ID number. If the student fails to drop a course within the prescribed time limit, a permanent no credit (NC) for that course will be recorded on the student’s transcript. After the first week, and up until the thirteenth week of the term, students may withdraw from a course. To withdraw from a course, students must obtain an add/drop form from the Registrar and return it to the Registrar by the thirteenth week of the term. A withdrawal (W) is recorded on the transcript.
Students must visit the Financial Aid office in order to understand how their financial aid package will be impacted by adding and dropping courses.
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Procedures and Academic Policies
Students are eligible for a partial refund of their tuition fees only if they drop to below the full-time load—9 units per term for graduates and 12 units per term for undergraduates—and if they have approval to do so from the undergraduate or graduate program directors prior to the 38th day of term. Refunds are calculated as set forth in the tuition refund policy. During the core sequence, students are expected to maintain a full course load. Students taking more than 18 units are required to get approval from the Academic Counselor and the program directors. Also see Tuition Refunds section.
Auditing a Course Students who wish to attend a class without working for or expecting to receive formal credit may register to audit the course. Only upper division students may audit courses and only one course per term is permissible. Students who audit a course may not participate in class, do not take examinations, and do not submit papers. Students may only audit seminar courses; students may not audit design studios. Students must gain permission to audit a course from the course instructor and may not register to audit a course until the first day of classes in order to give priority to students needing to take the course for credit. Students may not attend any course without officially registering for either credit or audit. Students may not change an audit class to credit after the add/drop period (the first week of classes) and all audit courses must be approved through the Registrar. Leave of absence/ Withdrawal Upon the satisfactory completion of any term, a student who is in good standing is eligible to take a leave of absence for up to two years with the approval of the Registrar, Academic Counselor and Program Director. Students on leaves of absence are assured readmission to resume their studies from the point at which they were interrupted as long as it is within two years of the point exit and they return to the original program of study . The Registrar must receive notification no later than four months prior to the start of the term in which students intend to resume their studies. All students seeking a leave of absence must interview with the Academic Counselor before they are authorized to leave. Completion of the B.Arch degree requires 165 units plus an additional 21 transfer units in General Studies, which are generally taken at other
Students who fail to register for the next regular academic term following a leave of absence will be withdrawn automatically at the end of the term. A student who has withdrawn must reapply.
institutions. Students need 111 units to complete the M.Arch 1 degree , 75 units to complete the M.Arch 2 degree, and 45 units to complete the SCIFI and MediaSCAPES programs.
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Transfer of credit Undergraduate students who wish to receive transfer credits for courses completed at other institutions should be prepared to provide the Academic Counselor and the program coordinator with transcripts and course descriptions or
Procedures and Academic Policies
syllabi for these courses. Credit for coursework completed at other colleges with the grade of B or better will be granted for seminar requirements after review of the student’s prior academic record, with the approval of the appropriate study area coordinator, and in consultation with the Academic Counselor. Students who wish to receive veteran’s benefits must submit a statement of previous training to the school for consideration. Credit for the General Education portion of the B.Arch degree requirements is awarded after the Academic Counselor reviews the student’s prior academic record. SCI-Arc also accepts credits for advanced placement examinations (with scores of 3 or better) and CLEP subject examinations (with grades of 500 or better) for General Studies requirements. Also see Courses and Degree Requirements section.
Waiver of required courses A required course may be waived upon determination that the coursework was adequately covered by previous college work. Graduate students must replace waived courses with either core or elective classes approved by the Academic Counselor and study area coordinator. Course waiver forms are available from the Registrar or Academic Counselor and must be approved by the study area coordinator under which the required course is classified. Students must be prepared to present evidence of course work, such as catalog descriptions, course syllabi and transcripts. All Course waiver requests must be filed with the Academic Counselor prior to matriculation of the first semester of study. Residency Residency is required for the last two terms of each program. The undergraduate program consists of ten terms of full-time study. Applicants accepted with advanced placement are individually placed according to previous academic and design work. A minimum of four terms of full-time study or residency must be completed at SCI-Arc to receive a Bachelor of Architecture degree. A minimum of six terms of full-time study is required to receive a Master of Architecture degree in the three-year graduate program. A minimum of four terms of full-time study is required to receive a Master of Architecture degree in the two-year graduate program. Residency is required for the entire duration of the program to receive a Master of Design Research in the postgraduate programs. Vertical studio procedure Vertical studios are open to upper division students from the undergraduate and graduate programs —that is, students in 4B, 5A, 3GA and 3GB—and exchange students. Acceptance into a vertical studio is based on completion of core studio and seminar prerequisites. Following presentations by the vertical studio instructors, eligible students complete a vertical preference sheet, listing their top three choices of studio. Priority is given to 3GB and 5A students, then to 3GA and
Placement in vertical students is final and dependant upon portfolio review.
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4B students. Vertical studios are strictly limited to fifteen students. A lottery system—or portfolio review in the case of traveling studios—is used when demand for a studio is greater than the number of spaces available. Students may petition to do independent coursework at the vertical studio level, but a limited number of such requests is granted. A written proposal should be submitted to the Academic Counselor no later than six weeks before the beginning of the term and approved by the program directors. Students interested in the vertical studios offered abroad cannot register for the same travel studio more than once without the authorization from the Director’s Office.
GRADING AND ACADEMIC PROGRESS The grading system and GPA equivalents are subject to change.
Grading: SCI-Arc employs a narrative grading system, as follows: credit with distinction (CR+), credit (CR), marginal credit (CR-), conditional credit (CCR), no credit (NC), incomplete (I) and withdrawal (W). The grade of no credit (NC) is given whenever cumulative work, final work, or attendance are unsatisfactory. It is also given when a student fails to submit a final project or fails to take a final examination without prior approval from the instructor. No credit (NC) grades cannot be altered. GPA equivalents Grade
Point equivalent
CR+
4.0
CR
3.35
CR–
2.7
CCR
2.0
NC
0.0
I
0.0
W
0.0
Attendance Any student who is absent without an acceptable excuse more than three times during a fifteen-week term will receive a grade of no credit (NC) for the course. Instructors may impose more stringent attendance requirements and should make them clear at the beginning of the term. It is legitimate for the instructor to view unexcused lateness or departures from class as full absences. Incomplete work A student may receive a grade of incomplete (I) by requesting permission from the instructor prior to the date of the final examination or presentation. Permission will be granted only under extraordinary circumstances and usually for medical reasons. Incompletes must be fulfilled to the satisfaction of the instructor no Section 1 • 20
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later than six weeks after the end of term. The student is responsible for providing the instructor with the “Request for Credit” card used for this purpose. This card must be signed by the instructor and returned to the Registrar’s office. Failure to do so will result in the incomplete (I) being changed to a no credit (NC). No credit grades cannot be altered. Appeal of a grade Evaluation of a student’s performance in each course is the responsibility of the instructor for that course. If the grade is disputed, a student may appeal to the instructor for a review. If, after the review, the student still believes that a grade has been assigned unfairly, the student may submit a written petition with a copy of the transcript and portfolio, if necessary, to the Academic Counselor and a committee of the program directors and faculty will review the work . The petition must clearly state the reasons for the appeal. Petitions must be settled and a final grade submitted to the registrar no later than three weeks after the end of the term in which the course was completed. The program director’s decision concerning such an appeal is final. Minimum requirements Studios If a student’s studio GPA (grade point average) drops below 2.7, he or she must meet with the program director, who will review his or her portfolio and determine whether or not the student can continue to the next studio level. Students who receive two consecutive CCR grades must repeat the most recent studio and receive a grade of CR or better. Students who receive two consecutive NCs in studios will be dismissed from SCI-Arc. Seminars Students who receive two NCs in seminars will be placed on academic warning. Cumulative Students with an overall GPA of 2.7 or below will be placed on academic warning. If the student does not raise his or her GPA to 2.7 or above during the next semester, he or she must meet with the program director to determine whether or not he or she will be permitted to continue at SCI-Arc. Academic standing Students are considered to be making satisfactory academic progress if they follow the designated program of study, receive credit for coursework, and receive favorable portfolio reviews. Students must not only complete courses successfully, but also maintain an up-to-date portfolio that includes the best work of their choice and a minimum of one document from each studio project for all terms they are enrolled. Section 1 • 21
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Academic warning At the end of each term, students who have not satisfactorily maintained their academic standing will be sent an academic warning. The record of a student who has received an academic warning will be reviewed by the Academic Counselor and discussed with the student at the end of the subsequent term. Students receiving an academic warning are expected to improve their record so there will be no further question about their ability to complete the coursework required in the degree program. Students who do not improve satisfactorily during the term they are on academic warning will be required by the Academic Counselor to have their overall record, including their portfolio, reviewed by the program director. Students may be asked to withdraw if the program director determines that their work does not meet SCI-Arc standards. Academic Dismissal Cause for dismissal is based on the accumulation of unsatisfactory grades and overall performance. Two consecutive no credits (NC) in design studio, or failure to comply with the terms of academic warning, are grounds for dismissal. Registering for studio and/or seminars without regard for prerequisite course requirements results in suspension from design studio. A termination letter is sent to the student from the Academic Counselor’s office. Readmission to SCI-Arc is not guaranteed to a student who has been expelled. The school insists on a strong record of performance in successful completion of courses at another school for a minimum of two terms. This, however, may not be used to waive no credit grades at SCI-Arc. 150 Percent Rule A student will be terminated upon reaching 150 percent of the number of credits needed to complete their degree. This regulation applies to all students, including those who are financial aid recipients as well as those who have not previously received financial aid. For example, a student working toward a B.Arch. degree needs 165 hours to graduate. Once the student attempts 247.5 hours he/she is no longer eligible for financial aid. (165 hrs. x 150 percent = 247.5 hrs.) Under extenuating circumstances the 150 percent rule may be appealed. The 150 percent rule applies to all classes attempted by the student at SCI-ARC. Academic counseling SCI-Arc maintains an academic counseling service for the benefit of all students. The Academic Counselor is available for advice about general program requirements and help with academic problems. After acceptance, each student receives a degree checklist from the Academic Counselor. This form states the individual requirements for each student’s degree. Since programs are being continuously updated, the individual degree checklist in effect at the time of the student’s admittance establishes each student’s requirements for completion. Graduate core and undergraduate students must meet with the Academic CounSection 1 • 22
Procedures and Academic Policies
selor at least once a semester to update their checklist to ensure satisfactory academic progress. Other students must meet with the Academic Counselor at least once each academic year. One term prior to expected graduation, the student must submit an Application for Graduation form to the Academic Counselor. Upon receipt, the student’s record will be reviewed and he or she will be advised in writing as to which, if any, courses remain to be completed for the degree. Portfolio review A student portfolio is a meeting place, an intersection of architecture and architectural student. Not to be underestimated, this convergence can and should be a powerful one. Learning, analyzing, organizing, formatting, designing and reflecting, are all ways of developing a point of view, forging a binding relationship between the discipline of architecture and the student. The portfolio works to develop and convey the sense of architecture within the physical parameters of the portfolio. The portfolio is conceived as an experimental tool for engaging in a discussion of architecture, and is to be developed by each student as a selfcontained project in its own right. In the B.Arch and M.Arch programs, the portfolio supports evidence of the student’s capacity to learn about the world through general education coursework and the curriculum in architectural studies, the portfolio integrates general education, core and advanced interdisciplinary work. Students are required to maintain a comprehensive portfolio of their design studio work as well as selected work from other courses. The portfolios should document clearly and concisely each student’s progress through the curriculum, organizing the work chronologically and cumulatively. Portfolios are submitted for review at the end of the 2B and 4A studios for undergraduates, and at the end of 1GB and 3GA for graduates. Portfolios are reviewed by a faculty committee including studio and seminar faculty. During the review, faculty will assess the work documented for its capacity to give a clear sense of each individual student’s progress in all areas of their education at SCI-Arc. The portfolio is also used for admission into special programs, exchanges, and for special petitions. Students whose work does not meet the standards of the program may be given the opportunity to resubmit a portfolio, to enable them to better articulate their knowledge and skills. If the required standard is still not met, students may be asked to repeat their studio or enroll in an independent tutorial seminar. Students who submit their portfolios after the review date are charged a $100 late fee. Their portfolios may not be commented on by the review committee. Students who fail to submit a portfolio will be put on academic hold. Ownership of student work Student Material—including, but not limited to digital files, papers, drawings, and models submitted to the school to satisfy course requirements—becomes Section 1 • 23
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the physical property of the school. SCI-Arc and the student will have joint ownership of the intellectual property for use in all media throughout the world of all submitted material. The school will retain sole right to publish or display work in collections which include other SCI-Arc students. The student has the right to publish or display materials in collections of only his/her own work. SCI-Arc assumes no obligation to safeguard such materials and may, at its discretion, retain such material, return it to the student, or discard it.
Failure to submit work will result in the witholding of grades.
Archiving Selected students are required to submit examples of their work, on a clearly labeled CD, no later than one week after the end of term, to their instructors for archiving and, at SCI-Arc’s election, posting on the SCI-Arc website. By enrolling at SCI-Arc, each student grants SCI-Arc a license to reproduce and display his or her work. This is a chance for students to have their work shown online and potentially featured in forthcoming school publications. Images should be organized into two folders: Print: Images in tiff format, CMYK, 300 dpi and minimum 7 inches wide Web: The same images as jpgs. , RGB, 72 dpi, 7 inches wide Image file titles should include the term, year, studio (or instructor’s last name in the case of a vertical), and student name, and a number for each image submitted. For example: Sp_05_1GB_Doe_1.tiff Please also include on the CD, in Microsoft Word format: The course outline and a 100 word paragraph describing the project, with the student’s full name, year, studio, image titles, and a caption for each image submitted. Access to records Official student records are housed in the Registrar’s office. Student records are accessible to faculty members, the director, and staff who have legitimate educational interest in examining them. These individuals have specific responsibilities in connection with the campus’ academic, administrative, or service functions and have reason to use student records connected with their campus or other related academic responsibilities. Information is not released to any other party (including relatives of the student) without the knowledge and written consent of the student. Students have automatic access to all parts of the records except as follows: Financial records and statements of their parents or any information contained therein. Information from the Parents’ Confidential Statement or equivalent information may be released to the student on condition that the proper authorization has been signed by the parent(s).
Section 1 • 24
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Confidential letters and statements of recommendation which were placed in student records prior to January 1, 1975, provided that: 1. The letters and statements were solicited with a written assurance of confidentiality, or sent and retained with a documented request for confidentiality, and 2. The letters and statements are used only for the purposes for which they were specifically intended. Confidential letters and statements of recommendation placed in a student’s records after January 1, 1975, with regard to admission, employment, or the receipt of an honor, if the student has waived the right to inspect those recommendations. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), with which SCI-Arc complies, was enacted to protect the privacy of educational records, to establish the right of students to inspect and review their educational records, and to provide guidelines for the correction of inaccurate or misleading statements. FERPA governs access to students’ records maintained by the school and the release thereof. The law provides that students are entitled to certain access to records directly related to the student, as well as an opportunity, should it be necessary, for a hearing to challenge such records if they are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise inappropriate. If a student believes there is an inaccuracy in the college records, the student should write to the college official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record(s) the student wants changed and specify where it is inaccurate or misleading. If the college decides not to amend the record as requested, the college will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of his or her right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing. The right to a hearing under this law does not include any right to challenge the appropriateness of a grade as determined by the instructor. SCI-Arc is authorized under FERPA to release public “directory information” on its students. The term “directory information” includes the student’s name, address, telephone listing, date and place of birth, major field of study, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received, and the name of the most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the student. At any time, SCI-Arc can and will release to interested parties the above information unless it has received prior written objection from the student. This notification is required annually and must be renewed at the start of the fall term. According to FERPA, students also have access to the “completion or graduation” rate data. The information is available from the Registrar and can be accessed with ten days’ prior notification.
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A student has the right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failure by the College to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the office that administers FERPA is: Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20202-4605
THE SOLOMON AMENDMENT Solomon Amendment, is a federal law that allows military recruiters to access some address, biographical and academic program information on students age 17 and older. FERPA and the Solomon Amendment The Department of Education has determined the Solomon Amendment supersedes most elements of FERPA. An institution is therefore obligated to release data included in the list of “student recruiting information,” which may or may not match SCI-Arc’s FERPA directory information list. However, if the student has submitted a request to the Academic Counselor to restrict the release of his/her Directory Information, then no information from the student’s education record will be released under the Solomon Amendment. Definition—“Student Recruitment Information” or “Solomon Information” Name Address (home and mailing) Telephone (home and mailing) Age (is not defined as Directory information at SCI-Arc) Place of birth (is not defined as Directory information at SCI-Arc) Level of education Academic major Degrees received Educational institution in which the student was most recently enrolled
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY SCI-Arc promotes an open and ethical environment in which to work, teach, and study. SCI-Arc expects all members of the SCI-Arc community to uphold the values of honesty, respect, trust, tolerance, and civility in dealing with one another. Commitment to opportunity SCI-Arc does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, amnesty, medical condition, handicap or disability, creed, religious belief or non-belief, military status, age, marital status, gender, sexual or transgender orientation, domestic partner status, or sexual preference with regard to any of its policies and practices, including, but not limited to admissions, financial Section 1 • 26
Procedures and Academic Policies
assistance, education programs, academic counseling, activities, or employment. If you believe you have been discriminated against on such basis, you should notify the Academic Counselor. Special accommodation policies SCI-Arc complies with federal regulations concerning access for physically challenged students. Reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate individual needs. Applicants with disabilities who require any special accommodation in the application and pre-admission process should provide notification and make a written accommodations request to the admissions office. Applicants who do not need accommodations during the application process, but who anticipate the need for accommodations during their education, need not submit a request for accommodations until after admission to the college. Current students and newly admitted students who require special accommodations because of a disability, a serious health condition or a personal or family emergency must submit a written request for accommodation to the Academic Counselor as early as possible after the need for an accommodation becomes known. Students with disabilities who require accommodations will be required to obtain and submit a completed Request for Disability Accommodations and Certification Form to the Academic Counselor. This form must be completed by the student’s health care provider. The college reserves the right to require proof of the reasons underlying a student’s request for special accommodations.
STANDARDS OF CONDUCT All students are expected to comply with all laws and to respect the rights and privileges of other members of the SCI-Arc community and its neighbors. Unacceptable behaviors include, but are not limited to, those described herein. These descriptions should be read broadly and are not designed to define misconduct in exhaustive terms. Academic infractions SCI-Arc believes strongly in the integrity of the work of individuals. Student work that presents the ideas or words of others as the student’s own adversely impacts the whole school and may lead to immediate dismissal. Academic dishonesty, including cheating, plagiarism, commissioning academic work by others, or performing academic work on behalf of another student, is strictly prohibited. Common sense, integrity and personal responsibility Although it is not possible to provide a complete list of all types of impermissible conduct, the following are some examples of conduct that may result in disciplinary action, including expulsion: – Cheating, plagiarism, commissioning academic work by others, or performing Section 1 • 27
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academic work on behalf of another student, and misrepresenting facts. – D ishonesty, including, but not limited to falsification or making a material misrepresentation or omission on forms, records, or reports or any other school record. – Misusing, mutilating, defacing, destroying, damaging of or unauthorized possession of school information, materials, equipment, or property. – E xcessive absence. – Hazing, sexual and gender harassment, and actual or threatened physical violence toward another. (Please see below for a full harassment information.) – Unlawful possession, distribution, sale, use or being under the influence of illegal drugs or alcohol while on school property, while acting on behalf of the school, or while operating a vehicle or potentially dangerous equipment leased or owned by the school. (Please see the SCI-Arc Drug and Alcohol Policy on page 1.29) – Unauthorized possession of school property or the property of a SCI-Arc student or staff member, or visitor. – V iolation of SCI-Arc’s IT policy, including infringement of patents, trademarks, trade secrets, or intellectual property rights, software piracy, unauthorized network/computer access, illegal export, spamming, email/news bombing, email/message forging, virus distribution, Ponzi schemes, chain letters, pyramid schemes, access to pornography, and the inappropriate use of software or hardware. – C onducting oneself in a manner that endangers the health or safety of oneself, other members or visitors within the SCI-Arc community or at SCI-Arc sponsored or related events. – Tampering with or damaging fire and life safety equipment. – B ringing or possessing dangerous or unauthorized materials, such as weapons, explosives, firearms or other similar items to SCI-Arc or to SCI-Arc sponsored or related events. Harassment Sexual and gender harassment, as well as harassment due to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, is strictly prohibited. It is impossible to define every action, all words or all situations that could be interpreted as sexual harassment. Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature are defined as sexual harassment when submission to or rejection of such conduct is used as a basis for decisions affecting an individual’s education, employment or participation in school activity; when such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance; and when such conduct could reasonably be construed as intimidating, hostile or demeaning. The following descriptions are Section 1 • 28
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not meant to be a complete list of objectionable behavior, nor do they always constitute sexual harassment. Sexual harassment can be verbal, non-verbal, or physical. It can be overt or can be implied from the conduct, circumstances and relationships of the individuals involved. It can range from unwelcome sexual flirtations and inappropriate putdowns of individual persons or classes of people, to serious physical abuses such as sexual assault and rape. Examples include, but are not limited to unwelcome sexual advances; repeated sexually-oriented kidding, teasing, joking or flirting; verbal abuse of a sexual nature; graphic commentary about an individual’s body, sexual prowess or sexual deficiencies; derogatory or demeaning comments which are gender-directed, whether sexual or not; leering, whistling, touching, pinching or brushing against another body; blocking movement; offensive crude language; or displaying objects or pictures which are sexual in nature and would create hostile or offensive work and learning environments. Relationships of a sexual or amorous nature between faculty members and students are inappropriate. SCI-Arc will not tolerate current faculty members engaging in relations of a sexual or amorous nature with currently enrolled students. Relationships of a sexual or amorous nature between staff and students are also inappropriate. SCI-Arc’s policy in regard to amorous relationships between staff and subordinates is the same as its policy regarding relationships between faculty and students, as stated above. Reporting harassment Students should address complaints to the Academic Counselor. Faculty and staff members should address complaints to the Human Resources Director. Rights of the accused A person formally charged has the right to receive immediate notification that a complaint has been filed, the name of the complainant, and the nature of the harassment alleged. During the process of investigation, the accused will have an opportunity to offer evidence, including the names of witnesses or any other supporting documentation, to the investigation process. Disciplinary proceedings are intended to be informal, fair and expeditious. The procedures of criminal and civil courts shall not govern disciplinary proceedings, and formal rules of evidence shall not be applicable. Retaliation policy It is against SCI-Arc policy to retaliate against any person who has filed a complaint or sought advice through the processes described above. It is also against SCI-Arc policy to retaliate against anyone who has testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in such processes. These policies regarding retaliation also apply to the accused and third parties siding with the accused. Violations of these Section 1 • 29
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policies regarding retaliation are subject to disciplinary measures or expulsion. Disciplinary measures Disciplinary measures, if necessary, may consist of any of the following: verbal warning, written warning, probation, suspension with or without pay and/or termination, suspension and/or expulsion from the school.
SCI-ARC DRUG AND ALCOHOL POLICY SCI-Arc believes that all students, staff and faculty have an obligation to the SCI-Arc community to deal responsibly with alcoholic beverages and controlled substances and to protect SCI-Arc from inappropriate liability. While SCI-Arc respects the rights of its students and employees to exercise their legal options regarding alcohol consumption, they should make decisions that are respectful of SCI-Arc and those around them, and with an understanding of the potential consequences to themselves. All must also understand that various federal laws provide clear expectations that colleges will act to prevent the illegal use of drugs and alcohol on their campuses and at their events and penalize colleges for their failure to do so. The following is a summary of SCI-Arc’s policies and programs relating to the use of alcohol and other drugs on campus and at school sponsored events. This information is sent to you annually as a requirement of the Drug-Free Schools and Campuses Act of 1990, and the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988. Universities that receive federal/state funds in any form are required to comply with the above acts. We must take affirmative steps to prohibit the unlawful possession, use, and/or distribution of illicit drugs and alcohol. Should you have any questions, students should consult the Academic Counselor; faculty and staff should consult the Human Resources Director. Standard of Conduct Compliance With All Laws: Students, faculty and staff will comply with federal, state and local laws governing the use of alcohol and drugs on SCI-Arc property or at any activity or event on and off the campus sponsored by SCI-Arc. Additional Policies The Director’s Office shall be notified of any school event at which alcohol is to be served. At those events, alcohol shall be limited to that provided by the organization or group and one or more individuals shall be designated by the group to serve the alcohol. The person designated by the group shall confirm that each member served is over 21 years of age and shall not serve alcohol to anyone who appears intoxicated. No person attending an event where alcohol is being served shall bring his or her own alcohol to the event. Section 1 • 30
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No student or employee may use any Wood and Metal Shop tools or equipment or any CNC equipment if he or she has consumed alcohol within the prior twentyfour (24) hours. Description of Health and Other Risks All drugs can be toxic or poisonous if abused. The use of illicit drugs and abuse of alcohol can result in death, violence, incarceration, loss of a drivers license, damaged fetuses, failed relationships, petty property crime, school dropout, lowered productivity and quality, increased absenteeism and tardiness, serious psychobiological and neurobiological problems, reduced concentration, impaired judgment, loss of short tern and long term memory, diminished reasoning skills, strained family relationships, and other serious life altering affects. Applicable laws and sanctions The unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensation, possession, and/or use of controlled substances or alcohol is regulated by a number of federal, state and local laws. These laws impose legal sanctions for both misdemeanor and felony convictions. Criminal penalties can be dependent upon several conditions including the substance, amount, and whether the matter is a first offense or repeated offense. Criminal penalties for convictions can range from fines and probation to denial or revocation of federal benefits (such as student loans) to imprisonment and forfeiture of personal and real property. While not exhaustive, the following are laws of which students and employees should be aware: Use or Possession of Alcohol by Minor People under the age of 21 may not consume, possess or distribute alcohol, nor may they drive any motor vehicle containing any alcoholic beverage unless a parent or legal guardian is present in the vehicle. Service to Minors It is unlawful for any person to sell, furnish or give any alcoholic beverage to anyone under the age of 21. False Identification Minors who use false identification in order to obtain alcoholic beverages are guilty of a misdemeanor. It is also unlawful to provide a minor with false identification. Drinking and Driving No person may drink any alcoholic beverage while driving or possess in any vehicle any bottle, can or other receptacle which has been opened, or a seal broken. While any person over 21 with a blood alcohol content of .08 or higher and any person under 21 with any measurable blood alcohol content violates the law, this does not mean that someone with a lesser alcohol content is not guilty of violatSection 1 • 31
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ing the law. Any person whose behavior indicates he or she is under the influence violates the law no matter what his or her blood alcohol level. Sale or gift of alcohol to an intoxicated person The sale or furnishing of alcoholic beverages to an obviously intoxicated person constitutes a misdemeanor. Selling alcoholic beverages, either directly or indirectly, except with the proper license, is a crime. This includes selling tickets to be used for drinks, or charging admission to any event where alcohol will be provided, whether or not food is served. Cultivation, Manufacturing, Trafficking and Sale of Drugs Cultivations, manufacture, sale or distribution of controlled substances or drug paraphernalia can result in life imprisonment and fines in excess of $1000. Permitting Property to be Used in Connection with the Trafficking or Sale of Drugs: If your vehicle or other property is used in connection the sale or trafficking of drugs, it can be seized and retained or sold by the government without compensation to you, regardless of whether you participated in the illegal activities. Disciplinary Sanctions Students who have violated laws governing the use of alcohol and illicit drugs or this policy will be subject to disciplinary sanctions by SCI-Arc ranging from probation up to and including expulsion from SCI-Arc. A student under 21 years of age who uses or has in his or her possession alcoholic beverages on SCI-Arc’s campus or at a SCI-Arc event, and/or any student who to supplies alcohol to an individual who is under the age of 21 years on SCI-Arc’s campus or at a SCI-Arc event, will be subject to immediate discipline as follows:
1. For a first offense, mandatory counseling at the student’s expense, as well as suspension from the school and a forfeiture of tuition and fees for the period of the suspension; and 2. For a second offense, expulsion. Employees of SCI-Arc who have violated laws governing the use of alcohol and illicit drugs or this policy may be demoted, suspended or terminated. Violations of law by either students or employees may also be referred to the appropriate authorities for prosecution. Students are strongly encouraged to call for medical assistance for themselves or for another person who is dangerously intoxicated or for assistance if he or she becomes a threat to himself or others. If the student who places the call for Section 1 • 32
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help is found to be in violation of SCI-Arc’s poly, the fact that he or she placed the call will be considered mitigating circumstances when sanctions are imposed. Resources for Assistance Employees and students who are concerned about substance use, abuse, and rehabilitation are strongly encouraged to contact their family physicians, their health plan, or, in the case of students, the Academic Counselor and in the case of employees, the Human Resources Director, who can refer them to appropriate resources (community or private agencies) that provide complete, confidential substance abuse counseling. Additionally, the Yellow Pages of the telephone directories under the headings Alcoholism Information & Treatment Centers or Drug Abuse & Addiction Information & Treatment Centers contain numerous agencies and practitioners specializing in the treatment of alcohol and drug problems. SCI-Arc provides three (3) sessions of counseling free to individual students; students who wish such assistance should contact Abby Adorney at (310) 392-4490. Disclosure of campus security policy and campus crime statistics The college’s security and law enforcement policies and programs, and statistics regarding crimes on campus are available on the SCI-Portal and will be distributed annually at Orientation.
FINANCIAL INFORMATION Privacy of personal information SCI-Arc complies with state and federal regulations concerning use of personal information. Information collected from and about students, faculty, staff and business associates is shared only to meet government requirements and conduct business within SCI-Arc. Personal information is acquired and used on a limited basis to comply with government requirements, fulfill service requirements, and provide effective coordination of academic and administrative operations. To maximize the protection of personal information, SCI-Arc urges everyone to be cautious in sharing personal information with others. In particular, social security numbers should be guarded carefully. Each student is assigned a Student Identification Number to link information to individuals. Tuition and expenses Tuition (including fees) per term for the academic school year is currently $12,675 for New Students and $11, 905 for Continuing Students. Students attend an average of two terms per year. While every effort is made to keep tuition costs low, phased periodic increases do occur, and students should budget accordingly.
Tuition covers a maximum of 18 units per term. Students interested in taking over 18 units will be charged an additional fee per unit. The maximum units allowed per semester is 21 units.
The following additional estimated expenses are calculated for an unmarried student for a one term (four month) period. These figures should be used only as a guideline. Travel to and from Los Angeles is not included. Section 1 • 33
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Degree Programs/Fall and Spring EXPENSES
2009-2010
CONTINUING STUDENT
ADMISSION YEAR STUDENT
Student Tuition and fees (per term)
$12,675 (including
(subject to change)
fees)
$11, 905 (including fees)
Course supplies and books
$2,,047
$2,047
Living and personal expenses
$5,239
$5,239
Transportation expenses
$713
$713
Miscellaneous expenses
$1,040
$1,040
Total
$21,714
$20,944
Summer Programs EXPENSES
2009-2010
CONTINUING STUDENT
ADMISSION YEAR STUDENT
Full Time Tuition for the summer
$12,675
$11,905
2010 academic term
(including fees)
(including fees)
Workshops (1 unit)
$1,000 / 1 workshop
$950 / 1 workshop
$2,000/ 2 workshops
$1,900/ 2 workshops
$3,100 / 3 workshops
$3,000 / 3 workshops
Design studio workshops (2 units)
$2,000 / 1 workshop $4,000 / 2 workshops
$1,900 / 1 workshop $3,800 / 2 workshops
$6,200 / 3 workshops
$6,000 / 3 workshops
Individual seminar
$3,100 each
$3,000 each
Individual studio
$8,750
$8,500
Making+Meaning: The Foundation Program in Architecture Tuition and fees
$3,125
Lab fee
$275
Total
$3,400
Payment Schedule Tuition and fees must be paid in full prior to the first day of each semester. Financial aid funds for eligible students must be verified by the Financial Aid Office in order to defer payment of tuition charges. Should it become necessary Section 1 • 34
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for you to require a payment plan for an outstanding balance, you must see the Finance Office prior to the first day of the semester and make arrangements for a payment plan for the outstanding balance. It is important to note, that if you have not made arrangements for your entire tuition and fee balance prior to the first day of the semester you may be subject to administrative withdrawal, resulting in cancellation of your enrollment in classes. Payment Plans Only students with qualifying needs as determined by the Finance Office will be eligible for a payment plan. When you set-up and establish a payment plan, you will be required to sign a promissory note (a promise to pay) which will include a schedule of payments by date you agree to make payments for the outstanding balance. There is a $50 set-up fee for establishing a payment plan. A default fee of $100 (as well as any applicable interest) is charged for every time one of the scheduled payments is not made as agreed. Payment Methods All payments must be made in US dollars (Cash, MasterCard, VISA, American express and checks are accepted.) A $25 returned check fee, payable by cash or money order is charges each time a check is returned by the bank. Students whose checks are returned by the bank are moved to the end of the priority list for choosing studios or seminars. They also will lose their place in studio if it is full. Outstanding Balances No one will be allowed to register for classes or receive grades or other Sci-Arc services with an outstanding balance for tuition or fees. Students who carry a balance due to default on their payment plans to pay tuition or unpaid checks are subject to administrative withdrawal, resulting in cancellation of enrollment in classes. Accounts in arrears that remain unpaid beyond the current semester may be submitted to outside agencies for service and collection. Students will be responsible for payment of fees charged by these agencies for their services. Tuition refunds 90% refund
1–10 weekdays from the first day of classes
50% refund
11–19 weekdays from the first day of classes
25% refund
20– 37 weekdays from the first day of classes
0% refund
After 37 weekdays from the beginning of classes Section 1 • 35
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All requests for refunds must be made in writing and dated. This refund policy is subject to change without prior notice. This policy pertains to the full tuition after the first day of class. When a student withdraws from school or is granted a leave of absence, the refund is calculated based on the total tuition due for that term. Tuition is assumed to have been paid in full by the first day of class, at which time students begin receiving services for the term. The refund policy also applies to federal loans received. Making + Meaning: The Foundation Program In Architecture 80% refund
1–2 days from the beginning of the program
0% refund
On the 3rd day or after
Delinquent payments Payment plans or promissory notes are monitored monthly. In addition, statements are sent to students at the end of each month, and the appropriate fee is charged to the account. Any account left unpaid 90 days after the end of the term, or after the end of the payment arrangement, will be placed on financial hold and may be sent to collections. Students shall be responsible for all collection costs and interest charged by the collection agency. A student may not reenroll until balances have been cleared, or payment arrangements have been made with the finance office. Financial aid Students beginning the process of selecting a college find that the cost of an education is likely to be a major concern. Southern California Institute of Architecture is committed to assisting students with these costs through a variety of financial aid programs. Many students need help with the educational expenses incurred while attending Southern California Institute of Architecture. Financial aid includes grants, scholarships, loans and part-time employment. The University offers a combination of these types of aid from various sources in an award package. Financial aid is awarded on the basis of financial need. Continued financial aid eligibility is based on financial need and academic progress. There are scholarships available that may be awarded based on academic merit. Eligibility for financial aid is established through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Our Title IV Code is: 014073. An application for financial aid does not affect the student’s chances of admission. How to apply for Financial Aid Students who wish to be considered for assistance from Southern California Institute of Architecture are required to complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and a Southern California Institute of Architecture Financial Aid forms. You can apply for the FAFSA at www.fafsa.ed.gov New students must be accepted for admission to Southern California Institute Section 1 • 36
Procedures and Academic Policies
of Architecture before an offer of financial assistance can be made. California residents will meet the Cal Grant program deadline by filing their FAFSA on or before March 2. The Cal Grant program also requires that students who have not previously been recipients of a Cal Grant file a G.P.A. Verification Form with the California Student Aid Commission no later than March 2. The GPA Verification Form is available through high school guidance counselors, local college financial aid offices or on-line at www.calgrants.org . Financial aid is awarded on a yearly basis for the traditional academic year of fall and spring semesters. Students interested in summer funding should inquire in the preceding semester about the availability of aid. Financial aid is not automatically renewed each year. Students must remember to reapply each year by filling out a new FAFSA and providing the required verification documents. Forms and publications Students may download most forms from www.sciarc.edu. The financial aid office supplies paper versions of forms and publications upon request. Faxed forms and/or documents are accepted. The FAFSA will be available for completion on January 1. Students may complete the FAFSA prior to filing their federal income tax by selecting the “Will Complete” option on the tax information page of the FAFSA and estimating your tax information. Students may use their W-2s or federal income tax forms to assist them with their estimation. They will need to update their tax information on the FAFSA and submit a signed copy of their recent federal income tax forms to the financial aid office once the return has been filed. Who is Eligible? In order to receive financial assistance from Southern California Institute of Architecture, a student must meet the following criteria: • The student must be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a matriculated student in an eligible program as an undergraduate or graduate; • The student must be a U.S. citizen or national or: A. be a permanent resident of the United States; B. provide evidence from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that he/she is in the United States for other than a temporary purpose with the intention of becoming a citizen or permanent resident; C. be a citizen of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands or a permanent resident of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Palau);
Section 1 • 37
Procedures and Academic Policies
D. be a graduate of an accredited high school, hold a GED certificate, or an associate’s degree from a community college. • The student must maintain satisfactory academic progress standards. • The student must not be in default on any Federal Student Loan, to include Federal Stafford Loans, Federal Perkins Loans (formerly called NDSL), Federal Direct Loans, nor owe a refund to any institution for funds received under the Pell Grant, SEOG or SSIG programs. Further, for parents to receive a Plus Loan, neither parent nor the student may be in default or owe an overpayment to any Financial Aid grant program. • The student must be in compliance with Selective Service Registration laws and sign a statement certifying compliance. • The student must certify that he/she has not engaged in the unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensing or use of a controlled substance. What kind of Financial Aid is available? Financial aid available at Southern California Institute of Architecture comes from the federal and state governments, the University and private donors. The following list provides an idea of the resources available to our students: Grants Grants are based upon need and do not require repayment. The following grants are available at Southern California Institute of Architecture: Pell Grants are funds made available from the federal government and are designed to help needy undergraduate students meet educational costs. These grants are based on demonstrated need as determined by the federal government. Awards currently range from $400 to $5,350 per award year. Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG) are also funded primarily through the federal government. These funds are earmarked for exceptionally needy undergraduate students and may range from $100 to $600 per year here at Southern California Institute of Architecture. Cal Grant A awards are from the state government and provide assistance to California residents who come from low- and middle-income families. The student’s grade point average as well as demonstrated financial need is taken into consideration when making these awards, which range from $9,708 to $11,259 during the 2009-2010 academic year. Cal Grant B, also from the state government, is designed for California high school graduates with high academic potential who come from minority, disadvantaged or low-income families, and who have little or no previous college work (less than one semester or 16 quarter units). Awards include semester checks to students Section 1 • 38
Procedures and Academic Policies
for living expenses, plus a tuition and fee grant beginning in the student’s second year of study. Cal Grant B recipients received $1,551 to $11,259 during the 20092010 academic year. Employment On-campus employment opportunities are available and may be included in a financial aid award package to assist students in meeting their educational expenses. Federal Work Study (FWS) is a program funded by the federal government and Southern California Institute of Architecture to provide part-time employment for students who demonstrate financial need. Students employed through this program are assisted in finding jobs on campus through the Financial Aid Office. Most students work between 5 and 10 hours per week while classes are in session and earn no less than minimum wage. Employment may begin only after the completed work study packet has benn approved by the financial aid office. All state and federal equal opportunity employment practices are upheld. It is strongly suggested that students do not have full time employment while earning their degree at SCI-Arc. International students are not eligible for federal work study, but may be eligible for institutional work study with a valid social security card. Loans Loans provide students with the opportunity to defer a portion of their educational costs and often form part of a financial aid award package. Southern California Institute of Architecture offers the following loan programs: Federal Family Educational Loan Program Federal Stafford Loans (Subsidized and Unsubsidized)— Applied for by the student. This loan has a fixed interest rate. Subsidized Stafford loan interest is paid for by the federal government while the student is in school full time up to six months after graduation. Unsubsidized Stafford loan interest payment is the responsibility of the student who can pay the interest or let it accrue until six months after graduation Federal PLUS Loans (Parent Loans)— The Parent PLUS loan is for parents who need to borrow to help meet their dependent student’s educational costs. Eligibility is based on the parent’s passing a credit check. The amount of a PLUS loan may not exceed the cost of education, minus any other financial aid received by the student. This loan has a fixed interest rate. Federal Grad PLUS Loans (Graduate Student Loans)— The Grad PLUS loan is for students in a post-baccalaureate program who need Section 1 • 39
Procedures and Academic Policies
to borrow to help meet their educational costs. Eligibility is based on the passing a credit check. The amount of a PLUS loan may not exceed the cost of education, minus any other financial aid received by the student. This loan has a fixed interest rate. Private loans Credit based loans that are used by undergrads classified as Independent on the FAFSA. These loans have a variable interest rate and may require interest payments during school. Should you and your parents not qualify for assistance under FFEL or need additional assistance beyond what can be funded through the federal programs, alternative loans are available to meet those college costs. Application procedures and loan terms vary by lender so it is strongly advised that you research the various options and choose what best fits your particular situation. Southern California Institute of Architecture will be requested to certify student enrollment and, in many cases, cost of attendance for these loans. You can find a list of lenders at www.elmselect.com, click on the private loan tab. Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Standards and Financial Aid Agreement
Federal financial aid guidelines require that the SCI-Arc Financial Aid Office verifies each student’s SAP for current and future financial aid. We have compiled these guidelines and incorporated the SCI-Arc policies into one document for your convenience. To be eligible for financial aid, you must be enrolled as a regular student in an eligible program. You must complete courses that lead towards a degree (B.Arch or M.Arch) or post-secondary certificate (SCI-FI or Mediascapes). It is your responsibility to know your educational goal and the requirements to meet that goal. The Financial Aid Office does not provide academic advisement to students. Any answers regarding academic advisement should be addressed by the Academic Counselor. It is your responsibility to keep the Financial Aid Office informed of changes in your enrollment status.
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Procedures and Academic Policies
ENROLLMENT STATUS Undergraduate Students You will be paid financial aid based on your financial aid need, citizenship, the availability of funds and the number of units in which you are enrolled each semester. The table lists enrollment status and Pell Grant amounts: Enrollment Status
Pell Grant Award
12+ units equal
Full-time enrollment
100% of award
9-11 units equal
3/4 time enrollment
75% of award
6-8.5 units equal
1/2 time enrollment
50% of award
Less than 6 units equal
Less than 1/2 time enrollment 25% of award
If you are enrolled in courses which are less than 15 weeks in length during the fall or spring semester(s), those units will be counted toward the total units for the entire semester. Payment of Pell Grant money during the summer sessions is determined using a prorated formula. Please ask a Financial Aid Office representative to explain the formula to you and determine if you would be eligible for Pell during any given summer session. Graduate Students You must maintain at least half-time enrollment to receive financial aid. Enrollment Status 9+ units equal
Full-time enrollment
6-8.5 units equal
1/2 time enrollment
Less than 6 units equal.
Less than 1/2 time enrollment
Minimum unit/studio requirement A student receiving aid must earn a minimum number of units each semester, applicable to his/her degree, and consistent with his/her enrollment/funding status. Students are encouraged to register for more than the minimum number of units applicable to his/her degree so as not to jeopardize progress. Failure to complete a studio or continue on to the next studio level, and falling behind in seminar requirements will result in academic disqualification for financial aid. Dropping units Once classes begin and financial aid is disbursed, a student may have a unit deficiency if he or she drops below the minimum unit requirement. During the 100% refund period, aid will be reduced to reflect the new enrollment/funding status. If there is a unit deficiency, funds will have to be repaid and the funds restored to the aid program(s). After the 100% refund period, dropping units below the minimum unit requirement creates a unit deficiency. Section 1 • 41
Procedures and Academic Policies
Dual enrollment Students will only receive financial aid from one college, even if they are concurrently enrolled. Enrollment status at SCI-Arc only includes coursework that is listed in the class schedule for that term. An exception may be made for undergraduate students who must take courses to complete their B.Arch that are never offered at SCI-Arc, such as the General Education requirements. In cases such as this, completed coursework at another institution may be used to make up a prior unit deficiency. Correcting a unit deficiency If a student’s GPA is at the required standard or above and he or she only needs to make up units, the student may take additional courses at SCI-Arc. Undergraduates may also take General Education courses at another institution. All coursework must be applicable toward the degree objective and not exceed the number of units that are transferable to SCI-Arc. Aid may NOT be received from any college while making up the deficiency to regain aid eligibility. Students who have not maintained satisfactory academic progress must be prepared to pay their own fees for the following term. Quantitative and Qualitative Progress: In order to be eligible for financial aid, you must make progress toward your educational goal. The SCI-Arc Financial Aid Office monitors that progress using two criteria—Quantitative Progress and Qualitative Progress. It is your responsibility to make sure that you meet both of these progress standards. What follows is an explanation of each standard: Quantitative Progress: You are required to complete at least 75% of the total number of units in which you enroll in each semester. The table below lists the number of units you must complete each semester, based upon your enrollment status: Enrollment Status - Undergraduate
Quantitative Progress Requirements
Full-time enrollment (12+ units)
You must complete at least 9 units
3/4 time enrollment (9-11.5 units)
You must complete at least 7 units
1/2 time enrollment
You must complete at least 5 units
Less than 1/2 time enrollment
You must complete all units
Enrollment Status - Graduate
Quantitative Progress Requirements
Full-time enrollment (9+ units)
You must complete at least 6 units
1/2 time enrollment
You must complete at least 4 units
Less than 1/2 time enrollment
You must complete all units
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Procedures and Academic Policies
Qualitative Progress: You are required to maintain a cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 2.7. The GPA standard is used at all times in the determination of eligibility for financial aid, even when you do not receive financial aid. Quantitative and Qualitative Progress standards are checked once per academic year at the end of the spring semester and include all periods during which you were enrolled (summer semester, fall and spring semesters). GPA Equivalents Grade
Grade Point Equivalent
CR+
4.0
CR
3.35
CR-
2.7
CCR
2.0
NC
0.0
I
0.0
W
0.0
Other Factors Considered for Satisfactory Academic Progress: 1. Term Count—The Federal Government has placed limits on the number of semesters a student can receive financial aid. For a SCI-Arc student, it is 15 semesters of full time enrollment or the equivalent as a part-time student. Transfer students are calculated by the studio level they are accepted at. For example, if an undergraduate transfer student is accepted as a 2A, he/she will have eight semesters of eligibility with a maximum limit of 12 semesters. 2. Studio—SCI-Arc’s policy is that a student must maintain a 2.7 or better in studio. If the GPA drops below 2.7, the student must have a meeting with the program director who will determine if the student can continue onto the next level. Students who receive two consecutive CCR grades must repeat the most recent studio and receive a CR or better. Students who receive two consecutive NC’s in studios will be dismissed from SCI-Arc. 3. Seminars—Students who receive two NC’s in seminars will be placed on academic warning. 4. Cumulative GPA—Students with an overall GPA of 2.7 or below will be placed on academic warning. The GPA must be raised during the next semester. If not, he or she must meet with the program director to determine if the student can continue studies at SCI-Arc. 5. Withdrawal, Leave of Absence and Refund Policy—Up to the first day of class, the student will receive 100% refund except for the $100 registration fee (continuSection 1 • 43
Procedures and Academic Policies
ing students) or the non-refundable deposit (new students). All loans and grants will be sent back to the proper institutions with no penalties. On the first day of class and thereafter, the SCI-Arc refund schedule is as follows: Time
Refund
1-10 weekdays from the first day of classes
90%
11-19 weekdays from the first day of classes
50%
20-37 weekdays from the first day of classes
25%
After 37 weekdays from the first day of classes 0% If you withdraw or take a leave of absence before the first day of classes, you will be required to repay some portion of: 1. The federal financial aid (Pell Grant, Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant [SEOG], National SMART Grant, or Academic Competitiveness Grant), or Federal Stafford Loan program disbursed to the school on your behalf; 2. All registration fees (Administrative Fee, Student Union Fee). You will only be liable for repayment if you withdraw completely (i.e. drop all of your classes) from SCI-Arc. In the event you are required to repay financial aid funds, the Financial Office will notify you in writing of the amount you owe. Your academic records will be placed on “hold” until repayment is made. Financial Aid Status As stated above, you are required to meet Quantitative and Qualitative Progress standards at all times. If you fail to do so, you will be placed on Financial Aid Probation or Financial Aid Termination status at the end of the academic year in which you failed to maintain either standard. Probation and Termination statuses are defined as follows: Financial Aid Probation Status: Failure to meet Quantitative or Qualitative Progress standard(s) during the prior academic year. A Probation letter will be sent to you at the address on file in the Financial Aid Office informing you of your status and explaining what you need to do to correct this situation. Financial Aid Termination Status: If you do not correct the situation which caused you to be placed on Financial Aid Probation status, or once you have received aid over the allowed number of semesters, you will be placed on Financial Aid Termination Status and you will not be eligible for any financial aid (including the Stafford Loan Program). A letter will be sent to you at the address on file in the Financial Aid Office informing you of your status and what you may do in terms of filing an appeal.
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Procedures and Academic Policies
Appeals Students suspended from receiving financial aid funds may appeal in writing to the Director of Financial Aid. A committee, that may include the Academic Counselor, Registrar and your Program Director, will meet on a case-by-case basis. Their decision will be sent in writing to the address on file. Appeals must include documentation supporting the unavoidable circumstances which created the academic problem. Factors that are considered in reviewing an appeal include, but are not limited to: academic history, class standing, number of semesters aid was received, ratio of loans to units completed, previous deficiencies and appeals, and extenuating or unavoidable circumstances. Note: While a medical emergency may be grounds for an appeal, chronic medical conditions are not and should have been taken into account during the academic planning process. Educational Goal Guidelines Failure to take personal responsibility for your education will not be considered a good reason to have failed to maintain SAP standards. As a college student, you are responsible for your educational goal(s), and you are expected to:
Students should consult with a financial aid advisor before dropping units.
• Meet with a Counselor • Read and understand financial aid instructions and materials • Take courses consistent with your educational goal • Meet SCI-Arc and financial aid deadlines • Do your best to complete the units in which you enroll • Maintain your GPA at or above 2.7. • Read and understand the SCI-Arc General Catalog • Attend your classes regularly and consistently • Decide on and plan for your educational goal • Seek tutoring and/or other services (if needed) to help you be successful in college • And most importantly, always—if you are not sure of something— ASK QUESTIONS! Other Grounds for Termination from Financial Aid Financial aid is provided for students who qualify, and the SCI-Arc Financial Aid Office complies with all state and federal regulations governing their provisions. Besides failure to maintain Quantitative and Qualitative Academic Progress and exceeding the maximum number of semesters to receive financial aid, there are a number of reasons why you could be terminated from financial aid. It is your responsibility to understand the financial aid rules as they are explained to you in publications such as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and the Student Guide to Financial Aid. Section 1 • 45
Procedures and Academic Policies
Grounds for Terminating Financial Aid Include 1. You are only eligible to receive financial aid at one college and/or university at a time. If you are enrolled at more than one college and/or university, you should only receive financial aid from one of the institutions you attend. This aid includes: Pell Grants, Federal Work-Study (FWS), Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), Cal Grants and Federal Loan Programs. Scholarships are not included in this prohibition. If you attended more than one college and/or university at the same time, check with each institution regarding their rules about scholarship eligibility. If you receive financial aid from more than one college or university during the same time period, you may be terminated from financial aid. You could be required to pay back the money to at least one of the institutions and you may be referred to the Department of Education Division of Fraud and Abuse. 2. Financial aid will be terminated if you fail to submit or knowingly provide false information on any documents required by SCI-Arc or any other college and/or university. These documents include but are not limited to: The application of admissions to SCI-Arc, the FAFSA, supplemental financial aid documents (verification worksheet, certifications and acknowledgements, SCI-Arc Financial Aid Application, etc.) financial aid transcripts, academic transcripts, financial aid appeals, consortium agreements, or income tax returns. 3. Your financial aid application may be delayed or your file closed if you do not provide all required documents. You may be terminated from financial aid if you do not provide required documents or if you knowingly provide false information in order to receive financial aid. Withdrawal and leave of absence If a student begins class attendance in any term and then withdraws completely from SCI-Arc or earns no units after financial aid has been disbursed, that student may be required to return all or part of the funds received, including funds credited to pay tuition and fees. Since financial aid must be used solely for educationally related expenses during periods of enrollment, federal regulations require SCIArc’s financial aid office to calculate the amount of aid the student “earned” for the number of days he or she attended. “Unearned” aid, that covered periods of the semester when the student did not attend classes or were not enrolled, must be repaid. If the student withdraws prior to the start of the semester or never attended any classes, 100% of aid disbursed to that student account and/or disbursed to the student must be repaid.
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Student responsibilities Individual students are makers of, and participate in, an academic community whose core values include tolerance of differences, support of one another and dedication to the SCI-Arc mission of re-imagining the edge and the education of architects to engage, speculate and innovate. These concepts are further devel-
Procedures and Academic Policies
oped in the Studio Culture Policy. Students are also expected to be held to these responsibilities: 1. Students must be officially accepted into a degree-seeking program at SCI-Arc and make satisfactory academic progress toward that degree objective. 2. Students must report any additional resources and/or changes. Such changes include, but are not limited to: additional financial resources such as veteran’s educational benefits; scholarships; stipends; graduate teaching assistantships. 3. Students must be enrolled in and earn the minimum number of units required by their enrollment/funding status each semester. 4. Students must maintain “satisfactory academic progress” as defined for all applicants and recipients of aid. 5. Students must activate their SCI-Arc email address and use their official email address to receive important financial aid notifications and information. 6. Students must immediately report any change of address to the Registrar and/ or the Academic Counselor. 7. S tudents must notify the financial aid office in writing if they will not be attending. 8. Students must officially withdraw if they must leave SCI-Arc for any reason. Contact the Registrar and/or Academic Counselor’s office for additional information. 9. Students must read the SCI-Arc Guide to Applying for Financial Aid and all other financial aid and scholarship information that they may receive. Advisors are available to assist those who have questions or do not understand what is required. 10. Student loan borrowers who are graduating, transferring to another college, or dropping below half time must participate in exit counseling. This can be completed at www.edfund.org. 11. Students must meet all published deadlines. 12. S tudents should come to campus with enough funds to pay for books, supplies, incidentals, and initial living expenses. Scholarships Funded by endowments, SCI-Arc scholarships are awarded on the basis of merit and financial need. They are available to all continuing students who are enrolled full-time in any program at SCI-Arc at the time they apply and who will have completed at least 24 units prior to the summer term that follows their application. SCI-Arc scholarships are awarded to its full-time students based on academic achievement, portfolio submission, and demonstration of financial need. Service to the community may be considered. Applicants may be enrolled in the graduate Section 1 • 47
Procedures and Academic Policies
or undergraduate programs as in-state, out-of-state, and/or international students, and must have completed at least one year of their respective programs. The weighting for scholarship decisions is as follows: Portfolio (40 pts); GPA (25 pts); financial need (25 pts); service (max. 10 pts). Scholarship applications, available in March for the following academic year, require the following: 1. A completed scholarship application form 2. A brief statement (250 words or less) stating academic and career goals 3. A SCI-Arc Financial Aid form and/or the International Student application and the FAFSA (domestic students only) 4. One letter of recommendation from the student’s most recent SCI-Arc studio instructor 5. Portfolio (SCI-Arc work only) 6. Current transcript. Applications are reviewed by graduate and undergraduate scholarship committees. Applications are due at the end of the spring term. Failure to meet the deadline will result in disqualification from the scholarship review process. Consult the Academic Counselor, who acts as the scholarship coordinator, for the exact date. Failure to meet the deadline will result in disqualification. Applications and further information are available from the financial aid office or the Academic Counselor. Admissions scholarships A limited number of scholarships are awarded to entering undergraduate and graduate students. These scholarships are awarded on the basis of the applicant’s potential to succeed at SCI-Arc, overall merit of his or her application submissions and financial need. These scholarships will adjust the student’s need of financial aid.
ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE SCI-Arc is a non-profit institute dedicated to the study of Architecture. Its operations are overseen by a board of directors consisting of twenty-four members. The board membership includes recognized leaders in the areas of architectural design, art, finance, real estate, law, and real estate development. In addition, SCI-Arc faculty, students and alumni are represented at the board level. All three positions are elected.
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Procedures and Academic Policies
Board of Directors Committees The board operates through a series of standing and ad-hoc committees: Standing Ad Hoc Audit Strategic Planning Building and Grounds Donor Recognition Executive Finance Governance Standing Committees Audit Committee Makes recommendations to the Board of Directors on the retention and termination of the independent auditor, and negociates the independent auditor’s compensation. Confers with the auditor to satisfy its members that the financial affairs of SCI-Arc are in order; reviews and determines whether to accept the audit; insures that any nonaudit services performed by the auditing firm conform with standards for auditor independence required by law; approves performance of nonaudit services by the auditing firm; reviews the auditor’s annual Letter to Management and assures progress in complying with any reccommendations that the Committee deems practical and neccessary; and meets with the independent auditor with no employees of SCI-Arc present. Building and Grounds Committee Addresses issues related to the SCI-Arc campus, facilities, and works toward the procurement of a permanent location. Development Committee Works in conjunction with the development & alumni relations office to assist in defining strategies for raising funds from individuals, foundations, corporations, government entities, events, etc. Researches and nominates prospective board members with the current objectives of increasing diversity, corporate representation, and engagement with downtown Los Angeles. Donor Recognition Committee Works in conjuction with SCI-Arc’s Development office to set in place donor recognition strategies and programs. Executive Committee Takes any urgent or emergency actions and assists the Director of SCI-Arc in addressing and undertaking routine business between regular Board Meetings. It also assists the Chair and the Director of SCI-Arc in their joint responSection 1 • 49
Procedures and Academic Policies
sibility to help the Board to function effectively and efficiently by suggesting Board meeting agenda items. Finance Committee: Works in conjunction with the finance department to monitor the financial wellbeing of the institution. Includes oversight of income/expenses, investment accounts, and state and federal tax compliance. Governance Committee Seeks to clarify the roles and lines of authority between the director, chairman of the board, legal council, and the board at large, as they relate to supra-curricular issues. Structures decision-making procedures in terms of short- and long-term priorities, leadership responsibilities, and authority at the board level. Ensures compliance with and reviews institution by-laws. Ad Hoc Committees Academic Affairs Committee Helps resolve disputes between faculty members, students, and staff/administration. Director Evaluation Committee Evaluates director’s efficacy in upholding and developing SCI-Arc’s mission. Makes recommendation to the board about reappointment of the school’s directorship every five years. Strategic Planning Committee Function: Works to formulate a strategic plan for the institution and evaluates progress and/or need for redirection. Investment Committee To make recommendations to the Board of Directors on investment policy and strategy for operating and endowed funds; review and report investment performance on a quarterly basis. Academic Council The agenda is set by the director and other members of the council. The director solicits advice from the council in formulating, implementing and evaluating aspects of the academic development and management of the institute. The Academic Council attempts to reach a consensus on proposals submitted for its consideration by members of the Academic Council, the Faculty Council, or the Student Union. If a consensus cannot be reached, votes may be taken. Reports of the council’s deliberations are made available to the Board of Directors, faculty and students. Schedule: The Academic Council meets on a regular basis throughout Fall and Spring Terms. Section 1 • 50
Procedures and Academic Policies
Admission Committee, Graduate and Undergraduate The admission committees meets intensively and at regular intervals following fall and spring admission application deadlines. Alumni Association SCI-Arc alumni maintain a strong relationship with the school through the Alumni Association. Established in 1998, the association works to identify and meet the needs of the alumni, and to serve the larger interests of the school. The Alumni Association seeks to build the alumni community, to promote the work of alumni, to educate alumni and current students, and to support SCI-Arc. Among the association’s various activities and projects are alumni-driven publications; the establishment of the SCI-Arc Alumni Association Scholarship Fund, which awards two scholarships each year (one to an undergraduate and one to a graduate student); the production of the Main Event scholarship fundraiser; the sponsorship of an alumni lecturer in the SCI-Arc lecture series; a career open house for alumni firms interested in hiring SCI-Arc graduates; and regular friend-raising and networking events, including the Moveable Feast, designed to bring the alumni community together. Schedule: The Alumni Association meets on regular intervals.
Curriculum Committee, Graduate and Undergraduate The Curriculum Committee is a forum for the evaluation of efficacy, relevance and coordination of class content with regard to the institute’s pedagogy and professional licensure requirements. When changes are needed, this body works with appropriate faculty and campus constituencies to form new standards and/or directions.Schedule: The curriculum committees meets on a prescribed schedule set by each program director, generally twice per term. Faculty Council Function: The Faculty Council consists of full time faculty who meet to vote for faculty representatives on the Board and which faculty participate in the Academic Council. Schedule: The Faculty Council meets on an open calendar.
Portfolio Committee, Graduate and Undergraduate This committee meets to assess students’ progress through the foundation and core semesters by evaluating , (through a compilation of design and academic work into a portfolios) the student’s strength and weaknesses, and may make recommendations as necessary in order to help improve the level of the work. Schedule: This committee meets at the end of the fall and spring semesters in the undergraduate program and the graduate program. Continuing students Scholarship Committee, Graduate and Undergraduate This body awards scholarships based on students’ overall academic excellence Section 1 • 51
Procedures and Academic Policies
and financial need. Schedule: This committee meets at the beginning of the summer semester to make scholarship awards for the following academic year.
Student Union The Student Union administers student activities and helps to support the student community at SCI-Arc. It helps to fund student-built work, student exhibitions, and student publications, as well as purchasing supplemental tools for departments such as the wood shop and computer resources, and sponsoring competitions and special projects. The Student Union organizes a weekly academic open house open to the entire school that allow the SCI-Arc community to discuss and meet informally each week. Students select several speakers for the each year’s lecture series, a unique and tremendous opportunity to shape discussion at the school. One student representative sits as a full member of the SCIArc Board of Directors for a two-year term. This student reports directly to and from the student community to the board. The representative also has full voting power and sits on committees that advise the Board. Two student representatives sit on the Academic Council, which allows the student body a formal arena for voicing their concerns not only to the director, but also to the faculty and staff in attendance. It provides an opportunity for students to participate in discussions with the director, faculty, and staff on policy decisions. Schedule: The Student Union cabinet meets once every two weeks with the student members of the Academic Council and the representatives from each design studio. All school meetings are scheduled as needed.
SAFETY RULES SCI-Arc’s safety rules are based on respect for each other, respect for facilities, common sense, and personal responsibility. Students must follow all posted signs and observe all safety warnings given by safe team members during emergencies and emergency drills.
SECURITY 24-hour security | Tel# 213.220.3084 SCI-Arc is equipped with cameras to monitor security along with 24-hour security guards. For everyone’s security, SCI-Arc students, staff and faculty are required to present the guards with their SCI-Arc ID card upon request. Failure to provide such proof will result in being escorted off the property. Visitors to the school must be accompanied by a SCI-Arc student or representative or have made prior arrangements through the administrative offices. Personal property brought into the school is the responsibility of the owner. Please take precautions to secure and lock all valuables.There will be regular emergency and security drills perSection 1 • 52
Procedures and Academic Policies
formed in both the Fall and Spring terms in order to cover escape routes and security procedures. Student IDs Students are issued a magnetic ID card that provides access to the building and to the computer lab. A schedule is posted for new students to have their photo taken, and the ID card is distributed within the week. Student are required to carry their ID with them at all times. Students will be charged $25 to replace cards that have been lost or damaged. ID cards are not transferable. The lending or giving of ID cards to any other person may lead to disciplinary action and must pay $25 for a replacement card.
PARKING Registration of vehicles All student vehicles parked in any of SCI-Arc’s parking lots must have a valid SCI-Arc permit displayed. Permits can be obtained from at the front desk, and fees should be paid in the finance office. The City of Los Angeles Parking Enforcement patrols all SCI-Arc parking lots and issuing parking citations for any of the following non-moving violations: – No current SCI-Arc parking permit visibly displayed. – Vehicle is parked in or blocking a handicapped parking space. – Vehicle is blocking an emergency exit. – Vehicle is parked in or blocking a fire lane. – Vehicle is parked in visitor’s parking area.Vehicles will be ticketed by the City of Los Angeles, so once a ticket is issued it must be rectified through the Cit of Los Angeles. In addition to any fines which may be levied by governmental parking enforcement agencies, SCI-Arc may impose additional penalties for violations of the school vehicle regulations. There will be a $300 fine for reckless driving while on campus. In addition, students are responsible for paying any reparations from damage incurred by reckless behavior. Please consult the SCI-Arc Drug and Alcohol Policy for full details pertaining to the use of drugs and alcohol while on campus. Paying fines City of Los Angeles citations: Once a ticket is issued it is a City matter and must be rectified through the City of Los Angeles. SCI-Arc issued citations These need to be paid through the finance office. Unpaid fines are automatically Section 1 • 53
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Courses and Degree Requirements
Courses and Degree Requirements
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Courses and Degree Requirements
UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE (B.ARCH) 5 YEAR (10 TERM) PROGRAM Professional Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) program, accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB).
Chris Genik Undergraduate Program Director SCI-Arc’s undergraduate program integrates the development of knowledge of a wide range of conceptual and practical skills, from critical thinking to technical expertise, to create a fluid and holistic approach to the education of the becoming contemporary architect. Throughout the program, emphasis is placed on the development of the individual student’s personal growth, self reflection and knowledge of architectural design issues, including theoretical constructs and advancements in building technology, and ranging from applications of highperformance “intelligent” materials to considerations for sustainable practices. The undergraduate curriculum is built around an integrated sequence of design studios, Visual Studies, History and Theory, Media and Technology courses, into which interdisciplinary seminars in the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities are woven. Following the foundation and core sequence, upper-division courses are offered in Professional Practice and related subjects. Over five years of study, students become actively engaged in the discussion of the practice of architecture and are prepared to join the workforce.
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Courses and Degree Requirements
General Studies requirements In addition to SCI-Arc’s 165+6 required units, students must complete seven General Studies courses with a grade of C or better in order to graduate: at least four one-term courses
at college level in the area of Social Sciences and Humanities, and at least three courses in the area of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (see below). Students are given until the end of the third year of the program to complete General Studies requirements, but it is recommended that transfer students complete as many of these requirements as possible before coming to SCI-Arc.
A general studies committee, consisting of the Director of Admissions, the Student Counselor, the Undergraduate Thesis Coordinator and the Cultural Studies Coordinator periodically review and update general studies requirements.
Choose two courses from the Social Sciences and Humanities:
Choose one courses from Natural Sciences and Mathematics:
Anthropology Classics Comparative Religion Economics Geography Philosophy Political Science Psychology Sociology
Astronomy Biological Sciences Chemistry Computer Science Earth Sciences Mathematics Physics
Required History of Western Civilization or History of Eastern Civilization
Required Trigonometry
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Courses and Degree Requirements
Course structure I. Foundation program First term — 1A
Second term — 1B
DS1010 — 6 units Material Strategies for the Physical World ~ CS2010 — 3 units Fields and Practices: Introduction to Design Cultures } CS2011 — 3 units Writing in Architecture: ESL/ELL 1 (as required) }
DS1011 — 6 units Conceptual Strategies for the Physical World~ Prerequisite: DS1010
AS3010 — 3 units Introduction to the Physical World: Materials, Behaviors, Forces } VS4010 — 3 units Fabrications and Delineations 1: Introduction to Fabrication and Drawing Techniques: Perception/ Translation
CS2012 — 3 units History of Architecture 1: Prehistory to Middle Ages } CS2013 — 3 units Humanities 1: Antiquity to Middle Ages } CS2014 — 3 units Writing in Architecture: ESL/ELL 2 (as required) } VS4011 — 3 units Fabrications and Delineations 2: Introduction to Fabrication and Drawing Techniques: Projection/ Description Prerequisite: VS4010
Students who fall behind their studio level by three or more required courses will be required to enroll in seminars only during the subsequent term. It is recommended to complete at least 2-3 general studies requirements between the 1B and 2A semesters. ~ Studios: One unit can be applied toward General Education studies requirements. } Courses that can be taken for General Education studies credit
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Third term — 2A
Fourth term — 2B
DS1020 — 6 units Formworks: Sites and Contexts ~ Prerequisite: DS1011
DS1021 — 6 units Frameworks: Programs ~ Prerequisite: CS2012
CS2020 — 3 units History of Architecture 2: Renaissance to the Enlightenment } Prerequisite: CS2012
CS2022 — 3 units History of Architecture 3: Industrial Revolution to Contemporary Discourses } Prerequisite: CS2012
CS2021 — 3 units Humanities 2: Renaissance to Romanticism } Prerequisite: CS2012
CS2023 — 3 units Humanities 3: Modernism in Literature, Art and Film } Prerequisite: CS2012
AS3020 — 3 units Introduction to the Environment and Climate
AS3021 — 3 units Structures 1: Forces and Vectors
VS4020 — 3 units Technologies of Description 1: Analog and Digital Practices Prerequisite: CS2012
VS4021 — 3 units Technologies of Description 2: Analog and Digital Practices Prerequisite: CS2012
Students are required to submit a portfolio at the completion of the 2B studio prior to advancing into the fifth term. It is recommended to complete at least 2–3 general studies requirements between the 2B and 3A semesters. ~ Studios: One unit can be applied toward General Education studies requirements. } Courses that can be taken for General Education studies credit
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Courses and Degree Requirements
II. Core program Fifth term — 3A
Sixth term — 3B
DS1030 — 6 units Field Operations: Static Architectural Systems ~ + Integrated Applied Studies component — 1 unit Prerequisite: DS1021
DS1031 — 6 units Dynamic Architectural Systems: Anabolic, Metabolic, Catabolic ~ + integrated Applied Studies component — 1 unit Prerequisite: DS1030
CS2030 — 3 units Introduction to Urban Systems } Prerequisites: CS2022
CS2031 — 3 units Philosophy of Technology } Prerequisites: CS2030
AS3030 — 3 units Structures 2: Long Span and Lateral Systems Prerequisite: AS3021
AS3032 — 3 units Smart and Sustainable Systems
AS3031 — 3 units Tempering the Environment:Light, Air and Sound
AS3033 — 3 units Tectonics: Construction, Assembly and Detail
VS4030 — 3 units Technologies of Description 3: Analog and Digital Practices Prerequisite: VS4021
It is recommended to complete at least 2–3 general studies requirements between the 3B and 4A semesters. All general studies requirements must be completed before entering the 4A semester. ~ Studios: One unit can be applied toward General Education studies requirements. } Courses that can be taken for General Education studies credit
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Courses and Degree Requirements
III. Advanced studies
Seventh term — 4A
Eighth term — 4B
DS1040 — 6 units City Operations: Architecture in Critical Settings + integrated Cultural Studies component — 1 unit ~ Prerequisite: DS1031
Vertical studio— 6 units ~ Prerequisite: DS1040
CS2040 — 3 units Introduction to Critical Studies } Prerequisite: CS2030 AS3040 — 3 units Design Documentation: Analysis and Development Elective — 3 units or CPT s
Cultural Studies elective— 3 units } AS3041 — 3 units Design Documentation: Construction Documents AS3042 — 3 units Professional internship (by approval: full-time summer) or Elective — 3 units or CPT s
Students are required to submit a portfolio at completion of the DS1040 (4A) studio before advancing into the eighth term. Students are also required to complete all core courses prior to advancement. ~ Studios: One unit can be applied toward General Education studies requirements. } Courses that can be taken for General Education studies credit.
s Students may apply for CPT units beginning in their 4A semester. Only two 3 unit electives can be used for CPT. Students wishing to apply for CPT units must enroll with the Registrar and Academic Counselor’s Offices. Approval for coursework is made by the Director’s Office.
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Ninth term — 5A
Tenth term — 5B
Vertical studio — 6 units ~
DS1051 — 9 units Thesis studio Prerequisite: CS2050
CS2050 — 3 units Thesis studio preparation }
Elective — 3 units AS3050 — 3 units Practice Environments: Contracts, Liability, Business Models
Elective — 3 units or CPT s
Elective — 3 units or CPT s
~ Studios: One unit can be applied toward General Education studies requirements. } Courses that can be taken for General Education studies credit.
s Students may apply for CPT units beginning in their 4A semester. Only two 3 unit electives can be used for CPT. Students wishing to apply for CPT units must enroll with the Registrar and Academic Counselor’s Offices. Approval for coursework is made by the Director’s Office.
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Courses and Degree Requirements
GRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAMS Hsinming Fung Graduate Programs Director SCI-Arc’s graduate studies foster the school’s open-ended spirit of inquiry, responding to shifts in society, technology, and culture with a constantly-evolving learning environment in which faculty and advanced-level students work together to advance to the next generation of the architectural discipline. The programs are led by a faculty of practitioners and scholars that is actively engaged in contemporary architectural discourse and production worldwide, working in fields ranging from design and engineering to visual and cultural studies. Through the feedback they provide from their own practices, the graduate curriculum is continuously and dynamically shaped in a manner only available to an institution entirely devoted to architecture. The graduate programs promote cross-pollination from other fields of study in a critical manner, with a practice that derives from an emphasis on process and a synthesis of thinking, inquiry and execution. With a diverse and international student body, the graduate programs at SCI-Arc provide a rigorous architectural education that promotes experimentation and creative freedom, and is at once global and local, comprehensive and current. In pursuit of these goals, the graduate programs offer four study options: The three-year M.Arch 1 program, the two-year M.Arch 2 program and the one-year SCIFI and MediaSCAPES programs. M.Arch 1 3 Year (7 Term) program A professional Master of Architecture program, accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) and open to applicants who hold a bachelor’s degree or equivalent in any field of study. This program requires attendance for the fall and spring terms of the first two years, and the fall, spring and summer terms of the final year.
Architectural experimentation and learning through making lie at the core of the M.Arch 1 program. The curriculum is horizontally integrated and vertically progressive, starting with a four-semester core sequence in which students develop a framework for the discipline of Architecture, as well as a strong foundation for critical inquiry and experimentation. By integrally linking each semester’s design studio with courses in visual, cultural and applied studies, students are offered an immediate instruction in the depth of the relationship between architecture and technological advances, representation, and social change. With each progressive semester increasing in sophistication, students acquire a unique ability to address a breadth of complex architectural issues while testing their own intellectual and design convictions. Upon completion of the core sequence, students are encouraged to pursue their vision, investigating design through the latest innovations in technology, advancing new praxes of design analysis and innovating through applied research with Section 2 • 63
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a choice of advanced studios and seminars. Students complete their studies with the presentation, in a public exhibition, of a thoroughly researched independent architectural thesis. Throughout the M.Arch 1 program, particular emphasis is placed on the production of architecture, and the ways in which making produces a unique intelligence for the field. M.Arch 1 graduates are therefore prepared to further this intelligence through significant contributions in the profession.
Course structure First term— 1GA (fall)
Second term — 1GB (spring)
DS1100 — 6 units Fundamental Architectural Principles 1: Elements of Space
DS1101 — 6 units Fundamental Architectural Principles 2: Organizational Systems Prerequisite: DS1100
CS2100— 3 units Architecture Culture 1 AS3100 — 3 units Material Properties, Industrial Processes and Structural Principles VS4100 — 3 units Strategies of Representation 1: Analysis, Translation and Communication
CS2101 — 3 units Architecture Culture 2 Prerequisite: CS2100 AS3101 — 3 units Structures 1: Forces and Vectors Prerequisite: AS3100 AS3121 — 3 units Tempering the Environment: Light, Air and Sound VS4101 — 3 units Strategies of Representation 2: Diagramming and Spatial Construction Prerequisite: VS4100
Students are required to submit a portfolio at the completion of the 1GB studio prior to advancing into the third term.
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Courses and Degree Requirements
Third term — 2GA (fall)
Fourth term — 2GB (spring)
DS1120 studio — 6 units Architecture’s Intervention 1 : Context and Territory Prerequisite: DS1101
DS1121 — 6 units Architecture’s Intervention 2: Urbanism, Landscapes and Infrastructures Prerequisite: DS1120
CS2120 — 3 units The Rise and Fall of Theory Vanguardism Prerequisite: CS2101 AS3120 — 3 units Structures 2: Techniques and Implementation: Connections and Systems Prerequisite: AS3101 AS3123 — 3 units Advanced Building Systems: Sustainability and Complex Envelopes Prerequisite: AS3121
CS2121 — 3 units Urban Studies: History, Theory, Criticism Prerequisite: CS2120 AS3122 — 4 units Design Documentation: Analysis and Development Prerequisite: AS3123 VS4121 — 3 units Strategies of Representation 4: Advanced Digital Tools, Modeling and Fabrication Prerequisite: VS4120
VS4120 — 3 units Strategies of Representation 3: Advanced Digital Tools, Modeling and Fabrications Prerequisite: VS4101
Students are required to complete all the above courses prior to advancing into the fifth term.
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Courses and Degree Requirements
Fifth term — 3GA (fall)
Sixth term— 3GB (spring)
Vertical studio — 6 units
Vertical studio — 6 units
Cultural Studies elective — 3 units
CS2410 — 3 units Thesis Preparation: Research Strategies
AS3130 — 3 units Practice Environments: Contracts, Liability, Business Models (Note: can also be taken in the 3GB term) Elective — 3 units or CPT s
Elective — 3 units or CPT s Elective — 3 units or CPT s
Students are required to submit a portfolio at the completion of the 3GA studio prior to advancing into the thesis prep (3GB) term. Students are required to complete all course requirements up to the sixth term (3GB) prior to advancing into the graduate thesis term. Seventh Term— 4GA (summer) DS1420 — 9 units Graduate thesis Prerequisite: CS2410 Elective — 3 units or CPT s Elective — 3 units or CPT s
s Students may apply for CPT units after completing the 1GB semester. Only one 3 unit elective can be used for CPT. Students wishing to apply for CPT units must enroll with the Registrar and Academic Counselor’s Offices. Approval for coursework is made by the Director’s Office.
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Courses and Degree Requirements
M.Arch 2 2 Year (5 Term) program A professional Master of Architecture program, accredited by the the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) and open to applicants with a minimum of a four year degree in Architecture, or its equivalent abroad. This program requires attendance for the fall and spring terms of the first year, and the fall, spring and summer terms of the final year.
The M.Arch 2 program has as its aim the reappraisal of the discipline of Architecture, and is specifically designed to build upon and reconsider knowledge gained from a prior undergraduate degree in Architecture. Students are introduced to an advanced critical perspective on contemporary architectural issues—both theoretical and design-related— as a tool with which to examine the complex and shifting relationship between architecture and cultural, political, economic and social change. Architectural conventions and standards are challenged through the rigorous examination of other models of design and production. The program investigates the contemporary architectural platform and operates as a laboratory with which to identify new possibilities for the integration of a wide range of emerging techniques and technologies. Students are provided with a knowledge of the latest developments in fabrication, as well as an understanding of design methodologies and their historical and contemporary contexts. On completing the three term core sequence, students are able to choose from vertical studios and elective seminars that either continue the focus of their core studies or broaden the scope of their education. Students complete their studies with the presentation, in a public exhibition, of a thoroughly researched independent architectural thesis.
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Courses and Degree Requirements
Required courses
The Academic Counselor reviews the transcripts of students entering the M.Arch 2 program to verify that they have completed courses comparable to the following core Applied Studies classes offered at SCI-Arc: AS3101: Structures 1: Forces and Vectors; AS3120: Structures 2: Techniques and Implementation: Connections and Systems; and AS3121: Tempering the Environment: Light, Air and Sound. Students who have not passed these classes are required to do so. M.Arch 2 students who have passed a sequence of courses on structures during their undergraduate courses at other insititutions, but have not been introduced to seismic issues, are required to take a course on that subject before the end of their second term at SCI-Arc. Incoming M.Arch 2 transcripts will also be evaluated for achievement in the NAAB requirements for Architectural Traditions.
Course structure First term — 2GAX (fall)
Second term — 2GBX (spring)
DS1200 — 6 units Indeterminate Architecture
DS1201 — 6 units On Forms of Tectonics and Cellular Aggregation Prerequisite: DS1200
CS2200 — 3 units Modern, Postmodern, Supermodern
CS2201 — 3 units AS3200 — 3 units Design Intelligence Reflexive Formal Assemblies: Material Prerequisite: CS2200 to System AS3201— 3 units VS4200 — 3 units Optimization, Performance and Delineation and Dynamic Systems Implementation: System to Building Prerequisite: AS3200 AS3302 — 3 units Advanced Structure Prerequisite: AS3200
Students are required to complete all 2GAX and 2GBX courses prior to advancing into the third term. Students are required to submit a portfolio at the completion of the 2GBX studio prior to advancing into the thesis prep term 2GAX Students who do not meet NAAB requirements for Non-Western, Local and Regional Traditions will be required to take CS2100 | Architecture Culture. Section 2 • 68
Courses and Degree Requirements
Third term — 3GAX (fall)
Fourth term — 3GBX (spring)
Vertical studio — 6 units or DS1210— 6 units XLAB Prerequisite: DS1201
Vertical studio — 6 units
Cultural Studies elective — 3 units Prerequisite: CS2121 AS3222 — 3 units Design Documentation: Analysis and Development Prerequisite: AS3201 and AS3302
CS2410 — 3 units Thesis preparation: research strategies Elective — 3 units or CPT s Elective — 3 units or CPT s
AS3230 — 3 units Practice Environments: Contracts, Liability, Business Models (Note: can also be taken in the 3GB term)
Students are required to submit a portfolio at the completion of the 3GA studio prior to advancing into the thesis prep term. Students are required to complete all 3GAX and 3GBX courses prior to advancing into the graduate thesis term. Fifth Term — 4GAX (summer) DS1420 — 9 units Graduate thesis Prerequisite: CS2410 Elective — 3 units or CPT s Elective — 3 units or CPT s
s Students may apply for CPT units after completing the 1GB semester. Only one 3 unit elective can be used for CPT. Students wishing to apply for CPT units must enroll with the Registrar and Academic Counselor’s Offices. Approval for coursework is made by the Director’s Office. Section 2 • 69
Courses and Degree Requirements
Post Graduate Program 1 Year (3 Term) programs SCI-Arc currently offers two tracks for post graduate study, SCIFI (the Southern California Institute for Future Initiatives) and MediaScapes. Both tracks are Master of Design Research Studies degrees, open to applicants with a minimum of a four year degree in Architecture, or its equivalent abroad. This program requires attendance for the fall, spring and summer terms.
SCIFI (Southern California Institute for Future Initiatives) Peter Zellner and David Bergman Program Coordinators SCIFI is an intensive research-based “think tank” dedicated to generating pertinent examinations of contemporary city design, city formulation and urban regulation. The program is calibrated to develop research skills, urban design expertise and unique strategic thinking. The SCIFI program is configured as an “expert research center” focused on promoting innovations within design, policy, planning, development and management responses to the economic, social and environmental futures of global cities and regions. Students will integrate skills from across the Institute’s programs including design technologies, cultural studies and hard technology applications.
Course structure First Term (fall)
Second Term (spring)
Third Term (summer)
DS1500 — 6 units Design research studio
DS1501 — 6 units Design research studio
DS1502 — 6 units Design research studio
CS2500 — 3 units Seminar
CS2501 — 3 units Seminar
CS2502 — 3 units Seminar
CS2600 — 3 units Seminar
CS2601 — 3 units Seminar
Elective— 3 units
VS2500 — 3 units Interactive Mapping & Motion Graphics
Elective — 3 units
Elective— 3 units
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Courses and Degree Requirements
MediaScapes A Master of Design Research Studies degree, open to applicants with a minimum of a four year degree in Architecture, or its equivalent abroad. This program requires attendance for the fall, spring and summer terms.
Jean Michel Crettaz Program Coordinator MediaScapes focuses on media production and theory in the context of today’s highly technologized cities, landscapes and architecture. The program leverages significant emerging relationships within technology, software, media, film and game spaces to produce new content and ideas in a “thinktank R&D” environment. The program prepares students for thought leadership in positions in design, research and theory work across the fields of new media, architecture, landscape, and digital film. MediaScapes blends the mandates of a school, a think tank and a research lab with commercial sponsorship to push the boundaries of the relationship between culture and technology.
Course structure First Term (fall)
Second Term (fall)
Third Term (summer)
DS1600 — 6 units Design research studio
DS1601 — 6 units Design research studio
DS1602 — 6 units Design research studio
CS2500 — 3 units Seminar
CS2501 — 3 units Seminar
CS2602 — 3 units Seminar
CS2600 — 3 units Seminar
CS2601 — 3 units Seminar
Elective — 3 units
VS2500 — 3 units Interactive Mapping & Motion Graphics
Elective — 3 units
Elective — 3 units (optional)
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Courses and Degree Requirements
2009-10 ACADEMIC CALENDAR
August 17—September 7 – Summer break September 2, 3, 4 – Orientation for new students September 7 – Labor Day (all school holiday) September 8 – First day of Fall 2009 term FALL TERM
September 9 – Vertical Lottery September 9 – Deadline for submitting waiver requests to appropriate Department Heads September 11 – Deadline for Summer 2009 grade appeals September 11 – Final tuition payment due for Fall 2008 term (continuing students only) September 12, 13 – Graduate Thesis presentations September 13, 2009 – Graduation September 14 – Fall 2009 add/drop period ends September 14 – Last day to register for Fall 2009 term September 25 – All “Incompletes” without extensions from the Summer 2009 term change to “Credit” or “No Credit”
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FALL TERM (continued)
October 2 – International Students graduating in December 2009 begin applying for OPT November 9 – Spring 2010 registration available to students November 9 – First tuition payment due for Spring 2009 November 26– 27 – Thanksgiving Day Holiday (school closed) December 7—18 – Final reviews/presentations for the Fall 2009 term December 18 – Last day of Fall 2009 term December 21—January 8 – Winter break December 22 – Undergraduate gateway portfolio review deadline – Deadline for admission into 4B studio for the Spring 2010 term January 8 – Graduate gateway portfolio review deadline Deadline for admission into 3GB studio for the Spring 2010 term – Orientation for new students – Deadline for submitting waiver requests to appropriate Department Heads
SPRING TERM
January 11 – Spring 2010 term begins – Vertical Lottery – Deadline for Fall 2009 grade appeals January 15 – Add/drop deadline for Spring 2010 term – Final tuition payment due for Spring 2010 term January 18 – Martin Luther King, Jr Birthday (all school holiday)
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SPRING TERM (continued)
January 29 – All “Incompletes” without extensions from the Fall 2009 term become “Credit” or “No Credit” today March 8 – Online registration for Summer 2009 begins (subject to change) March 22 – First half tuition payment due for Summer 2010 April 12—23 – Final reviews/presentations for the Spring 2010 term April 23 – Last day of Spring 2010 term April 26—May 16 – Spring Break May 7 – Undergraduate gateway portfolio review deadline – Graduate gateway portfolio review deadline
SUMMER TERM
May 17 – Summer 2010 term begins May 21 – Last day to officially add/drop classes May 31 – Memorial Day (all school holiday) August 13 – Last day of Summer 2010 term
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Courses and Degree Requirements
DESIGN STUDIOS Core Studios Undergraduate DS1010 | 1A studio | Material Strategies for the Physical World This first studio in a sequence of four foundation studios introduces the student to spatial problem-solving. A sequence of increasingly complex problems charge the students with working within two opposing knowledge-based fields: analytical and intuitive operations are applied to the study of materials, their potential for transformation, their capacity to suggest ideas and intentions, organizational concepts and abstract spaces. The interrelationship between the act of making and the process of execution are studied. The studio begins with an examination of two-dimensional problems, then focuses on problem-solving in three dimensions. Students are given the Emerging Professionals Companion along with updated IDP information. Skills: Craft in drawing and model building / plan, section, elevation drawing / self-organization in work / use of shop. Concepts: Syntax of architecture / seriality / repetition/ fields. DS1011 | 1B studio | Conceptual Strategies for the Physical World The premise of the second studio in the foundation sequence is that ideas, when deliberately assembled, become intellectual structures for conceptual strategies that direct notions of spatial ordering systems and architectural form. The relationship between the conceptual and the circumstantial will be examined in a series of evolutionary and interrelated projects which guide the student towards an under-standing of sophisticated notions of spatial structures and material considerations. Skills: Communication of spatial concepts / projection drawing / craft in model building and drawing. Concepts: Abstract programming / complex ordering systems / matrices. DS1020 | 2A studio | Formworks: Sites and Contexts Projects work within the variable conditions that determine the characteristics of a site, whether conceptual (eg.musical score, text, painting, idea) or physical (eg.location, geometrically described piece of property, legal boundary condition). Students explore the various conditional relationships that affect the reading and description of sites, and understand circumstance and environment as complex systems of information. Skills: Analysis of data / photographic depiction of information. C oncepts: Context / conditions / circumstance/ environment / data sets. DS1021 | 2B studio | Frameworks: Programs Section 2 • 75
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Students examine the structure of information that organizes a project. Consideration for varying weaves of interrelationships is studied through increasingly complex data sets. Students are challenged to work within specific conditions, as well as develop working processes which yield their own ideas for organizational operations regarding space, site and context. Skills: Familiarity with AutoCAD and hand drafting/ verbal presentation. Concepts: Analytical processes/ work process/ scenario planning. DS1030 | 3A studio | Field Operations: Static Architectural Systems The first studio of the core studio sequence locates the idea of architecture at the intersection of various systems of information: from technical to cultural, from visual to tactile. Students consider the uses of precedent and antecedent in their work, while the main investigation examines the impact of structure and material systems on site and building form, and the capacity to use transformation as a methodological tool to guide a rigorous approach to decision making. Skills: Methodological decision making. Concepts: Transformation and behavior alteration of simple systems. DS1031 | 3B studio | Dynamic Architectural Systems: Anabolic, Metabolic, Catabolic, Comprehensive Design, Part 1 This studio introduces students to the comprehensive development of a building, from conception to large-scale detail, with an emphasis on the assimilation of building systems. Students examine interrelated systems which are able to both modify the spatial structure of a building, and articulate expectations of their performance structurally, thermally, acoustically and environmentally. In this studio, along with AS3040—Design Documentation Analysis and Development, students are expected to demonstrate how their buildings explore and resolve issues of egress, codes and life safety. Both classes comprise the academic sequence in fulfillment of NAAB condition 13.28, Comprehensive Design, defined as “Ability to produce a comprehensive architectural project based on a building program and site that includes development of programmed spaces demonstrating an understanding of structural and environmental systems, building envelop systems, life safety provisions, wall sections and building assemblies and the principles of sustainability. Skills: Research, working process and design methodology/ technique (precision and purposefulness) / 3D modeling. Concepts: Performativity. Meets NAAB Conditions: 1.3 Architectural Education and Registration; 3.13.14 Accessibility; 3.13.20 Life Safety; 3.13.28 Comprehensive Design DS1040 | 4A studio | City Operations: Architecture in Critical Settings The premise of this studio is that cities and buildings are largely shaped by a dynamic flow of interrelated cultural, social, political and economic forces. During the course of the term, students test the nature of possible interfaces between Section 2 • 76
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architecture and its various settings within the contemporary city. This studio has two formats: in the fall term, it focuses on the development of a single project, while in the spring term, students work with a member of faculty to submit entries to significant architectural competitions. Both terms are structured in such a way that theoretical assumptions are tested and developed as an integral part of the building design process. 4B | 5A | Vertical studio Students develop projects which explore particular interests and focus. They have the opportunity to work with architects visiting the school, and gain insight into a broad range of issues concerning approaches to building, the environment, technology, theoretical stances, and personal interests. DS1051 | 5B | Thesis studio The intent of the thesis studio is for student to demonstrate proficiency in making proposals for buildings that integrate knowledge from the principle disciplines represented within the program. Building Design, History, Theory and Humanities, Technology, and Visual Studies weigh into the execution of a synthetic work of architecture. Students work with a committee consisting of representative members of each academic discipline, and design a project from proposals developed in the prior semester. Note: Beginning academic year 2009–10, Thesis prep will only be offered Fall semester and Thesis studio will only be offered Spring semester. M.Arch 1 DS1100 | 1GA studio | Fundamental Architectural Principles 1: Elements of Space The first studio in a sequence of four foundation studios, this course introduces the student to fundamental issues of architecture. Through the study of the interrelationship of geometry, form, tectonics, and materiality, students are asked to continually develop and reconsider strategies for the production of architecture. The studio aims to endow students with a range of fundamental working methodologies. Through generative drawing, iterative material studies, generative modeling, descriptive drawing and analytical mapping and diagramming, students are expected to develop an intellectual framework as well as productive techniques for the development of spatial organizations, architectural forms and structural systems. DS1101 | 1GB studio | Fundamental Architectural Principles 2: Organizational Systems This course is a continuation and expansion of the fundamental issues of architecture introduced in the first studio of the core sequence. The interrelationship between geometry, form, tectonics, and materiality is explored as it relates to Section 2 • 77
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overarching organizational systems and emergent systemic behaviors driven by programmatic content, structural logics and physical setting. Program and structure are considered to be creative components of design rather than fixed entities. Students are given the Emerging Professionals Companion along with updated IDP information. The working methodologies introduced in 1GA are expanded and refined to allow each student to continue developing conceptual frameworks and productive techniques for the creation of architecture. As the first part of the Graduate Program’s Comprehensive Design Sequence, this course challenges students to design both site and buildings accommodating individuals with varying physical disabilities. Meets NAAB Conditions: 1.3 Architectural Education and Registration; 3.13.14 Accessibility
DS1120 | 2GA studio | Architecture’s Intervention 1: Context and Territory The first term in the second year of the core M.Arch 1 sequence builds upon the awareness of the discipline and knowledge of architectural production by focusing on issues of Comprehensive Design. The studio is structured to hone each student’s awareness of the complex and layered issues involved in an architectural problem. Elemental spatial constructs and organizational systems are seen as resulting from and reacting to forces of site, context and territory. These influences are considered physical and virtual, permanent and ephemeral, situational and circumstantial. Qualities of site, situation and environment, as well as cultural contexts, are considered as potential tools with which to challenge conventional approaches to architectural design. Meets NAAB Condition: 3.13.28 Comprehensive Design
DS1121 | 2GB studio | Architecture’s Intervention 2: Urbanism, Landscapes and Infrastructures This studio examines the interrelationship between architecture and the city, deepening students’ understanding of the ways in which architecture can both inform, and be informed by, the urban fabric into which it is woven. Through a full integration of design resources and research on various scales of operation— from housing to institutional and commercial building types that contribute to the formation of neighborhoods and public space—students are encouraged to design into existing urban conditions with a full understanding of the dynamic and interdependent forces of economics, ethnicity, culture, society, politics and infrastructure that have shaped the contemporary city. M.Arch 2 DS1200 | 2GAX studio | Indeterminate Architecture Programmatics, geotechnics, structure, mechanics, commerce and environment are among the many fields which enable architecture to operate and perform. These technologies react to create an Architecture of Indeterminacy that favors multiple and temporal approaches to design over planning and orchestration, Section 2 • 78
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and allows architecture to participate in and reorganize our constantly shifting culture. This studio looks at the contemporary architectural platform and operates as a laboratory for finding new possibilities of integrating a wide range of techniques and technologies. Conventions and standards in architecture are challenged through a rigorous examination of other models of design and production, such as fashion, art, film and industrial design, creating a nonlinear process that can respond to a number of parameters, while exposing the disparate strategies and technologies inherent in the production of architecture. Students are also exposed to issues concerning the relationship of the part to the whole, repetition and structure, as well as the notion of variation and systemic manipulation through topological evolution. As the second part of the Graduate Program’s Comprehensive Design sequence, students are expected to design site and building. Meets NAAB Condition: 3.13.14 Accessibility
DS1201 | 2GBX studio | On Forms of Tectonics and Cellullar Aggregation This studio explores topological evolution and systems of design intelligence, with an emphasis on the broader infrastructural role that architecture can play in the city. With its ability to both perform and organize at the same time, architecture, it is argued, is able to have an effect that is felt at the scale of the urban landscape. DS1210 | X LAB Optional studio (M.Arch 2) The M.Arch 2 program at SCI-Arc is developing and expanding the domain of emerging technologies in the design and production of architecture. With this in mind, M.Arch 2 students are given the opportunity to continue their explorations and research into the future of architecture into their second year of study through XLAB, an optional studio offered in the third term of the program. Working in a laboratory environment, students develop the knowledge acquired in the first two semesters of the M.Arch 2 program, investigating and applying the possibilities of emerging technologies, theories and model production, and testing new design territories such as scripting, biogenetics, codes, new materials, biomimicry and cellular systems. This studio is offered as an alternative—exclusive to M.Arch 2 students—to the vertical studio requirement at the 3GA level. Vertical studios SCI-Arc’s upper level studios brings students into contact with renowned architects from all over the world whose work has placed them firmly at the forefront of the discipline. Visiting instructors have included Raymond Abraham, Lise-Anne Couture, Bill MacDonald, Peter Cook, Tom Kovac, Sulan Kolatan, Brendan MacFarlane, Monica Ponce de Leon, Michael Malzan, Odile Decq and Andrew Zago, among others. Students from both undergraduate and graduate programs who have completed their core sequence work together in groups of fifteen or fewer.
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Recent vertical studios include: DS1301 | LA Sky-High Raimund Abraham I shall tell you what I dreamt last night” he says to Marco. “In the midst of a flat and yellow land, dotted with meteorites and erratic boulders, I saw from a distance the spires of a city rise, slender pinnacles, made in such a way that the moon and her journey can rest now on one, now on another, or sway from the cables of the cranes. — Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities
This studio examined the interface between gravityand architecture in the city on an imaginary new plane like a wolkenkukuksheim—according to Aristophanes, “a city built by birds into the sky.” DS1302 | Bahia Balandra Eric Owen Moss, John Enright Students developed proposals for an urban-scaled vacation resort that is actually planned for an area north of La Paz, Mexico, located on the Balandra Bay in the Sea of Cortes. Visiting critics included faculty from the Stanford University Humanities Lab and the Iberoamerica University in Mexico City, and professional structural engineers from Ove Arup, who also provided engineering reports for each of the final designs. Students traveled to the site and researched the area in terms of physical, biological, and environmental conditions. They also investigated large-scale infrastructural typologies including marinas, piers, canals, tunnels, and bridges, and catalogued state-of-the-art sustainable systems such as desalination facilities, water reclamation projects, solar electric power, water purification, waste management, and power generation systems. This research formed a basis for the more specific investigations of the final schemes, which presented solutions that addressed larger environmental issues specific to the site and region. The projects were presented to the developer in Mexico City and one of them is likely be developed for future construction. DS1303 | New Cultures…Specters of the Spectrum Jean-Michel Crettaz New Cultures is an architectural design essay based on the investigation of current, yet unassimilated, initially invisible energies of cultural and scientific progress subsequently informing speculative concepts and scenarios of new Western life forms and architectures. The studio agenda invites speculative visions for new cultures. The program evolves from an interest in socio-cultural and political text—and sub-textures informing new generative processes of architectural design. The topic “new cultures” initiates a critical discourse on contemporary Western cultures and technological progress subsequently defining the foundation of the design program and life form: specters of the spectrum. Quests and experiSection 2 • 80
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mentations are initially sited within the framework of the human experience. The subject, reflecting new human needs, provides a field for coded, immersive and subversive phenomena, expressiveness and articulacy located the body / subject / material / space. DS1304 | Pre-Fab: China Evan Douglis Targeting recent advancements made in parametric design, emergent materials and fabrication technology, the Pre-Fab: China studio attempts to reassess masscustomization by issuing new proposals for alternative prefabricated houses for a global marketplace. Inspired by an ever-increasing trend for variation and difference as typified within our current design and consumer culture, as well as a call for action due to a continuous worldwide shortage of housing due to ongoing environmental and economic instability, pre-fab architecture holds great promise as a compelling agent for change. Structured as an experimental research laboratory, our intention is to highlight new and emerging practices and their corresponding effects for the first pre-fab LUNIT home. Proposed as a universal system of interchangeable and adaptive building components, this revolutionary modular house is conceived as a multi-national fleet of domestic vehicles capable of accommodating a variety of cultural, site, program and spatial applications. DS1305 | Fleshology, “Becoming Animal”: The Horrific and the Grotesque Hernan Diaz Alonso Flesh/organs are the two components that are scrutinized in this studio. By means of tall structures and adjoining parts, the studio reveals design procedures as dynamic relationships. If skyscrapers are primarily intervened by means of their typological strength, we grow them by means of their topological intensity. Assuming what is at stake is tall buildings’ vertical vertigo, we concentrate on their interior, not in the manner of structure, core or repetitive stacks. Instead we develop active nesting techniques where the inner body is not a sequential vertical proliferation but rather a discontinuous organic growth; at the same time, this inner mass stretches in and out of the outer flesh. Flesh differs from surface for its layered nature; it cannot be detached from the inner organs, it is just one more coat, it is deeply attached, it stretches and compresses for the sake of smoothness, porosity and voluptuousness. DS1306 | Vertical Studio Coy Howard The objective of the studio is to broaden students’ intellectual understanding of aesthetics and increase the range of students’ skill sets in order to promote a more robust personal aesthetic. Through readings, exercises and projects, the studio challenges the current dominance of reductive abstraction in architectural education, developing ideas and sensibilities in areas that include the beautiful, Section 2 • 81
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the iconic, the symbolic, the decorative, the mysterious, the transrational, the frivolous and the humorous, as well as in the more pragmatic aspects of architecture. Central to these explorations is the arousal and stimulation of the student’s personal curiosity and open-mindedness to the possibility of a richer range of architectural expression than is currently in vogue. DS1308 | Riverfront Housing and Mixed-Use Development Ray Kappe and Sam Hall Kaplan The Los Angeles River has the unique potential of being both an engaging public amenity and a catalyst for complementary development. What is needed is a vision that addresses this challenge to mark it as the eastern gateway to downtown and an anchor for contiguous, nascent neighborhoods. Such an opportunity exists east of SCI-Arc across Santa Fe, on a site bounded by the First Street and Sixth Street bridges and the river. The studio demonstrates an exciting use of the river for market-rate housing, loft-work, student housing, and affordable housing, that also includes commercial use, offices and riverfront restaurants and entertainment. Interested citizens, council members, river advocates, developers and present landowners interact with the studio. Urban concerns, environmental response, sun access, energy consumption, green architecture and building systems are discussed in the development of viable architectural solutions to entice developers and the city to seriously consider the efficacy of student proposals. DS1309 | Water, Infrastructure, Geopolitics: Urban Systems Management, Resource Flow, and the Networked City-State Ed Keller, Juan Azulay, Moji Baratloo Contemporary urban design has to deal with an ever more complex network of landscapes. Water as a resource is of global concern. Control of water, protocols for its use, and an evaluation of the overall influence of water infrastructure on urban morphology are key factors for socio-political formations over the coming decades. The impact of these factors on urban use patterns, as well as developing architectural, urban and political morphologies has not been adequately studied. This studio undertakes a groundbreaking study of current urban, technological and political paradigm shifts and proposes new urban morphologies based on a range of networks coming into being in this decade. DS1310 | Tangled Structure/Fiber Space Peter Testa This studio is based on the idea of tangled structures—massively distributed networks made up of relatively weak cross-linked fibrous elements that are the basic building blocks of structures in nature. There are also many precedents for this idea within architecture, from gothic interweaving to arabesques; textile techniques from two- to three-dimensional weaving; Fine Arts from Pollack to Eliasson; Mathematics from topology to tangle theory; and science from topological enzymology to tissue engineering. A key characteristic of this strucSection 2 • 82
Courses and Degree Requirements
tural morphology is that patterning, form, and organization are an informal or emergent effect. Studio projects explore in depth the aesthetics and performative parameters of tangled and patterned surface structures as an alternative to modern assembled structures. Design research is conducted into the material basis for this idea in the context of advanced engineering and contemporary construction methods. DS1312 | Tall Buildings in Flat Spreads Robert Mangurian, Mary-Ann Ray The studio tackles real situations within a place and culture where much of the world’s construction is taking place. One of these situations, related to city making in new urban Asia, is the required production of density (to partially face the reality of limited energy in the future/present). This requirement results in the mandate of the tall building (stand tall, and sometimes wiggle, slide, squirm, and hide). Add this requirement to social and spatial aspects of urban life in China that have always been present, and what occurs is a new alchemy begging for new architectures. The standard studio within schools of Architecture seems to avoid this project—projects are usually clever lumps, fields of stuff, smaller widgets fitting into the cracks, and other rather interesting programs and forms. Some programs don’t seem to be addressed. One is suburban housing and another is high rise construction— office, hotel, housing, and... In Beijing today, there are probably 250 high rise buildings in various states of construction. Multiply this by a hundred large Chinese cities. Our estimates could be low. In our city, Los Angeles, we have not built a tall building for about twenty years. DS1313 | Conservation / Development in Hawaii Ian Robertson, Nels Hefty This studio examines conservation development opportunities presented by an ahupuaa in Hawaii. The ahupuaa is a Hawaiian form of land division extending from the mountain to the ocean. In Western terms, it may be viewed as an intact 10,000 acre watershed. Hawaii is chosen for the study site because it is the most remote place on earth; has the largest number of distinct ecosystems of any place of similar size; has a unique sociological background in that it was settled by ocean voyaging Polynesians 800 to 2,000 years ago; has a unique background of land use laws (the laws of the Kingdom of Hawaii are expressly included by the state constitution as part of the legal system); all the while being part of the United States. Students examine the characteristics of the site and the geopolitical aspects of Hawaii. Each student is asked to develop a proposed project that is responsive to the economic, sociological, and environmental constraints of the site. Students are required to address the concerns of the land owner, the land use dictates of the County of Hawaii, and the customs and practices of native Hawaiians.
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DS1314 | (Architectural) Approaches to the “Question” of Technology: Visitor Center and Hostel at Heidegger’s Hut Wes Jones This studio investigates the monstrous and tragic condition of technology and humanity’s “enframed” condition from the perspective of architecture—how architecture might be implicated in its coming to pass, and how architecture might yet represent the saving-power of which Heidegger spoke. Architecture was there at the beginning (of the transformation of techné into what would be thought of today as technology), and it is here now at what could be the end. Through analysis and design, the studio examines three possible answers to the challenge raised by this essay, three possible sources for the saving power Heidegger invokes. In each case, technology is understood as both the medium and the subject of interest, and architecture’s approach to it as the potential embodiment of that saving power. The three technological attitudes could be termed equipmental, PCAD, and green. Explicit arguments for each can be found in “The Question Concerning Technology” or related essays. The sites for this research and for the design that eventually demonstrates its conclusions are Heidegger’s mythic Black Forest Hut and environs in Todtnauberg. DS1315 | Green Soapy Branes Sulan Kolatan w/Robert Cervellione The studio focuses on form-finding through minimal surface geometry and soap bubble experimentation with the intent to design architectural and urban membranes that go beyond the current “green” standards. Topics include advanced geometry, material and structural engineering, digital fabrication and emerging expertise in ecology and biomedia. The architectural potential of minimal surface topology are discussed and explored. We believe this potential presents itself in affinities between form and performance in the broadest sense. Students are asked to obsessively pursue these relations between form and perform by recognizing potential for performance in form, first, and refining form by adapting to performance, second. Unlike the modernist dictum “form follows function”, the relation outlined here is neither linear, nor is it singular, idealized or optimized. Instead, we prefer to understand relatedness in terms of ranges of productivity linked to families of form.
DS1316 | Swarm Stadia Hernan Diaz Alonso, Benjamin Bratton Guest: Peter Frankfurt (Imaginary Forces) Architecture is never displayed innocently. Any encounter with the work is framed by multiple determining contexts—political, sensual, and spatial—that producSection 2 • 84
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tively contaminate the moment of reception. This laboratory develops an investigation of the processes of mutation, growth and movement patterns of insects. With a focus on biogenetics, the course constantly shifts from micro behaviors to macro conditions as a work method. Therefore we problematize the parameters that define insect species understanding their constituent cells all the way up to their morphology and mass. Swarm Stadia is a combination of the typology of stadiums, as the architectural imprint, and the study of mass behaviors of insects, as the method of cell duplication. The study of grouping mechanisms of particular species allows the class to define specific techniques (scripting, real flow, particle system, mutations) that become perfomative elements in the design processes. The class not only focuses on the understanding of the methods of aggregation and accumulation but also on the topological and aesthetic properties of insects. The assignment is to (A) design a stadium for the LA MLS team, (B) a stadium for the LA NFL team, or (C) a dual purpose stadium for a sharedbrand team, soccer and NFL. DS1317 | Shelter as Product Stephanie Smith Today we have the technical and industrial capabilities necessary to create shelter using the mass production processes previously used to create consumer products. Arguably, the 21st century global economy must evolve its approach to physical infrastructure from “one-off” to mass production in order to accommodate global shifts in population as work forces migrate; aid relief efforts caused by famine and natural disasters (increasing due to climate change); serve the huge market for second homes and recreational dwellings as the first world grows wealthier; and adjust to increasing urban densification. Can human shelter be freed from its connection to place, to specificity, to singularity? If so, what are the implications on dwelling experiences and lifestyle patterns, socio-political and market systems, and urban migration and flow? The task of this studio is to design a dwelling “product,” a 150 sq. ft. temporary or permanent living unit for one to two people. The studio uses as a test site the former Dome Village in downtown Los Angeles, a small, urban community of eighteen fiberglass domes housing thirty-five people, built in 1993. Students explore issues of advanced materials, systems and manufacturing processes; minimum dwelling; form and aesthetics (from the exotic to the generic); product branding, marketing and positioning; sustainable practices; social and economic strategies and impacts. Graduate thesis Hernan Diaz Alonso, Coordinator DS1420 (M.Arch 1 and M.Arch 2) Since its founding, SCI-Arc has maintained a proud tradition of graduate design theses. In addition to a consistent stewardship of the thesis within the architectural discipline, SCI-Arc has been dedicated to the empowerment of individual design vision on the global stage. The graduate thesis program at SCI-Arc repreSection 2 • 85
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sents a culmination of the graduate curriculum and a significant test of the students’ ability to synthesize and produce critical and rigorous architecture. For M.Arch 1 students, preparation for the thesis begins at the end of the first year, when they submit portfolios of their work to a graduate review committee, who review their strategies of representation and ability to communicate effectively. Prior to entering the Thesis Research and Preparation class (thesis prep), all graduate students submit their portfolios, which provide immediate feedback on their particular design vision and serve as a solid foundation for the development and direction of each individual student. In thesis prep, students work in small, topical workgroups, led by a thesis advisor, to prepare their argument and the research and materials necessary for an intelligent thesis. Upon successful completion of thesis prep, students are encouraged to strengthen their thesis arguments through the selection of a thesis advisor of their choice with whom they will work independently on their design thesis. Thesis advisors are not limited to SCI-Arc faculty: Students may select advisors from outside the school in order to foster an intellectually challenging relationship. During the thesis term, students undergo a series of public reviews, with their advisor present, to evaluate progress and develop their projects in the light of the collective intellect of the reviewing body. The SCI-Arc graduate thesis program culminates in a public two-day event in which students present their thesis projects to critics from all over the world. A celebration of academic achievement, the SCI-Arc thesis weekend is widely regarded as a major forum for the discussion of fresh insights and innovative concepts among noted theoreticians and practicing architects. Jury panels comprising members of the international, national and local design community, along with SCI-Arc faculty members, discuss and critique the work in hour-long panel sessions. Following a question and answer period, the discussion opens to the attending audience members, other SCI-Arc faculty, students and community members.
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CULTURAL STUDIES Cultural Studies at SCI-Arc is uniquely tailored to meet the educational needs of emerging architects and designers in the contemporary field. As a necessary step in their enculturation, “Cultural Studies” at SCI-Arc refers to the study of architectural cultures: design cultures, building cultures, disciplinary interiority and exteriority, canons and traditions, critiques and avant-gardisms. In this manner, it is both fundamental and interdisciplinary: the core program at both the undergraduate and graduate levels is comprised of courses in Urban Studies, Visual Culture, Philosophy, New Media, Critical Theory, and all aspects of Architectural History, Theory and Criticism. After completion of their core studies, students may enroll in a series of advanced seminar electives which represent the most current conceptualizations, discourse and production in architectural studies. In addition to courses offered by regular faculty, the Cultural Studies program seeks authors and critics worldwide to share their recent work in this forum. Many courses are offered in conjunction with publications and conferences, or enlist the active participation of students in research endeavors. Therefore, while some elective courses do recur, all are subject to shifts in content and attention. Core Cultural Studies seminars Undergraduate CS2010 | Fields and Practices: Introduction to Design Cultures This course serves as an introduction, overview and preview of the SCI-Arc curriculum, and as an introduction to the immense variety of pathways available to students as they move ahead in the world as a designer and, possibly, as an architect. The aims of the class are to expose students to a broad range of design work and introduces the role of the experimental within the fields of furniture, architecture, interior space, set design, exhibition design, product design, and landscape, and to develop in them the eye and senses of the curious and critical observer of the products of design culture. CS2011, CS2014 | Writing in Architecture: ESL/ELL The class helps undergraduates improve their English language usage and composition skills. Students read literary and architectural theory, and respond to the work in their writing. Goals for the course are to develop a vocabulary to discuss studio projects; conduct research based on primary and secondary sources; compose and rewrite an essay in preparation for upper-division Cultural Studies assignments; and draft a basic proposal to fund projects. These are supplemented by in-class creative writing assignments to better perceive writing “off the page.”
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CS2012 | History of Architecture 1: Prehistory to Middle Ages This course introduces students to the history of world architecture by examining the origins and elaboration of human settlements and architecture from prehistory to the medieval era. Particular attention is given to the evolving status and role of the architect in the ancient world as well as to the development of architecture as an autonomous category of cultural artifact. CS2013 | Humanities 1: Antiquity to the Middle Ages This introductory survey course addresses ancient cultural production with a framework that extends beyond a normative Western trajectory with an interest in tracing parallel histories in disparate geographical and cultural locales. The course addresses art,archi- tecture, music and literature in ancient Greece, Rome, Africa, Egypt, Asia, Europe and beyond. The task of this course is to survey historical cultures as well as to reframe his- torical conditions of culture through the lens of contemporary discourse. CS2020 | History of Architecture 2: Renaissance to the Enlightenment History of Architecture 2 covers the development of architecture and urban culture from the Renaissance to the end of the 19th century. It surveys developments of the 15th century, including the revival of architecture and the rise of a new attitude toward the aesthetic and civic potential of the built domain; the emergence of architectural practice from the traditional workshop system and the establishment of the “discipline” in the modern sense; the advent of new representational practices; the rise of the institution of the academy in the 16th and 17th centuries; the invention of new building technologies and materials in pace with the aesthetic, scientific and social theories of the 18th and 19th centuries; and the increased awareness of an urban subjectivity and the rise of a science of urban planning in the industrialized era. CS2021 | Humanities 2: Renaissance to Romanticism This seminar looks at the early modern age of Western civilization, along with develop-ments in non-Western cultures, from the end of the “dark ages” to the advent of modernism in the mid 19th century. Assumptions about the period are examined critically, along with texts and art works that preceded and influenced the modern age, and which to a large extent define the way we think and behave today. The role of the arts in society and their relation to socio-economic, political, and religious conditions are examined, along with the relationship of artists to their own times and to the classical past. The course presents wider contexts as well as looking closely at strategies and techniques used in works from The Song of Roland to George Büchner’s Woyzeck. CS2022 | History of Architecture 3: Industrial Revolution to Contemporary Discourses This class presents a history of 20th century architecture and urbanism, from 19th century tectonics and structural rationalism to the emergence of deconSection 2 • 88
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struction and the contemporary avant-garde. The course examines critical moments in the creative and intellectual discourses that have arisen over the course of the century, a time in which the discipline of Architecture has endured innumerable theoretical debates that forged an ever-greater reliance upon theoretical sources and visual knowledge. Among the issues discussed are the rise of industrial production of new technologies and mass urbanization. CS2023 | Humanities 3: Modernism in Literature, Art and Film This seminar looks at the background, nature, evolution and multiple facets of modernism, and how these connect through the arts. The ways in which artists in all fields have responded to modernity is discussed, along with the impact of new technologies, art forms, and social and economic conditions. Students develop a faculty for literary, film and art criticism, and an awareness of the ways in which similar themes, techniques and world outlooks have recurred at different times in different media since the advent of modernism. The course operates at two scales, presenting the wider context for each topic as well as looking closely at strategies used by writers, artists and film-makers from Baudelaire to Wong Kar-Wai. CS2030 | Introduction to Urban Systems This course examines the city as a dynamic process composed of so-called “open systems”—infrastructural, economic, environmental and socio-cultural—that interact with each other. Through an exploration of their interrelationship, these systems are understood as historically determined, and are presented in the class in rough chronological order, from water and sewage systems to fiber optic and wireless technologies. CS2031 | Philosophy of Technology This course provides a historical survey of the philosophy of technology, using Martin Heidegger’s seminal lecture, “The Question Concerning Technology,” as a guide. Examining the ways in which technology has been addressed through time by different philosophical and critical traditions, from pre-Socratic discussions of techne to Deleuze’s machinic delirium, this course charts the progress of the human relationship with technology and the nature it mediates. While primarily concerned with philosophical developments, this course will index the evolution of such thinking to the state of technology and architecture at the time, emphasizing issues of particular importance for architects. CS2040 | Introduction to Critical Studies One of the radical shifts in architectural production at the end of the twentieth century emerged from the introduction of new theoretical tools into architectural culture. Architects such as Bernard Tschumi, Peter Eisenman, Daniel Libeskind and Rem Koolhaas began to develop a radically new approach to architecture by appropriating ideas from the world of cultural theory and philosophy. They recognized that architectural culture—in and of itself—was trapped within a relaSection 2 • 89
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tively complacent, self-legitimising condition, that needed to be destabilized and reinvigorated by fresh impulses from outside. Meanwhile, with the emergence of cultural theory, a whole generation of critical thinkers—such as Jacques Derrida, Jean Baudrillard and Fredric Jameson—began to see architecture as a field of interdisciplinary cultural enquiry. As a result of this convergence, a new criticality emerged, which has been further developed by a second generation of architects, led by Greg Lynn, Foreign Office Architects and Lars Spuybroek. This course introduces students to the thinking behind this new criticality. The course is based on Rethinking Architecture, a collection of seminal essays on architecture by key thinkers of the twentieth century. Students are asked to read and dissect primary texts from significant fields of study, including critical theory, postmodern studies, phenomenology, structuralism, deconstruction, and post-structuralism, alongside readings from architectural culture.
Thesis prep and thesis studio are seen as a comprehensive project and students are required to undertake them at SCI-Arc, not while studying abroad.
CS2050 | Thesis preparation The Thesis program is fundamentally about the development of a set of beliefs. Students are expected to have a cumulative knowledge base paired with a unique and passionate perspective on their work. Thesis preparation asks that each individual stake a position based on their perspective and hold it up against a set of widely held beliefs. The thesis program involves the development of a thesis regarding architecture, as well as a design program and project that explores and tests it. The thesis is more than a theme, a site, or a specific type of program. It is a proposition regarding architecture that takes a specific position in a field of possibilities. It is a position that requires architectural exploration in order to understand it, test the possibilities, and recognize the limits of its application. Note: Beginning academic year 2009–10, Thesis prep will only be offered Fall semester and Thesis studio will only be offered Spring semester. Undergraduate Writing Clinic This writing clinic is an appointment based non-credit workshop where students can receive help on work in progress. A faculty member provides one on one help with formulation, articulation and structure of student ideas and helps the student to discover the appropriate expression of their written documentation.
M.Arch 1
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CS2100 | Architecture Culture 1 This course introduces students to the history of the discipline of Architecture in Western and non-Western culture from the Vitruvian tradition, as instantiated by Alberti, to the beginning of the “critical,” or postwar period. The course considers architecture as both a profession and a discipline, and explores its relationship to the society, economy, politics, and cultural developments of this time period. Theories of aesthetics and space are covered, as well as the rise of the academy, the inclusion of landscape and other arts in architectural studies, and the subsequent fragmentation—from the Enlightenment onwards—of Classical
Courses and Degree Requirements
ideals into broad questions of origin, type, form, function and identity. Throughout the course, students will also be introduced to a range of different possible histories of architecture- vernacular histories, formal histories, and geographic histories that have been heretofore considered “outside” of the discipline. Students will be challenged to consider whether these forms and meanings have had a critical impact in the discipline, and to imagine a set of alternative canons and agencies that could be implicit in each. This includes a six-week module on non-Western and Regional Architectural Traditions, at which attendance is mandatory for all graduate students at SCI-Arc. The course culminates in a 12-week research project in which students will gain and present a thorough knowledge of one historic building (pre-1949) in order to further the investigations of this class into architecture’s disciplinary identity. All research projects will be archived in the SCI-Arc Library. Meets NAAB Conditions: 1.13.9 Non-Western Traditions; 3.13.10 National and Regional Tradition
CS2101 | Architecture Culture 2 This course introduces students to their more immediate heritage in the emergent architectural discipline, and to its concomitant problematics in the modern and postmodern eras. In the first section of the semester, the discipline is considered in relation to the radical changes brought about by social, political and economic events from the Industrial Revolution to the Second World War. The linkage of architecture and morality, the rise of the metropolis , the development of urban design, and the adoption of the machine as model and metaphor are key themes of investigation. In the second section, the consequences of the transition from the modern to the postmodern is considered in architecture. Emphasis is placed on the canonization of modernism into high modernism following the Second World War and its subsequent critique and decline. Throughout the course, issues of race, colonization, class and gender are understood as constituent factors of global—and hence architectural—culture. CS2120 | The Rise and Fall of Theory Vanguardism This course concentrates on the ways in which the shift from philosophy to “theory,” following the events of 1968, directly affected the intellectual life of architecture from the 1970s to today. Through an examination of scholarly journals, school curricula, and intellectual discourse and debate in architecture, students are introduced to the rise and fall of these theory vanguards —their continuous critique and the influence it has had on the work of architects. Furthermore, given the significant challenges to critique in recent work, students are asked to consider its influence on the rapidly changing nature of contemporary architectural practice. CS2121 | Urban Studies: History, Theory, Criticism This course of study presents students with a range of contemporary research methods for understanding the complex, multivalent and dynamic set of systems and pressures known as “the city.” In order to provide rigor and intensity, the urban Section 2 • 91
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studies course is divided into 3 small seminars that align exactly with the sections of the 2GB studio. Through various methods and theories—from market research to scenario analysis to historiography—students are asked to formulate interpretations of urbanism and apply these to their studio projects. Because SCI-Arc innately understands the shifting nature of this discourse, the courses in Urban Studies endeavor to represent the most current paradigms and orientations.
M.Arch 2 CS2200 | Modern, Postmodern, Supermodern This seminar tracks the short but intense history of architecture’s transition from modernism to postmodernism to supermodernism. Within the context of the last three decades of the 20th century, it is argued that contemporary architectural practices have been dominated by, and characterized by, different modes of communication. Through the rigorous study of architectural practices that have moved from an emphasis on meaning to one of immersive experience, this seminar focuses on the communicative potentials and critical explorations of contemporary architectural design. CS2201 | Design Intelligence This seminar focuses on an emergent form of post-vanguard design practice that employs testing and prototyping to create design knowledge, or design intelligence. It details the emergence of this new intelligence paradigm through readings drawn from a variety of contemporary debates in philosophy, science, strategic gaming and other areas, before turning to a series of firm-specific case studies that explicitly address the role of intelligence in contemporary design practice.
Recurring Cultural Studies electives Please note that these courses are not offered every semester and are subject to change. Check the latest course schedule for current course offerings, and visit SCI-Portal for each semester’s course descriptions. CS2301 | Form to Informe Tulay Atak The primary objective of this course is to introduce the cultural and historical background of current theories on form. It intends to distinguish between different approaches to form in architecture, especially between form generation and formalism as sets of practices that involve the social and cultural aspects of architecture. Rather than attempting global definitions of form and formalism, this course focuses on a number of themes linked to formal organizational concepts and analyses of selected case studies in contemporary architecture.
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CS2302 | Urban Planning and Development David Bergman This course provides a basic background in the planning and land use system in California as well as providing exposure to elements of the land development process. Students gain an understanding of the land use and regulatory environment in which architecture and urban design takes place. The course centers on a weekly lecture along with an assignment related to interpretation of a zoning code. CS2303 | Terrorism and Architecture Benjamin Bratton This seminar focuses on the interrelations of architecture-as-politics and politics-as-architecture. Following a proposition that 9/11 has made terrorism a key factor in late modernity, terrorism is examined as an architectural phenomenon. With an inherently spatial program, political and cultural institutions are reconsidered as embodied explicitly by their architectural manifestations. CS2304 | Video-City Jeffrey Inaba This course presents video as an alternative to the book as a medium for generating urban hypotheses and speculation. A hands-on workshop, students produce short planning manifestoes for Southern California’s Inland Empire, exploring the unique ability of video to readily integrate visual information, while attempting to exacerbate video’s capacity to seamlessly document and fictionalize its subject matter. CS2305 | Discipline & Reward Dora Epstein Jones This course examines the critique of discipline (following Foucault) and the effects of that critique on the theories, profession and practice of architecture. Dedicated to the idea that the discipline of Architecture is far more agile and accepting than critique has figured, this course urges students to explore and use its standards, norms, techniques and habits in new and rewarding ways. The course is conducted in two parts: as a seven-week survey of the discipline and its critical engagement in architectural discourse, and as a seven-week investigative study into the possibilities of a transformative, rather than restrictive, architectural discipline. CS2306 | Active Time in Landscape, Architecture and Cinema Ed Keller Cinema has compressed into just over one century all the representational and philosophical themes that our built environment has been driven by for over a thousand years. This evolution of film has been informed, in many ways, by the history of landscape theory: Moving from the primarily visual, to the compositional and symbolic, to the compositional and material, to the active landscape, and the discovery of network systems on macro and microscopic levels. This course Section 2 • 93
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tracks this catalog of time landscapes through several dozen films. A wide range of film genres and periods give cinematic illustrations of each concept of landscape, and are joined with selected examples from landscape, urbanism, and architecture. CS2307 | Parallel Worlds: The Imaginary Twentieth Century and Other Architectural Myths Norman Klein In 1876, both the light bulb and the telephone—new inventions of immense importance to architecture—were given spectacular architectural premieres. Afterwards, hundreds of illustrations, utopian and sci-fi novels and films caricatured what the new industrial century might look like. None of these guesses were accurate; but almost all remain eerily familiar today, like bizarre facelifts that resemble someone you knew. Students are invited to design 3D versions of parallel worlds—on the computer, and as maquettes. These will become part of a large database novel in DVD-ROM, to be exhibited from 2006 onward. Visits from various guest artists and scholars are included in the course, to sharpen what is possible. CS2308 | Non-Creative Writing Bruna Mori In this course, focused on the craft of writing, students are encouraged to be as experimental and disciplined with text as they are with their architecture in this workshop-style class. Featured guests include fiction writer Aimee Bender (author of The Girl in the Flammable Skirt and An Invisible Sign of My Own) and poet David Hernandez (author of Man Climbs Out of Manhole and A House Waiting for Music). Techniques for writing poetry, prose poems, short stories, fiction, and hybrid forms are reviewed. Weekly presentations of student writing and assigned literature are supplemented with live readings, videos, recordings, and attendance at a spoken word event.
Recent special project Cultural Studies electives Please note that these courses are not offered every semester and are subject to change. Check the latest course schedule for current course offerings, and visit SCI-Portal for each semester’s course descriptions.
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CS2311 | Hydrotectonics: An Ethical Survey of Urbanism and Water Juan Azulay and Ed Keller The control of any vast, networked system requires both a conceptual power to think and see the extents to which it is interconnected over time with other systems—some visible and some hidden—and also a conceptual and technical rigor to understand the practical techne of “systems control” and engineering. This seminar merges those two modes of thinking to develop a contemporary model of geopolitical ethics based on examples and theories of urban water systems control chosen throughout history.
Courses and Degree Requirements
CS2312 | Triple A: Angelino Art Ascendant Howard Fox This lecture/seminar course traces the emergence and ascendance of Southern California as an international focal point for the creation of contemporary art from the 1960s to the present. It investigates a mix of historical directions, major figures, significant followers, and some outsiders through a continuum of art that ranges from the light-and-space movement to assemblage, to SoCal’s unique contribution to the development of conceptual, video, performance, and new media art. Sessions also focus on such politically radical movements as chicano, black, feminist, and gay art. CS2313 | Cross-Cutting: Fashion in Architecture Brooke Hodge This seminar explores the common threads and underpinnings of fashion and architecture. It asks ask how they affect each field, and how fashion has influenced architecture and vice-versa. In addition to in-depth study of the work of individual fashion designers, it looks at stylistic tendencies shared by the worlds of fashion and architecture, including deconstruction, minimalism, and post-modernism. For their final project, students are asked to design a garment based on a work of architecture that engages space as well as the body. CS2314 | The History of Cities: From Origins to the Ephemeral City Joel Kotkin The purpose of the class is to understand the evolution of cities from the earliest periods to the contemporary scene. The first half of the class deals largely in conceptual and historical issues. The second half of the class deals with contemporary urban issues, such as urban poverty, the role of suburbia, downtowns and “urban villages.” CS2315 | Deleuze and New Scientific Thinking Neil Leach This course draws upon the work of Gilles Deleuze, a philosopher who was himself deeply influenced by scientific theories, and whose philosophy has been described as a “bio-philosophy”. It also draws upon a range of new scientific thinking which engages with topics like emergence, chaos theory and complexity. The aim is to draw connections between Deleuze’s philosophical thought, new scientific thinking, and recent developments within the digital realm, especially the use of cellular automata, genetic algorithms and other generative tools. In so doing, the course investigates an influential new strand of thinking that is having an increasing influence on architectural production.
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CS2316 | Urban Design in the Middle East: Space and the Politics of Development Ali Modarres This seminar provides an overview of urban development in the Middle East. Focusing mostly on the last two centuries, the class examines the political economy of urban design and the socio-spatial restructuring of cities in this region. Through case studies that portray the confluence of political, economic, and cultural structures with design, students analyze how urban morphology and urban aesthetics were affected by the forces of colonialism, nationalism, and modernism. CS2317 | Digital Architecture: Fabricating Ideology Joseph Rosa This seminar traces the trajectory of digital pedagogy and practice of architecture, from early, rarely realized, 20th century precursors of non-Cartesian aesthetics, to its formation and evolution from deconstructivist ideology. By examining the evolution of digital architecture from its inception in the early 1990s to the present, the course shows how these new frontiers are widening as practices fuse with other media to carry forward varying aesthetic explorations, embodying diverse ideologies and generating new typologies that are changing the way architecture is fabricated, aestheticized and perceived in the 21st century. CS2318 | Incarnate Urbanism—A Symposium Paulette Singley The ability of food production and consumption to generate urban communities remains central—and yet surprisingly peripheral within the mainstream discussion—to any understanding of urban design. From urban gardening and the need to make our cities more sustainable, to public markets or grocery stores, and on to the places where we eat, the culinary axis of urbanism is a dominant dimension of public space and performance. Topics include a brief history of public space and public dining, the grotesque and carnivalesque in urban design, an inquiry into the aesthetics of eating, the city as a table, dining as performance, slow and fast spaces, still life painting as food formalism, the status of figuration and “body-blobs,” and the idea of the urban recipe or menu. CS2319 | Whatever Happened to LA? Peter Zellner This seminar examines the genesis of Los Angeles as a physical and ideological site for experimentation between 1970 and 1990. It focuses on the post-Case Study period, in which Los Angeles was “re-discovered” as a contemporary city and became defined by the emergence, from its unique set of urban circumstances, of the “LA School” of architects, including Gehry, Morphosis, Eric Owen Moss and Studio Works.
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CS2320 Science Fiction Writing for Architects Claire Phillips This creative writing class familiarizes students with the art of making the strange familiar or the familiar strange. Students are introduced to genre works, ranging from pre-cyberpunk sci-fi to the present practice of “slipstream”. Both experimental and traditional story-telling techniques are reviewed with a special emphasis placed on prose style and hybrid narrative forms. Projects include the short story, the proposal and the film treatment, and are peer reviewed in a workshop format. Materials for study range from the renowned works of James Tiptree, Jr., Philip K. Dick and J.G. Ballard to the current works of Haruki Murakami and Kelly Link. Readings are supplemented with film clips and a brief introduction to popular virtual reality games. CS2321 | Huts and Halls: Contrasting Currents in Japanese Traditional Architecture and Gardens Greg Walsh The course explores the often diverse and contrasting cultural currents evident in Japanese traditional architecture: Cities, buildings, gardens from earliest eras up to the 20th Century will be looked at, studied and discussed. The final class session is an overview of how these traditions were transformed into the architecture of the present-day Japan. Students also read architectural writings reflecting both Western and Japanese points of view. In addition to architecture, painting, sculpture, and crafts are examined, along with readings from the literature and drama created by the Japanese people throughout history. CS2322 | Special Effects in the City, and Other Myths Norman Klein, with Tom Marble This seminar is on the scripted “illusionistic” space as an urban process, from as early as 1580 to the present; and on social imaginaries about cities— with a particular focus on Los Angeles (boosterism, urban misplanning, cinema, erasure/forgetting, anti-tours, simulation, autopias, etc.). Students are also invited to join in an exhibition at the Southwest Museum, to “imagine” what the future of that site can be, and the neighborhoods around it. Scripted spaces are examined where illusionistic staging—or scripted spaces—dominate, from Baroque churches to casinos in Vegas, and hundreds of examples in between, including theatrical “machines” for special effects, the cinematic construction of the city, consumerist spectacle and the city, myths of circulation, of the panoramic, of the labyrinth. This also takes us into digital design, particularly Klein’s database novel, Bleeding Through, and his new project on The Imaginary Twentieth Century.
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CS2323 | Post-Empire Urbanisms: Parallel Realities, Trans-national Archipelagos, New Urban Ambiences Ed Keller “Sometimes reality is too complex for oral communication...But legend embodies it in a form which enables it to spread all over the world...” This voiceover from Godard’s film Alphaville, spoken as the camera pans across nondescript postwar middle class high rise residential towers, identifies two kinds of global systems. The first is the wildly proliferating Hollywood mythmachine, which is able to colonize most of the world as America’s most visible export, and which Godard satirizes directly in his film, by creating Lemmy Caution (E. Constantine) as a doppelganger of Bogart; and second, the global space which began to coalesce as the world recovered from World War Two, when urban centers were rebuilt and global networks of capital and materials intensified. The first problems of infrastructure, information science, highways, social housing on a mass scale, and systemic architectures in general emerged in macro-urban assemblies as the embodiment of such systems. The political theorist Fredric Jameson argues that in contemporary post-capital/post-national society, the task of creating “cognitive maps” of urban space and cultural landscapes has become substantially more complex. Likewise, a new paradigm in both theory and narrative provides us with glimpses of parallel realities which function as futures that we can anticipate with a mixture of dread and delight. The world that John Brunner depicts in his novel Shockwave Rider (1973) is almost impossible to distinguish from the one we live in today. The global spaces of contestation for resources, identity, infrastructure, military control, or desire that we see in films like Demonlover (Assayas, 2003), Syriana (Gaghan, 2005), or Code 46 (Winterbottom, 2003) are not science fiction speculations, but verifications of the wildly reterritorialized reality we inhabit today. Urban morphologies are now on fast forward, as they adjust ever more rapidly to global systems that provide individuals, collectives, institutions with constantly shifting ways to interact. Architecture operates as a key link in this dynamic relation, in its capability to slow down such time, unlike many other disciplines tied into the practice of generating urban morphology. This seminar studies these emerging “Post-Empire” landscapes of control, systemic tendencies, and new freedoms.
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APPLIED STUDIES Architecture is about the way we make worlds, worlds populated with subjects and objects, the definitions of which are always mediated by their cultural significance. Embedded in that act of “making� as the transposition and materialization of abstract ideas into spatial form, is the conception of technology as the necessary means by which that complex process takes place. The continuous definition and challenge of the multiple ways we make the world and its physical environment constitute the fundamental motivation of the Applied Studies program at SCI-Arc. The program offers a range of courses that critically engage technology and its spatial and social consequences. Foundation courses are offered in Physics and other sciences, building systems, structural analysis, tectonics, material development, acoustics, lighting and environmental control. Advanced courses explore the design consequences of the continued material and technical development of architectural proposals in the physical world. Elective courses offer the unique opportunity to further research and experiment with highly specific technologies that constantly redefine the conventions of architecture as a discipline and as a practice. Recent courses explore topics as diverse as parametric design, structural optimization, advanced geometry, composite tectonics, material research and development, complex assemblies, as well as ecology, biomimicry and solar performance. Core Applied Studies seminars Undergraduate AS3010 | Introduction to the Physical World: Materials, Behaviors, Forces This course introduces students to the physical properties governing works of architecture and their material making. Drawing upon Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Philosophy, the class examines concepts relating to energy and forces. These include gravity and thermal forces, material qualities such as brittleness and flexibility, reactions between forces and materials such as tension and compression. The role of applied material experimentation as a practice is introduced, along with the investigation of the properties and performance of materials through the development of a series of physical models and a final term paper. AS3020 | Introduction to Environment and Climate Context and environment are the two fundamental terms examined in this course. Beginning with an understanding of what constitutes the experience of place, the class develops a series of arguments with which to evaluate environments, the relationship between man and nature, and the architectural notion of what constitutes comfort. The course investigates to what extent the understanding of the environment is culturally and biologically determined. Students conduct their own research into a chosen area of climatology and develop schematic buildings proposals for various climactic conditions while making design decisions that conserve natural and built resources.
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AS3021 | Structures 1: Forces and Vectors Beginning with a broad understanding of the ways in which materials work at the molecular level, this course introduces students to principles governing structure such as force and unit stress, equilibrium and span, stiffness, and the reasons materials change shape when subjected to loads. Through a number of assignments, which include exercises in shear and bending moment diagrams and the calculation of equilibrium and internal forces in trusses, students are provided with a practical basis for understanding structures and their behavior. AS3030 | Structures 2: Long Span and Lateral Systems This course offers an insight into methods of lateral load resistance within structures. The class examines concepts and definitions of lateral loads and the structural systems used to resist those loads, as well as it considers the influence of various load resisting systems on architectural design projects. By focusing on loads caused by wind and seismic forces within long span buildings, the class introduces students to building code requirements pertaining to loads, lateral loadresisting systems and moment-resisting reinforced concrete structural systems. AS3031 | Tempering the Environment: Light, Air and Sound This course introduces students to the basic physical principles, design implications and performance of environmental systems by focusing on the behavior of lighting, acoustical and climate modification systems within the built environment. The course relies upon the assumption that a careful integration of these elements within an architectural project, especially in the impact these elements have on building envelopes, can contribute significantly to improving the quality of our environment. Life-safety systems are also discussed, with a special emphasis on movement systems and egress. The class is divided into three independent modules, each of which addresses a single environmental system and is taught by a professional engineer specializing in the field. AS3032 | Smart and Sustainable Systems This class examines principles of sustainability by providing students with criteria for making decisions in architecture and urban design based on the preservation of natural and built resources—including important building and sites—and the creation of healthful communities. The course introduces a range of models and philosophies pertaining to a “sustainable” approach to architecture. Each session takes one notion of sustainability and explores it through a series of presentations, readings and assignments. Case studies are used to examine the practical application of abstract ideals, and of more technical aspects such as water and sewage management, thermal transfer strategies in buildings, and embodied energy in materials and construction processes.
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AS3033 | Tectonics: Construction, Assembly and Detail This course explores the considerations and concepts that govern architecture within a tectonic tradition of craft, construction, detail and assembly. The class examines the use of techniques and technologies and discusses them through contemporary precedents as well as by means of current designs and studio projects. By focusing on different construction principles, materials and their particular use, different methods of fabrication, assembly and detail, and the integration of mechanical and electric systems within the building envelope, the class focuses on their design impact in the overall conception and experience of a building. Exercises are carried out in model form both physically and digitally and simultaneously documented in CAD. AS3040 | Design Documentation: Analysis and Development This course investigates issues related to the implementation of design: technology, the use of materials, systems integration, and the archetypal analytical strategies of force, order and character. The course includes a review of basic construction methods, analysis of building codes, the design of structural and mechanical systems, the development of building materials and the integration of building components and systems. Students are given the Emerging Professional’s Companion and updated IDP materials. Students are asked to select their studio project from the previous semester to develop, focusing on a detailed design of a single component of the building and the resolution of its structural system and building envelope as a whole. Meets NAAB Conditions: 1.3 Architectural Education and Registration; 3.13.14 Accessibility
AS3041 | Design Documentation: Construction Documents, Comprehensive Design, Part 2 The goal of this course is to provide students with a comprehensive knowledge of the perfectible craft of construction documentation, a standardized language developed to clearly communicate complex designs to a third party and the architect’s legal responsibilities, including the AIA Code of Ethics and Regulations Statutes. Students refine their skills through the production of a full construction documentation package, drawn in 2D and 3D CAD, for a small to mediumscale single story residence. In doing so, they also develop an understanding of what types of technically precise documents and outlined specifications need to be produced and in what sequence, and of the languages of other disciplines, such as mechanical, electrical, and acoustical engineering. Attention is place on student’s understanding of registration law, building codes and regulations, professional service contracts, zoning and sub-division ordnances, environmental regulations and other licensure concerns. This class also introduces students to the basics of cost analysis and construction management. Meets NAAB Conditions: 3.13.20 Life Safety; 3.13.25 Construction Cost Control; 3.13.28 Comprehensive Design; 3.13.32 Professional Development; 3.13.33 Legal Responsibility Section 2 • 101
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AS3050 | Practice Environments: Contracts, Liability, Business Models This course examines critically the role of professional architectural practices in the development and direction of architectural design, production and pedagogy. As its basis, the course comprises a survey of the architectural profession— its licensing and legal requirements, its adherence to the constraints of codes and budgets, and its place among competing professions and financial interests. Attention is place on student’s understanding of registration law, building codes and regulations, professional service contracts, zoning and sub-division ordnances, environmental regulations and other licensure concerns. Students gain an understanding of the architect’s administrative role, and of issues relating to obtaining commissions, selecting and coordinating consultants, negotiating contracts, project management and issues of egress, code compliance and principles of life safety. They also develop the skills necessary to effectively communicate to clients and user groups. Trends such as globalization and outsourcing are analyzed in their capacity to substantially affect the practice of an architect. Students also receive the Emerging Professionals Companion along with updated IDP information. Meets NAAB Conditions: 1.3 Architectural Education and Registration; 3.13.20 Life Safety; 3.13.25 Construction Cost Control; 3.13.28 Comprehensive Design; 3.13.32 Professional Development; 3.13.33 Legal Responsibility
M.Arch 1 AS3100 | Material Properties, Industrial Processes and Structural Principles This class introduces students to fundamental structural principles with a strong emphasis on materials, material properties and industrial processes. This course is an investigation into the anatomy of material and its potential use in architecture. The goal of the class is to provide students with a thorough understanding of materials, and of the design methods, techniques, and industrial processes by which they acquire meaning in an architectural and building context. By means of direct testing and experimentation, the class explores technical and rational manipulations of traditional as well as novel materials, aiming to develop an expansive understanding of their physical nature, environmental impact and possible reuse. AS3101 | Structures 1: Forces and Vectors Beginning with a broad understanding of the ways in which materials work at the molecular level, this course introduces students to principles governing structure such as force and unit stress, equilibrium and span, stiffness, and the reasons materials change shape when subjected to loads. Through a number of assignments which include exercises in shear and bending moment diagrams and the calculation of equilibrium and internal forces in trusses, students are provided with a practical basis for understanding structures and their behavior
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AS3120 | Structures 2: Techniques and Implementation: Connections and Systems Based on a series of lectures, this course aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of structural engineering and of the architect’s role in the creative application of engineering principles. During the first part of the term, the class examines concepts and definitions of lateral loads and the structural systems used to resist those loads, and also considers the influence of various load resisting systems on architectural design projects. By focusing on loads caused by wind and seismic forces within long span buildings, the class introduces students to building code requirements pertaining to loads, lateral load-resisting systems and moment-resisting reinforced concrete structural systems. AS3121 | Tempering the Environment: Light, Air and Sound This course introduces students with the basic physical principles, design implications and performance of environmental systems by focusing on the behavior of lighting, acoustical and climate modification systems within the built environment. The course relies upon the assumption that a careful integration of these elements within an architectural project, especially in the impact these elements have on building envelopes, can contribute significantly to improving the quality of our environment. Life-safety systems are also discussed, with a special emphasis on movement systems and egress. The class is divided into three independent modules, each of which addresses a single environmental system and is taught by a professional engineer specializing in the field. AS3122/3222 | Design Documentation: Analysis and Development This course focuses on construction systems, building technology, the use of materials and system integration. The course includes a review of basic construction methods, analysis of building codes including occupancy and life-safety issues, the design of structural and mechanical systems and familiarizes students with basic principles of sustainable design. Studio projects from the previous semester are developed, focusing on the detailed design of a zone of the building in terms of the resolution of its structural system and building envelope using three-dimensional modeling as well as drafting. Drawings at various scales are produced to introduce students to the language and standards of details, wall sections and overall building representations, culminating in a comprehensive package of drawings. The course also introduces student to the basics of cost control including life-cylce costs. Students receive the Emerging Professionals Companion along with updated IDP information. Meets NAAB Conditions: 1.3 Architectural Education and Registration; 3.13.28 Comprehensive Design
AS3123 | Advanced Building Systems: Sustainability and Complex Envelopes This course focuses on advanced building systems and technologies. With a special emphasis on high rise construction, students investigate issues pertaining to Section 2 • 103
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vertical movement systems, advanced structures and their relation to surface and building envelopes. The course also covers other building services such as plumbing, electrical, security and fire protection systems and their effects on architectural design. Through a series of lectures, group presentations and individual assignments, current typologies and specific architectural precedents are researched and discussed, with a special focus on glass, curtain wall systems, sustainable, energy efficient systems, and technologies of construction and assembly. AS3130/3230 | Practice Environments: Contracts, Liability, Business Models This course examines critically the role of professional architectural practices in the development and direction of architectural design, production and pedagogy. As its basis, the course comprises a survey of the architectural profession— its licensing and legal requirements, its adherence to the constraints of codes and budgets, and its place among competing professions and financial interests. Attention is place on student’s understanding of registration law, building codes and regulations, professional service contracts, zoning and sub-division ordnances, environmental regulations and other licensure concerns. Students gain an understanding of the architect’s administrative role, and of issues relating to obtaining commissions, selecting and coordinating consultants, negotiating contracts, project management and issues of egress, code compliance and principles of life safety. They also develop the skills necessary to effectively communicate to clients and user groups. Trends such as globalization and outsourcing are analyzed in their capacity to substantially affect the practice of an architect. Students also receive the Emerging Professionals Companion along with updated IDP information. Meets NAAB Conditions: 1.3 Architectural Education and Registration; 3.13.20 Life Safety; 3.13.25 Construction Cost Control; 3.13.32 Professional Development; 3.13.33 Legal Responsibility
M.Arch 2 See M.Arch 1 section for other core seminar descriptions.
AS3200 | Reflexive Formal Assemblies: Material to System This course looks at the new ability of architects to design, develop and produce structural assemblies for highly specific performances and applications. The course explores new materials, as well as the integral manner in which building systems and structures are produced—from design idea to fabrication and erection—to precisely fit designers’ specifications and to provide optimized performance. AS3201 | Optimization, Performance and Implementation: System to Building This course introduces students to innovative methods of construction, fabrication, structuring and assembly enabled by the advent of new technologies. The class focuses on issues pertaining to structure and its relation to surface and Section 2 • 104
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building envelope, with an emphasis on the instrumental and conceptual shift from two-dimensional forms of representation and documentation, to three-dimensional systems based on material performance and force flow simulation and their consequent impact on architecture’s relation to the building industry. Current typologies and specific precedents of architectural realization—and their integration of geometry and ordering systems with systems of construction and assembly—are discussed through a series of lectures, group presentations and individual assignments. Recurring Applied Studies electives Please note that these courses are not offered every semester and are subject to change. Check the latest course schedule for current course offerings, and visit SCI-Portal for each semester’s course descriptions. AS3301 | Ecological Elements of Site Analysis and Design Rosie Dagit Architecture and the physical environment into which it is placed are often seen as two separate, not necessarily connected, aspects of a project. Integrating a design into the existing landscape has been embraced by a few practitioners, but the more common process is to design first and then modify the site to accommodate the proposed design. The conflicts this generates are becoming increasingly intense, pitting “Nature” against the “built” environment. This class explores the resulting tension between the environmental community and the architectural community. The class meets at numerous locations throughout Los Angeles, visiting sites ranging from single family homes to large sub-divisions, commercial, and recreational/educational facilities. The focus is on analysis of the ecological constraints of each site, ways to incorporate or enhance environmental assets, and evaluation of proposed or actual developments for compliance with environmental regulations. AS3302 | Advanced Structures: Shells, Membranes and Structural Surfaces Bruce Danziger The course examines how architectural concepts can be enhanced with appropriate structural systems. The class content includes structures in nature, the modern history of structural engineering and engineers, structural models, and demonstrations of analysis techniques. Lectures are based on structural engineering as a form generator. Established structural systems such as membranes, shells, tension structures, space frames, folded plates, grid shells, pneumatics, cable nets, etc. and new approaches are discussed in depth through evaluations of built projects, current designs, studio projects and class assignments. AS3303 | Composite Tectonics: Modulating Monocoques Marcelo Spina Rooted in the technical and theoretical need to continue a rather holistic and inSection 2 • 105
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tegral approach to form, structure, construction and assembly, this class examines complex structural surfaces known as “monocoques” or unibodies and their possible application. Whilst an infrequent approach to construction and design since its inception, these structures imply a uniquely integrated process of fabrication, production and assembly capable of streamlining construction processes while at the same time allowing for an advanced degree of technological, formal and material innovation. Under this framework, the class investigates the potentiality of shells and modulated surfaces in the production of small size proto architectures that inventively challenge the overly assumed notions of hierarchy and separation between structure and skin. AS3304 | Biomimicry: Innovation in Architecture Inspired by Nature Ilaria Mazzoleni This seminar takes inspiration from the animal world and, through the analysis and understanding of specific examples such as spider webs, termites, polar bears, bees, birds, etc., translates the learned principles to the built environment. The class positions the question of how the environment interferes with the behavior and physiological evolution of animals and human constructions by learning lessons from the analysis and observation of the animal world. Today, we design and engineer dynamic systems to mediate the interaction between man and nature. This course illustrates how, by learning from nature, we can greatly enhance our design abilities and interference with the environment in a more sophisticated and less invasive way, creating a more sustainable form of living. AS3305 | The Parametric Affect: Design Research through Variational and Associative Geometry David Gerber Intended to position itself as a critical ground for exploring the value and potential of parametric design in architectural practice, this class offers design exploration experience in how to structure, visualize, and prototype variation, associations, and change propagation. Given the prevalence of the topic in current architectural discourse this class looks to situate the existing value and to critically expand upon its current potential. Utilizing software technologies such as CATIA, Generative Components, or MAYA, the emphasis of the class is to develop a design project through the use of parametric logic(s), variational technique(s), and digital prototyping. Ultimately the seminar looks to bring an understanding of the value, limitations, possibilities and expansions of parametric design to the conceptual thinking, formal and material production. Recent special project Applied Studies electives Please note that these courses are not offered every semester and are subject to change. Check the latest course schedule for current course offerings, and visit SCI-Portal for each semester’s course descriptions.
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AS3306 | Warped Surfaces:Bridging Geometry, Performance and Fabrication Tom Wiscombe The intention of this seminar is to introduce ways of linking issues of geometry, performance and fabrication into larger design processes. With the intention of defining a complex structure through the use of patterns of simple surface patches defined by their mathematical economy and adaptive potential, the geometrical point of departure of the class is that of warped surfaces. The logic afforded by these surfaces offers both high tech and low tech solutions for production and fabrication, which are an ongoing theme in the class. Issues of materiality, structural patterning, unitization, thickness, and span are used to increase the overall coherence and intelligence of the proposals. Structural performance is used in articulating curvature, volume, material and depth. AS3307 | Solar Tech: Design and Technologies for Solar Performance Jose da Veiga Solar Tech is aimed at exploring the relationship between solar performance and the design of building envelopes. Students accomplish several small design and form-making exercises through the use of software analysis tools, which allow them to explore the relationships between form and solar energy. With the goal of creating conceptual designs with optimal solar performance, students explore form-making and solar analysis methodologies along with basic concepts of building envelope performance and energy efficiency. The class begins with an overview of existing projects, key concepts relating to performance based design, concepts relating to the representation of technical information in design, and an overview of existing and future solar building technologies. For their final projects, students design and present their own conceptual designs of solar performance based building envelopes. AS3308 | In/discrete Materials Roland Wahlroos-Ritter In/discrete Materials seeks to establish an understanding of the often complex relationship between materials, architectural concepts, production and design processes. The seminar is structured in three parts. Following discussions of materials and architectural practice, students research new materials in design. Students then design and build, in groups of three, full-scale installations which incorporate selected materials. Workshops include material detailing and construction, and material and fabrication techniques based on an investigation into boat-building, automotive design, aeronautical and other industries. AS3309 | Form Finding and Optimization in Lightweight Structures Patrick Teuffel The application of lightweight systems is necessary for mobile, deployable and long spans structures. However, its propagation is also desirable for other buildSection 2 • 107
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ing projects in order to achieve economical or ecological performance using minimum weight and energy solutions. By using high performance materials or employing various experimental and numerical structural optimization techniques, this course investigates the principles of lightweight structures and seeks to expand students’ insight into the complex relationship between structural form and force. AS3310 | Green Urbanism: Nature’s Services and Urban Design Ted Bardacke and Walker Wells Modern cities stand at the critical nexus of the many of the most pressing issues of our time: rapid population growth, unbalanced resource consumption, growing air and water pollution, climate change, and the relentless destruction of natural habitats. The premise of this course is that creating sustainable urban systems is the 21st century’s most crucial design challenge. In responding to this challenge, it is critical to reassess traditional notions about the interrelationship between the built and natural environments. Green Urbanism, in contrast to conventional regional planning approaches, works to identify a number of small-scale interventions that can be applied to urbanized locations, which, in aggregate, lead to an overall shift towards sustainable neighborhoods, districts, and regions. AS3311 | Stereolabs: Towards an exploratory approach for architecture and sound Juan Azulay This course studies, formulates and tests principles and models driven by the relationship between sound and matter through building systems and methods of material aggregation. The course covers the physics of sound and precedents in acoustic design and engineering. Students develops models to test and simulate applications of studied principles on speculative building systems and technologies, survey materials and applications for mutual sonic performativity, and fabricate and test digital and physical mockups and performance-based systems. The sound sourcing and sampling range from urban noise to programmaticallydriven sound, to music, to algorithmically generated sound waves. Invited lecturers include Robin Glosemeyer (Jaffe Holden LA , Hollywood Bowl, etc.), Perry Hall (live paintings), Paul Bacca (film set sound engineer). The semester ends with a sampling/performance of the work in a public venue in the Los Angeles area and SCI-Arc.
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VISUAL STUDIES The practice of architecture relies on systems of communication to conceive, develop, and subsequently represent and communicate architectural ideas, where the breadth of the work is reflected in the implied proficiencies of technical skills and visual culture. The Visual Studies program takes a central role in the education of communications techniques and required skills sets offered across the SCI-Arc course curriculum. It includes drawing tools ranging from generative diagramming to representation, project communication and project production documents. Students become familiar with established and emergent technologies and fabrication processes. The program sets the foundation for understanding the implications of working within the framework of communication systems. It fosters excellence, precision and critical engagement, and encourages highly creative work in which working methods, tools and their interfaces are interlaced. The Visual Studies curriculum responds to the constantly evolving paradigms of architectural communication, introducing new tools within a progressively structured program. New media instruments—ranging from advanced digital modeling and animation to the equipment for computer-controlled fabrication processes— complement established methods of drawing, such as planimetric and sectional representations, constructed perspective and freehand drawing and sketching. Core Visual Studies seminars Undergraduate VS4010 | Fabrications and Delineations 1 Introduction to Fabrication and Drawing Techniques: Perception / Translation The first course in the Visual Studies series introduces students to the principle skills and disciplines of making and drawing. Through various assignments, employing a range of conventional media—including scale drawing, plan/section, model and object work and photography—students develop skills for detailed observation and to-scale translation of visual and spatial ideas. The fabrication of physical prototypes is emphasized to instill an ethic of hands-on making and to initiate the instincts for 2D and 3D representation of physical form and structure. VS4011 | Fabrications and Delineations 2 Introduction to Fabrication and Drawing Techniques: Projection / Description The second stage of Fabrications and Delineations emphasizes the conventions of architectural projection for the description of form and space. The exercises build on the understanding of the logic inherent to deployed techniques, physical Section 2 • 109
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modeling and manually constructed geometry. This includes the fundamentals of Euclidean and non-Euclidian geometric principles, the construction of plan / section / elevation, axonometric and perspective drawing. VS4020 | Technologies of Description 1 Analog and Digital Practices This course introduces the principles of digital drawing tools essential to 2D architectural representation. Working with primary digital representation tools, students learn both the application of projective techniques for architectural subjects and the conventions of operation and interface. Of central importance is instilling in students a critical sensitivity for the inherent bias and nature of each deployed medium. VS4021 | Technologies of Description 2 Analog and Digital Practices This course examines and extends the analytical techniques and strategies for the study of architecture evolving from programmatic and structural systems to external factors affecting site or building. Work is centered on advanced digital 3D drawing and modeling techniques for the construction and evaluation of spatial conditions. Students develop techniques for manipulating 3D data that include rapid modeling, texture mapping, lighting and rendering, and analog drawing. VS4030 | Technologies of Description 3 Analog and Digital Practices The last course in the Technologies of Description sequence is an introduction to advanced techniques in digital modeling and processes of fabrication. The work focuses on digital tools that enable the development of complex surfaces, procedural and parametric forms, and basic animation. Projects include work and production of digital models and material output using computer numerical control (CNC) devices as integral tools for the development of architectural conceptions. M.Arch 1 VS4100 | Strategies of Representation 1 Analysis, Translation and Communication The course examines the theories and practices of representation and analysis of architectural ideas. It is structured to introduce the primary and auxiliary tools necessary to analyze and translate spatial concepts into two-dimensional representations. Students generate descriptive work using planar, plan/section and axonometric projections as well as freehand and digital drawing tools and develop an understanding of the specific characteristics and application potentials.
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VS4101 | Strategies of Representation 2 Diagramming and Spatial Constructions The course forms the continuation of Strategies of Representation 1 by expanding on the conceptions of representational tools, emphasizing diagramming and spatial representations, and incorporating site analysis, topography and threedimensional realizations. The program focuses on developing the precision of intentions in the production of architectural drawings and instilling a critical sensitivity for the inherent bias and interface of each deployed medium of representation. VS4120 | Strategies of Representation 3 Advanced Digital Tools, Modeling and Fabrications This course provides an introduction to advanced techniques in modeling and fabrication processes by focusing on digital drawing and production tools that enable the development of complex and dynamic surfaces, procedural and parametric forms, and the development of the relationship between architecture and geometry. Projects include prints of digital models using CNC and laser cutter devices. VS4121 | Strategies of Representation 4 Advanced Digital Tools, Modeling and Fabrications (optional) The course forms the continuation of Strategies of Representation 3 furthering the knowledge of digital modeling and fabrication techniques by incorporating animation as a dynamic mechanism that extends the spectrum of representational tools. Students are encouraged to explore the sequencing of tools and interrelations between idea and fabrication and space/time related architectural processes. M.Arch 2 VS4200 | Delineation and Dynamic Systems This course explores new software technologies that allow variables of time, reproduction, variation and repetition. The intention is to question the relationship of architecture to geometry and the idea of representation as a static organization of concepts. Students are encouraged to search for the possibilities offered by tools of representation and simulation as active mechanisms for the production of design, thought and products. Geometry is considered no longer as a static Cartesian system, but as encompassing an array of articulated geometrical variations, affected by new instrumental abilities. Recurring Visual Studies electives Please note that these courses are not offered every semester and are subject to change. Check the latest course schedule for current course offerings, and visit SCI-Portal for each semester’s course descriptions. Section 2 • 111
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VS4301 | Photography Lane Barden This class combines fundamental skills in black and white photography with an inquiry into photographic “seeing” and photographic space. Students learn to shoot using natural light and camera controls. Addressed are digital processes and work with Photoshop, density, contrast and image manipulation. Projects typically include framing and the construction of photographic space; sequencing and serial editing; the interpretation of motion in still photography; and projects which address cinematic constructs and framing. Classes consist of lectures on technique, slides of contemporary and historical photographic work, and occasional field trips. Students realize and resolve the skills and concepts covered in this class through the production and installation of an exhibition at the end of the semester. VS4302 | Intelligent Systems tba This course introduces modes of computation as a design tool. The first part covers a general introduction of the theory and implementation of the tool set using Maya’s MEL (Maya Embedded Language). Topics include visual mathematics theory, functions to produce form, linear and non linear time-based systems, and methods of producing mutation and representational techniques. The second part addresses specific research into structure, skin, and form. Students are asked to explore the potential of scripting, where the Maya software becomes a platform to either launch robotics or to open up to “speak” to other programs or proceed in base programming language outside the interface. Lastly, non-linear generative systems are introduced, including emergent flocking conditions, cellular automata, eugenic and evolutionary logics. VS4303 | Architecture Drawing Advanced Architectural Drawings with AutoCAD This course is an in-depth, hands-on exploration of the fundamentals of AutoCAD from the beginner to intermediate level. Through in-lab sessions, combined with assignments, student are exposed to the concepts and strategies of AutoCAD, including basic to advanced drawing and editing commands and an introduction to 3D. VS4304 | Graphic Space April Greiman This workshop is about finding the appropriate visual hierarchy of words and images to match the content of a publication or presentation. From the onset, students are required to generate a mission or intent statement for their publication/presentation. From this initial overview concept presentation, the course format is in a general critique format. The focus is on the “making” of a future — or revising of an existing — presentation, portfolio, or thesis publication and/or preSection 2 • 112
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sentation boards. The course also includes lectures on typography and letterform development, as well as the construction of a grid system. VS4305 | Interactive Communication Florencia Pita By means of computation, design has expanded its expertise to a larger frame of work, intensifying the disciplinary boundaries into more continuous transferences from design processes to fabrication. New techniques have succeed in expanding the possibilities for innovation in design, innovation that is at the same time a return to an organic base, with a direction towards continuity instead of fragmentation as the influential mechanism. From surface to body to detail, organic matter has territorialized a new vocabulary of mutating form; transformative and active form is more and never less. Through the combination of two active media such as Maya and Flash, students develop dynamic processes of design, where not only the basis of animated tools produce new forms, but those forms also evolve as active narratives with the use of web-based interfaces. VS4306 | Japanese Aesthetics and Sumi Ink Painting Yoshio Ikezaki The purpose of this course is to introduce and elaborate on three important elements and traditional Japanese aesthetics, using Japanese art and literature as examples. Those three key words are Wabi-Sabi, Ma, and Kan. Wabi-Sabi describes a spiritually richer way of life, which was considered to be achievable through the self-imposed isolation and the voluntary poverty of the hermit’s life which were previously viewed as negative. Ma is linguistically translated as the distance between two objects, two spaces or a break in modern meaning. Ma determines the balance and unification of the composition for Sumi ink painting, tea ceremony, flower arrangement, Haiku poetry and many other Japanese art forms. Kan can be loosely translated as “sixth sense,” or intuition, that Japanese artists and craftsmen trust and upon which they rely for their inspiration. VS4307 | Synthetic Drawing Sean Sullivan The objective of this course is to develop perceptual skills as a basis for acquiring information to facilitate accuracy in drawing; to reckon with the precision of line and shape as it relates to the representational and imagined form; to methodically layer the visual vocabulary of the student and, in the process, create options in terms of what is recorded; to deal with those options constructively and creatively; to explore the possibilities of mark making and its relevance to the student’s studio practice as a designer; and to couple technical skill with research and sound conceptual thinking.
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Recent special project Visual Studies electives Please note that these courses are not offered every semester and are subject to change. Check the latest course schedule for current course offerings, and visit SCI-Portal for each semester’s course descriptions. VS4308 | Synthetic Scapes Alexis Rochas This design build course studies the generation and production of synthetic objects as active economies resetting the formal, physical and ecological attributes of the domestic environment. Defining a self-sufficient micro-ecology, and setting future parameters for object use, transformation and interaction, the course addresses the design and implementation of a prototypical object that challenges established furniture design. VS4309 | Wearable Architecture Elena Manferdini This class researches core properties of effect and aesthetic common to architectural and fashion design and formulates a theory of exoticism as it applies to both fields. The seminar focuses on understanding these disciplines within the context of a body in space. This interaction is discussed from a visceral, systemic, material and social perspective. An intimate knowledge of design requires an understanding of underlying software and hardware technologies. Students develop new skills for communicating and realizing their ideas, and are given the opportunity to construct physical, analog and digital artifacts and develop their own concepts within the context of garment design and video making. VS4310 | Cinematic Space Jean Michel Crettaz with Norman Klein The perception and ideas of architectural and cinematic space have played an ongoing role in the history and cultures of visual representation. The contemporary discourse of architectural space incorporates ideas of cinematic space by engaging with time, narrative structures, scale, frame and cut—investigating new interrelating layers and perceptive modes of different kinds of time and space. The seminar examines hypotheses presented in questions of evolving functions of time and space within architecture and the filmic media. Students examine, and in return produce cinematic constructions as means to explore, observe, experience, and deploy time-based conditions as integral systems of space and time embodied in the representation of architectural ideas. VS4311 | Showtime Heather Flood and Rob Ley This course explores contemporary means for the dissemination of architectural content. Specifically, the class uses the world wide web to produce and broadcast architecture media. This workshop operates on multiple levels. Throughout Section 2 • 114
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the course are a series of in-class discussions regarding the role of media in architecture. The class investigates historic and contemporary examples as well as generating ideas for future possibilities. Additionally, the class actively engages in the production of architectural media by broadcasting live over the internet. Each show includes an on air pre-broadcast introduction to the work of the lecturer, live coverage of the lecture, and a post-broadcast editing of the event into a digital archive. Showtime is a media initiative that combines the technical resources of the library and the media center with the intellectual content generated by the lecture series to make free and unedited architectural information available to a global audience. VS4312 | Articulation, Communication and Intervention Jeff Cain Articulation is a class designed to examine creative communication practice set in the context of site-specific works. Students examine the work and writings of architects, artists and designers to locate employed strategies of communications, media and techniques and discuss their practices and impact. Students are expected to make two presentations articulating their own practice, make proposals for articulated interventions, and work collaboratively to actualize tangible site specific projects. VS4313 | Architecture Visualization Aaron Bocanegra A series of workshop are designed to provide basic to high-level skill sets for the construction and visualizations in still and time-based formats. This includes photography, animation, image construction and manipulation, using Photoshop, FinalCutPro and AfterEffects tools. The aim is to gain in-depth understanding of these essential tools for the production of architectural visualizations and animation. Assignments and exercises complement the workshop structure. VS4314 | Freeze / Soundbodies Perry Hall Moving well beyond the metaphor that “Architecture is frozen music,” we propose that sound can literally be frozen in order for it to then be populated; but really should be thawed... cooked and digested. This “Soundbody,” once visualized, delivers awareness of the structure, dynamics, and concepts within sound/music that ask to be more fully inhabited and translated. The emphasis is on sound as encoded, embodied, cinematic and conceptual material, as well as the strategies, tactics, instrumentation and techniques for deployment of these materials within design and architecture.
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VS4315 | Interactive Media Fiona Whitton and Sean Dockray This class looks at a variety of quasi-architectural practices that have developed between art and architecture (media art, installation art, relational art, interactive art, sound art, etc.) and is primarily interested in how technology and social relations are integrated into design to produce different forms of spatial experience, particularly fluid, temporary, and fictional ones. Weekly workshops provide hands-on introduction to “physical computing” through materials (switches, sensors, speakers, motors, lights, radio, and microcontrollers) and methods (simple circuit design, hacking, circuit bending). VS4317 | Animation Techniques Aaron Boganegra In this course we will explore animation in terms of performance, concept, spectacle and technique. The purpose is to craft thoughtfully descriptive and exhilarating communication pieces that go beyond what is typically seen today. Working towards this end we will discuss techniques and pieces from the art, film, design and architecture world. With a desire to advance a critical conversation, regarding communication devices, we will delve into relevant theory exploring Mise-EnScene, Narrative Structure, Realism, Semiotics, Form and Structure and other aspects of cinema, animation and visual culture. Some of the theorists we will explore are André Bazin, Siegfried Kracauer, David Bordwell, Theodor Adorno, Christian Metz, Sergei Eisenstein, and various artists, writers and critics. To reinforce the necessary skill-sets there will be workshops focusing on the various softwares and techniques needed, such as filmmaking, photography, lighting, Photoshop, Illustrator, Final cut and After Effects. It is in communication that an amazing concept is revealed, this will be our focus. VS4318 | rxd research x design Florencia Pita, Michael Speaks This class acts as a laboratory for the production of knowledge instead of the study of knowledge, with a base of design thinking, where design determines the combination between methodology and innovation. Structured in four modules, the class will work in collaboration with several institutions: Stanford University, the Architectural Association and TU Delft. This method of collaborations is the activation of an operational mechanism to interact with further strategies and methods for the production of ideas. The objective is to produce a shift in thinking from current learning practices to those that would employ the basis of a dynamic environment where research, test and prototyping are the agents that will bring upon an expanded methodology.
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VS4319 | Visual Imagination Michael Rotondi This course explores the range of relations between the visual imagination and the built and natural environments. Through lectures, readings, short assignments and class participation, students are encouraged to adopt innovative methods of visually thinking about the world and to be cognizant of any biases or limitations in their current ways of thinking. Individual lectures are modular rather than chronological, yet each builds on information presented in previous lectures to progress in a cyclical fashion from ways of knowing to, ultimately, methods of creation. Repetition is used as a device to show all of the different perspectives from which you can see the same things — all the different ways the same concept can be defined in words and images used to illustrate particular points. VS4320 | Industries Drawing: Dana Bauer This class — a study in illustration, analysis and photography through the documenting the Alameda corridor — looks at ways in which the industrial landscape of Los Angeles became a passageway. We will take a tour of the Port of Long Beach and observe the Alameda Corridor, a continuous stream of product and document the particularities of the City of Vernon, once the center of factory industry, now a truck stop. Through the illustration of the movement of goods, the mechanisms of production, the landscape of distribution, the class observes the materiality and obsolescence of industry. If the geographical development of cities throughout history may be attributed to the establishment of units of value and their exchange, then contemporary “currencies” that possess value in circulation might include water, oil, scrap metal, knowledge and beauty. The class proposes to identify tangible currencies exchanged in Los Angeles and to investigate the spatial impact of their transaction along the Alameda Corridor. Products distributed along streamlined pathways are then dispersed via consumption. The compact footprint of transport of goods ultimately expands to fill the contiguous United States and beyond. The value of these commodities shift as they are traded across spatial and cultural territories. A series of photographs and drawings depicting these relationships, gradients and matrices form the basis for a reinterpretation in drawing of urban space. The representation of transference and points of exchange will replace the traditional understanding of the urban figure/ground relationship with a complex dynamic and multi-dimensional field. This process simultaneously generates ideas about architecture, urbanism and representation. VS 4321 | Project Communications Imaginary Forces, Peter Frankfurt and IF team The course addresses theory and praxis of the communication of architectural ideas and is aimed to explore the relations of creating-, making- and communicating set within the context of contemporary media cultures. The course will incorporate design development, storyboard, communication design and production. Section 2 • 117
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STUDY ABROAD/ EXCHANGE PROGRAMS Please note that eligibility for the study abroad programs is by permission only. Candidates need to have completed their core
Each year, SCI-Arc students are offered the opportunity to participate in one-semester traveling studios with other institutes and universities around the world. Among the schools with which SCI-Arc has established exchange programs:
curriculum and be good academic standing. To participate in off-campus visits or field trips, students must complete and sign a Release and Waiver of Liability and Indemnity Agreement
Japan Seika University, Kyoto Students spend their first month in Japan travelling and being introduced to traditional Japanese crafts including calligraphy, paper-making, sword-making and flower arranging. The second part of the semester is spent in residence at Seika University in Kyoto, where students undertake a studio project based on an intervention in an urban site. The studio is accompanied by a History course and a seminar focused on the work of contemporary Japanese architects. Switzerland International Institute of Architecture, Vico Morcote The program is based in a villa in the medieval hill town of Vico Morcote in Ticino, the Italian-speaking canton of southern Switzerland known for its modern and post-modern architecture. The program takes advantage of its location in the center of Europe: guided architectural tours to destinations including Berlin, Rotterdam, Prague, Barcelona, Paris, Urbino and Siena are an essential part of the curriculum, along with guest lectures, panel discussions and films. Mexico Universidad Ibero-Americana, Mexico City One of Mexico’s leading universities, UIA provides the opportunity for SCI-Arc students to look closely at problems of organization, architecture and planning in an economy adjacent to the U.S. Established in 1943 by Jesuits, the university’s flagship campus is in the Sante Fe district of Mexico City and it offers 36 academic programs. Korea Inha University, Incheon Founded in 1954 as a technical school, today Inha is a major university with 20,000 students and specializes in industry, engineering and technology. It is a member of the Global U8 consortium, which focuses on cross-cultural education through student exchange and the adoption of common curricula. Incheon is a major seaport on the west coast of South Korea, near Seoul. Austria University of Applied Arts, Vienna The University of Applied Arts in Vienna is home to more than 1,000 students, many of whom come from other European and overseas countries. The range of courses
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available at the school encompasses architecture, fine art and design. Elsewhere SCI-Arc also offers exchange programs with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia, Aarhus School of Architecture in Denmark, Ecole Speciale d’Architecture in Paris, Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, and Delft University of Technology in Denmark.
SCI-ARC COMMUNITY DESIGN PROGRAM Michael Pinto Program Coordinator Since moving to downtown Los Angeles, SCI-Arc has sought opportunities to engage various local communities by spearheading a number of tactical, actionbased projects, which enable students to collaborate directly with community agencies and undertake design/build projects. Each project deals with some form of practical and urgent problem solving circumstance. This might involve the creation of built structures or functional implements, or the imparting of vital skills to community members or at-risk groups. Drawing upon the professional expertise of architects, urban planners, computer designers, visual artists, social scientists, cultural theorists, and others, SCI-Arc faculty and students have demonstrated a powerful capacity to impact specific social problems, working with intentionally short lead-times and reacting quickly to address immediate conditions. Whether coordinating with local government, city or community agencies, private industry, educational or philanthropic institutions, or local residents, SCI-Arc’s Community Design Program is known for applying solutions that are at once uniquely innovative and personally felt. SCI-Arc’s Community Programs are made possible in part by a grant from the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. Recent and upcoming projects include: Sonic Bloom Ramiro Diaz-Granados Sonic Bloom was a two-part installation located at the lower entry and tunnel of the Southwest Museum. As the museum is currently transforming itself, both through a building renovation and identity overhaul, the intent was to install an experience that marked the entry, while symbolizing the museum’s metamorphosis. As an experience, it performs visually, audibly, and refers to the material history of Native American culture. At the exterior of the lower entry, which is slightly visible from the metro stop nearby, a giant loom with green and yellow nylon twine was installed. This refers to the large collection of Native American blankets and textiles owned by the museum. Transposing a simple geometric Section 2 • 119
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motif, the loom creates a field of vertical and angled lines that provides a new experience at the entry and heightens the visibility from a distance. The idea here is that one experiences the making of a textile as a spatial threshold. The tunnel — a 275 ft. chamber that leads to the lower lobby space of the museum — was treated as a sonic instrument. The acoustical properties of the tunnel are such that at the proper frequency, it generates a standing wave: a sound wave that becomes stationary due to the interference caused by two waves moving in opposite directions. Essentially, this allows one to feel the sound as well as hear it. Here, a sound system was installed with a soundtrack that consisted of traditional Native American sounds such as percussions, flutes, and sounds from nature. These were then compressed and stretched in order to create an ambient experience that collapses and extends time within the tunnel. Playing in Traffic: Glassell Park Bus Shelter Michael Pinto The relationship between people waiting for the bus and the car commuter is the subject of this course. Watching others and being watched is a quintessential function of the public realm. The situation of the site, between two high traffic boulevards, makes this an ideal site to test these relationships. The SCI-Arc Community Design Program developed a serial structure, at once a point of rest and a representation of vehicular movement. The steel structure was fitted with unistrut and polycarbonate sheeting. Surphase, LINC Housing Alexis Rochas, Michael Pinto The two LINC Housing projects near Chinatown, constructed in 1985, are typical of affordable housing in Los Angeles. The stuccoed courtyard complex sits above a parking garage, detached from the street by a series of metal fences and gates. Students were faced with a piecemeal courtyard within the fences, which did little to foster community activities. To remedy this, the courtyard was unified with an undulating plane of recycled rubber that creates room for play, barbecues, Tai-Chi, and other community gatherings. Aeromads Alexis Rochas Aeromads, designed by faculty member Alexis Rochas, was an itinerant housing prototype installed in various locations throughout Los Angeles over six weeks. It incorporated a range of programs and ideas, hosting children’s art workshops at Slanguage, Canoga Park Youth Arts Center and the Watts Tower Arts Center; becoming a house within a house at the MAK Center for Art and Architecture at the Schindler House; and finally serving as a surrealist projection surface and bar for the closing party at the Telic gallery in Chinatown.
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LAMP Community: Frank Rice Safehaven Sun Shelter Alexis Rochas In August 2004, a group of ten SCI-Arc students completed a new façade for the LAMP Community project, a drop-in and crisis center for the homeless with mental illnesses at 627 St Julian Street, between 6th Street and 7th Street in downtown Los Angeles. The team was led by Alexis Rochas, who designed the wall out of recycled polyurethane panels, fabricated by students in the SCI-Arc woodshop and assembled on site. It took six months to complete, and provides a shaded courtyard with seating and planters, as well as a sculptural presence on the downtown street.
SUMMER AT SCI-ARC Summer at SCI-Arc offers a broad range of studios and courses for undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate students, as well as graduate thesis. Students in advanced studios construct their own curriculums by selecting studios and/or seminar courses. Seminars offered include Cultural Studies, Visual Studies and Applied Studies courses, professional development seminars and SCI-Arc’s Community Design Program. SCI-Arc core students are able to enroll for full- or parttime studies at the level for which they qualify. Summer workshops Summer at SCI-Arc offers students the opportunity to work for a concentrated period of time with experts in the fields that include Architecture, Engineering, Art, History, Theory. The workshops involve an intense and full-time effort. This program is open to both SCI-Arc students and students visiting from other institutions. See Financial Information section for fees and tuition.
MAKING + MEANING The Foundation Program In Architecture SCI-Arc’s Foundation Program in Architecture addresses a broad range of educational needs, catering for anyone with an interest in architecture and providing a head start for students preparing an application for, or about to embark upon a degree in Architecture or other design-related fields. The curriculum continuously evolves to incorporate the latest developments in materials and fabrication technologies. Students learn about the language of architecture, develop a design process, and hone representational and model-making skills in a studio atmosphere that fosters creativity, innovative thinking, and a flexible design process. Construction and model-making are introduced early on as means with which to visualize and test three-dimensional ideas. Throughout these explorations, students learn to balance initial intuitive responses with the need to clearly present their work to a jury.
Making + Meaning tuition Please contact the admissions office for application deadlines.
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Resources, Public Events, People
Resources, Public Events, People SCI-Arc offers students an integrated suite of digital and analog facilities, both learning tools and means of supporting academic progress and experimentation. These include some of the most advanced digital fabrication machines available, computer facilities with all software necessary to support the school’s curriculum and low-cost printing, a supply store, and a library dedicated to the study of Architecture and related disciplines. Students should familiarize themselves with the individual handbooks from each facility and keep informed of all updates.
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SCI-ARC RESOURCES Kappe Library The Kappe Library supports SCI-Arc’s curriculum and the study of Architecture with a focused collection maintained by experienced staff. Since the library began in 1974 with donations from faculty, students and staff, it has grown through the support of the school, the wider SCI-Arc community, and various foundations. The only academic library in Southern California focused on Architecture, the Kappe Library welcomes all architectural researchers. The Kappe Library is located on the second floor of the north end of the SCIArc building and provides a comfortable environment for research. The collection is made up of 20,000 books in 97 subject areas, with Architecture and related technical and design subjects accounting for most of the collection. Some 1,500 titles are added each year. Books are arranged on open stacks according to the Library of Congress alpha-numeric system. The library maintains 106 subscriptions, and has over 2,800 bound volumes of back issues. The slide collection consists of 35,000 architectural history images, mostly from the 20th century. Reference services and research tools can be found at the entrance: Patrons can navigate through the collections by searching in the Educational Resources of SCI-Arc (EROS) database, the Avery Index, the Art Index, and others. The Kappe Library Guides provide additional orientation, offering tips on research methods and resources, and recommending books, articles and websites on selected topics in Architecture, the Fine Arts, History and Cultural Studies, and Science and Technology. Web versions of this and all other library guides are available at www.silverlakeblvd.com/arch.html. Email questions directly to the library manager at kevin@sciarc.edu. The library is wired via airport and maintains six public workstations, including scanning workstations and one for VHS video-to-digital transfer. Media Center The library loans audio-visual equipment to students and faculty, including darkroom equipment, digital projectors, digital still cameras, digital video cameras, DVD players, monitors, slide projectors, and VCRs. Reserving equipment in advance is highly recommended. Contact the A/V manager for reservations or technical help. Archive The SCI-Arc archive consists of several collections to document SCI-Arc activities. Archive materials do not circulate and access is by appointment only.
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– The student work archive includes a chronologically organized digital and slide archive of student work and events. – The video collection contains 2,500 videos documenting SCI-Arc lectures and events from 1974 to the present. – The print archive consists of forty linear feet of books, catalogs, posters, and other printed materials illustrating SCI-Arc activities from 1972 to the present. – Press articles: Electronic files of news articles relating to SCI-Arc and SCI-Arc students, faculty and alumni from 1990 to the present. Wood and metal shop The 5,000-square-foot wood and metal shop plays an integral role in student work, supporting hands-on experimentation with materials and construction. It includes a machining room, a model-making shop, bench room, metalworking area, and assembly spaces. Students have access to a wide variety of hand and power tools, and to instruction and facilities for model-making, furniture making, industrial design, and aluminum foundry casting. The facility enables and encourages experimentation with materials such as concrete, metal, and plastics, and allows for the creation of substantial projects. Recent additions to the SCIArc shop include a 4’ x 10’ panel saw, a plasma cutter, and an improved covered exterior metal working lab. Though the facility is primarily for student use, it is available to faculty and staff depending on availability. See the Student Handbook for further information regarding the use of the shop.
CNC / Digital fabrication facilities Tools include computer numerically controlled (CNC) machinery—directed specifically towards architecture and design—a laser cutter, a vacuum-former, 3-axis milling machines and a 3-D printing station with 3D printers, capable of sculpting surfaces in a variety of materials, including wood, plastic and aluminum, from CAD and CAM files. All of the CNC machinery interfaces with the most current industry standard software and protocols. Students are able output and fabricate their work using all the state of the art design software.
There are a variety of software compatibility issues. Students should consult a member of staff before starting any project.
Computer Resources SCI-Arc’s IT Department includes four computer labs, email, networked files, print, web and ftp servers. Each student desk has Internet access and in the computer lab, access to file and ftp servers, free email, 24/7 access to state of the art PC and Mac labs, free black and white network printing, on-site large format color printing and high volume laser printers. Print Center SCI-Arc’s Print Center provides students and faculty with access to large-format high resolution color plotters and color laser prints up to 13” x 19” at a fraction of typical service center prices. Section 3 • 125
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See the IT Handbook for detailed information.
SCI-Arc Portal A campus wide software system is being launched in the 2009-2010 school year. It is the central source for campus information and access to personal academic documents including enrollment, grades, and financial aid. Students may log into the SCI-Arc database from any internet connection. All you need is a valid network ID. Please see the IT department for a quick handout describing the login procedure. Supply Store 811 Traction Avenue, Unit 1A T/F: 213.687.0854 Located near the school on Traction Avenue, the SCI-Arc supply store supports the SCI-Arc curriculum, providing the tools and materials necessary to allow students to experiment with model making and drawing. It also provides books and readers for seminars. The store serves both the student body and the downtown community by offering low prices for architecture and art supplies. The extensive inventory of model-making materials includes a wide selection of bass- and hardwoods, as well as plastic, metal, and wood structural shapes. Student Union The Student Union comprises representatives from each studio as well as an elected executive board. Among the events organized by the Student Union are Friday Design @ 5, weekly gatherings, created by each class year and open to the entire SCI-Arc community, and a yearly Halloween social. Students are actively engaged in constructing SCI-Arc Gallery exhibitions, and supporting the openings and discussions of these projects. The Student Union, with funds collected from students, has been involved in shaping and organizing the weekly lecture series, publishing a newsletter, and organizing student exhibitions and student design competitions. The Student Union voices student concerns at Academic Council and through informal forums and collaborates with the administration to find solutions to specific concerns. They hold meetings according to a predetermined schedule, open to the whole school and dealing with issues ranging from specific student concerns to long-term planning issues. A student representative sits on the SCI-Arc Board of Directors for a two-year term, reporting directly to and from the student community. Two student representatives sit on the Academic Council, which meets monthly to make recommendations to the administration on school policy matters. Psychological counseling program Any student enrolled at SCI-Arc is offered up to three free counseling / personal consultation meetings with a licensed clinical psychologist.
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Students generally use this service for one of the following reasons: – Work quality/productivity level below usual baseline – Experiencing excessive stress/pressure/loss of perspective – Questioning where they are/what they are doing – Problems with relationship(s) or relating to others – Experiencing major transitions or losses – Confidence/self esteem difficulties – Thesis stress. Being short-term in nature, this service is not designed to address severe psychological problems or medication-related issues. In case of a psychiatric emergency, students should call the police and ask for the Psychiatric Emergency Team (PET), or visit a hospital. Students should ask the Academic Counselor for details regarding this program.
PUBLIC PROGRAMS SCI-Arc’s public programs support the idea that engaging communities invited to gather at the institute increases the capacity for debate and understanding of architecture’s capacity to transform the world. Lecture Series All SCI-Arc lectures are free and open to the public and are followed by a dinner in honor of the speaker, allowing students and faculty to interact more personally with the invited speaker. Speakers are selected by a forum of students, faculty, alumni, and administration. As a result, each semester’s lecture series promises to be an eclectic selection of lecturers from multiple disciplines, including architects, artists, film-makers, engineers, theoreticians, and performers. SCIArc lectures are broadcast live for simultaneous viewing on the internet at www. sciarc.edu/live. SCI-Arc Gallery SCI-Arc Gallery exhibitions are an intersection between the various communities in which the institution participates: architecture, urban planning, design, and art. The gallery provides a space where practitioners, professionals, faculty, students, and the public can learn about and experience provocative architecture. Located within the school and in the same vicinity as the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), the Disney Concert Hall and REDCAT theater and gallery, the Japanese American Museum and the Chinatown galleries, the SCI-Arc Gallery is the only cultural institution in Los Angeles committed to exhibiting experimental projects by contemporary architects. Section 3 • 127
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The gallery program allows exhibitors to experiment with new materials, concepts or fabrication methods, reflecting SCI-Arc’s encouragement of an experimental approach to construction materials and its emphasis on learning through building. Less concerned with identifying design trends, the SCI-Arc Gallery aims to exhibit work that provokes critical discussions of current building practices. Each of the six yearly exhibitions is executed as a workshop in which students work closely with the invited architect to assist in the fabrication and installation/deinstallation of the exhibit. SCI-Arc Press As a leader in the investigation of the merging of creative thought with society and politics, the SCI-Arc Press publishes works engaging in the current discourse of architecture and design. The program provides a forum for new voices and ideas that affect and pertain to the architectural education of its students and the continuing education of its alumni and community.
DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNI RELATIONS
The development office welcomes all students to take part in SCI-Arc’s development opportunities.
Development office SCI-Arc’s development office is responsible for raising funds and in-kind contributions from foundations, corporations, individuals, and government sources to support the school’s mission. Working closely with board members, the Alumni Association, and the SCI-Arc Development Committee, the development staff welcomes volunteer participation in all facets of fund development, including event planning, securing in-kind contributions, and the identification and solicitation of potential donors. The department produces grant proposal submissions for faculty projects and SCI-Arc Press publications, updates donor and alumni contact information, and develops an annual development plan and calendar. This includes a strategy for direct mail appeals, and events that highlight the work and accomplishments of the SCI-Arc community. The department also produces a bi-annual newsletter that provides a means of communication with the people and organizations that SCI-Arc is trying to reach, and manages the stewardship program, ensuring that donors are thanked and recognized for their philanthropy. In addition, in an effort to enhance and expand SCI-Arc’s Board of Directors, the development office works with the SCI-Arc Development Committee to identify and recruit new board members. Alumni relations Established in 1998 by a group of twenty alumni from a range of graduating classes, the SCI-Arc Alumni Association works to identify and meet the needs of the alumni, and to serve the larger interests of the school. The Alumni Asso-
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ciation seeks to build the alumni community, to promote the work of alumni, to educate alumni and current students, and to support SCI-Arc. Among the association’s various activities and projects are alumni-driven publications; the establishment of the SCI-Arc Alumni Association Scholarship Fund, which awards two scholarships each year (one to an undergraduate and one to a graduate student); the production of the Main Event scholarship fundraiser; the sponsorship of an alumni lecturer in the SCI-Arc lecture series; a career open house for alumni firms interested in hiring SCI-Arc graduates; and regular friend-raising and networking events, including the Moveable Feast, designed to bring the alumni community together. The Alumni Association also works closely with SCI-Arc to maintain an updated database of alumni contact information, so that both the school and the association can remain in close contact with alumni as they pursue their careers in all parts of the world. The Alumni Association is a completely volunteer-based and -run organization. Activities and undertakings are funded by annual membership dues and other fundraising efforts. The association meets quarterly. Meetings and participation are open to all alumni, as well as current students. Alumni also participate in the governance of the school by electing an at-large alumni representative to serve a three-year term on the SCI-Arc Board of Directors.
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SCI-ARC FACULTY, STAFF, LEADERSHIP
SCI-ARC DIRECTORS
FACULTY PROGRAM COORDINATORS
FACULTY
Eric Owen Moss
Tom Wiscombe
Volkan Alkanoglu
SCI-Arc Director
Applied Studies Coordinator
Visual Studies, Design Studio
Hsinming Fung
Andrew Zago
Juan Azulay
Graduate Program Director
Visual Studies Coordinator
MM | Matter Management
Chris Genik
Peter Zellner
Visual Studies, Design Studio Undergraduate Program Director
Cultural Studies Coordinator
Kelly Bair
SCIFI Coordinator
Visual Studies
David Bergman
Courtenay Bauer
SCIFI Coordinator
Visual Studies
Jean Michel Crettaz
Dana Bauer
MediaSCAPES Coordinator
Ground Up Design Studio
Hernan Diaz Alonso Graduate Thesis Coordinator
Herwig Baumgartner B+U
Dwayne Oyler
Applied Studies, Design Studio
Undergraduate Thesis Coordinator John Bencher Ramiro Diaz-Granados
AGA Architects
Graduate Portfolio Coordinator
Applied Studies
Eric Kahn
David Bergman
Undergraduate Portfolio Coordinator
MR+E SCIFI Coordinator
Russell Thomsen
Cultural Studies
Undergraduate Foundation Coordinator Dalit Berkowitz Devyn Weiser
Cultural Studies
Undergraduate Core Coordinator Nathan Bishop Michael Pinto
Visiting faculty
Community Outreach Coordinator Aaron Bocanegra Visual Studies
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John Bohn
Ramiro Diaz-Granados
April Greiman
JBohn Associates
Amorphis
Made in Space
Design Studio
Graduate Portfolio Coordinator
Visual Studies
Applied Studies, Design Studio, Visual Benjamin Bratton
Studies
The Culture Industry Cultural Studies
Margaret Griffin Griffin Enright Architects
Phyllis Dubinsky
Applied Studies, Design Studio
PDK Urban Strategies Michael Brown
Applied Studies
Newson Brown Acoustics Applied Studies Peter Cook
Visual Studies Heidi Duckler Performance Artist
Craig Hodgetts
Visual Studies, Cultural Studies
Hodgetts+Fung
London Visiting faculty Jean Michel Crettaz
Jean-Pierre Hebert
Visiting faculty Julie Eizenberg Koning Eizenberg
William Hogan
Visiting faculty
Applied Studies
Heather Flood
Andrew Holder
F-lab
Applied Studies
MediaSCAPES Coordinator Visual Studies, Design Studio Kevin Daly
Design Studio
Daly Genik Architects
Coy Howard
Visiting faculty
Michael Folonis
Coy Howard & Company
Folonis Architects
Design Studio
Robert Davolio
Applied Studies
Applied Studies
Darin Johnstone Hsinming Fung
Darin Johnstone Architecture
Joe Day
Graduate Program Director
Design Studio
Deegan-Day Design
Hodgetts+Fung
Design Studio
Design Studio
Dora Epstein Jones Jones, Partners: Architecture
Manuel Delanda
Todd Gannon
Visiting faculty
Architect Cultural Studies
Hernan Diaz Alonso
Cultural Studies Wes Jones Jones, Partners: Architecture
Xefirotarch
Chris Genik
Graduate Thesis Coordinator
Undergraduate Program Director
Cultural Studies, Design Studio
Distinguished Faculty Member
Daly Genik Architects
Eric Kahn
Design Studio
Design Studio
IDEA Office
Marcelyn Gow
Design Studio
Undergraduate Portfolio Coordinator Servo Cultural Studies
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Jeffrey Kipnis
Ilaria Mazzoleni
Mary-Ann Ray
Ohio State University
Architect
Studioworks
Distinguished Faculty Member
Visual Studies, Design Studio
Design Studio
Visiting faculty Matthew Melnyk
Alexis Rochas
Sulan Kolatan
Buro Happold Consulting Engineers
I/O
Kol/Mac Studio
Applied Studies
Design Studio
Visiting faculty Eric Owen Moss
David Ross
Tom Kovac
SCI-Arc Director
Code-A
Visiting faculty
Eric Owen Moss Architects
Applied Studies, Design Studio
Design Studio Andy Ku
Michael Rotondi
Organized Crime Design Collective
Monica Nouwens
RoTo Architects
Visual Studies, Design Studio
Photographer and Video Artist
Distinguished Faculty Member
Visual Studies
Design Studio
Urbana
Greg Otto
Janet Sager
Design Studio
Buro Happold Consulting Engineers
Sager Design Research + Communication
Applied Studies
Applied Studies
Rob Ley
Heather Libonati Horton Lees Brogden
Dwayne Oyler
Marcos Sanchez
Applied Studies
Oyler Wu Collaborative
Media Artist
Undergraduate Thesis Coordinator
Cultural Studies, Design Studio
Jamey Lyzun
Design Studio
Arup Applied Studies, Visual Studies
Stephan Slaughter Claire Phillips
Design Studio
Writer Peter Macapia
Cultural Studies
Visiting faculty
Stephanie Smith Ecoshack
Michael Pinto Chandler McWilliams
Osborn Architects
MediaSCAPES
Community Outreach Coordinator
Visiting faculty Wesley Smith MediaSCAPES
Elena Manferdini
Florencia Pita
Atelier Manferdini
FPmod
Marcelo Spina
Visual Studies, Design Studio
Visual Studies, Design Studio
Patterns
Robert Mangurian
Meghan Quinn
Applied Studies, Design Studio Studioworks
Buro Happold Consulting Engineers
Peter Testa
Design Studio
Applied Studies
Testa & Weiser Design Studio
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Russell Thomsen
Tom Wiscombe
IDEA Office
Emergent
Undergraduate Foundation Coordinator
Applied Studies Coordinator
Design Studio
Applied Studies, Design Studio
Patrick Tighe
Jenny Wu
Tighe Architecture
Oyler Wu Collaborative
Visiting faculty
Design Studio
Carolina Trigo
Denise Zachy-Popoch
MediaSCAPES
Applied Studies
Jay Vanos
Andrew Zago
Vanos Architects
Zago Architecture
Applied Studies
Visual Studies Coordinator Visual Studies, Design Studio
Jill Vesci Visual Studies
Peter Zellner Zellnerplus
Graham Wakefield
SCIFI Coordinator
MediaSCAPES
Cultural Studies Coordinator Cultural Studies, Design Studio
Gregory Walsh Architect Design Studio Devyn Weiser Testa & Weiser Undergraduate Core Coordinator Applied Studies, Design Studio Emily White Architect Visual Studies Claude Willey Architect Cultural Studies
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STAFF
Academic Counselor
Student Services
Peter Dung The general telephone number at SCI-Arc
peter_dung@sciarc.edu
is 213.613.2200
x316
Administration Director Eric Owen Moss directors_office@sciarc.edu x327 Director’s Assistant Sarah Polle sarah_polle@sciarc.edu x327 Graduate Programs Director Hsinming Fung ming@sciarc.edu x318 Undergraduate Program Director Chris Genik chris@sciarc.edu x315 Chief Operating Officer Jamie Bennett jamie_bennett@sciarc.edu x324 Assistant to the COO Ashley Stanfield ashley_stanfield@sciarc.edu x356 Academic Services Chief of Staff/ Registrar/International Advisor Lisa Russo lisarusso@sciarc.edu x314
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Front Desk Marisela De La Torre marisela@sciarc.edu
Academic Affairs Manager
x310
Paul Holliday paul_holliday@sciarc.edu x348
Library/Media Center Manager Kevin McMahon kevin@sciarc.edu
Admissions
x323
Admissions Director
Asisstant Librarian
JJ Jackman
Katie Herzog
john_jackman@sciarc.edu
katie_herzog@sciarc.edu
x321
x323
Admissions Associate
AV/Media Services
Shelby Ikeda
Reza Monahan
admissions@sciarc.edu
reza_monahan@sciarc.edu
x321
x322
Human Resources
Print Center Coordinator
Director
carlos_menendez@sciarc.edu
Melissa Burgess
x363
Carlos Menendez
melissa_burgess@sciarc.edu x350
Information Technology
Payroll Clerk
Director of Information Technology
Becky Dacara
Vic Jabrassian
becky_dacara@sciarc.edu
vic@sciarc.edu
x349
x317
Facilities
Database Administrator
Facilities Manager
zuma@sciarc.edu
Russell Villescas
x313
Zuma Arechiga
russ_villescas@sciarc.edu x355
Network/Systems Administrator Vance Lanoy vance_lanoy@sciarc.edu x311
Resources, Public Events, People
Shop Services
Assistant Manager
Public Programs
Marsha Liske Shop Manager
marcia_liske@sciarc.edu
Rodney Rojas
x309
rodney_rojas@sciarc.edu
Public Programs Coordinator Wendy Heldman public_programs@sciarc.edu
x337
Financial Services
x347
Shopmaster
Finance Manager
Communications and Publications
Katsumi Moroi
Christopher Banks
kmoroi@sciarc.edu
christopher_banks@sciarc.edu
Communications Manager
x335
x330
Joan Springhetti
Evening/Weekend Shop Manager
Senior Staff Accountant
Dan Riley
Erlita Mascarinas
driley@sciarc.edu
erlita_mascarinas@sciarc.edu
x337
x331
joan_springhetti@sciarc.edu x367 Editor, SCI-Arc Press Dana Hutt dana_hutt@sciarc.edu Woodshop/CNC Technician
Staff Accountant
Thor Erickson
Cynthia Dizon
thor_erickson @sciarc.edu
cynthia_dizon@sciarc.edu
x337
x333
x334 Art Director Brian Roettinger brian_roettinger@sciarc.edu
Woodshop/CNC Technician
Financial Aid Director
James Peterson
Helen Lara
x357
james@artcontraptions.com
helen_lara@sciarc.edu
Graphic Designer
x337
x346
Lucas Quigley lucas_quigley@sciarc.edu
Woodshop/CNC Technician
Financial Aid Counselor
Andrew Riiska
Debby Unoura
x368
andrew_riiska@sciarc.edu
debby_unoura@sciarc.edu
Web Content Coordinator
x337
x326
Georgiana Ceausu
Woodshop/CNC Technician
Development and Alumni Relations
x336
georgiana_ceausu@sciarc.edu Will Rollins will_rollins@sciarc.edu x337
Director of Development Colleen Elkins colleen_elkins@sciarc.edu
Supply Store
x319
Manager
Alumni Relations Officer
Chris Broadstone
Lynn Ordinario
sciarcsupply@sciarc.edu
lynn_ordinario@sciarc.edu
213.687.0854
x312
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jerry Neuman Allen Matkins
Chairman John Geresi
Merry Norris
JP Morgan Securities, Los Angeles
Merry Norris Contemporary Art
Vice Chair
Greg Otto
William Fain
Buro Happold
Johnson Fain Partners Dwayne Oyler Treasurer
Faculty Representative
Daniel Swartz
Oyler Wu Collaborative
Quadrangle Development Company Michael Poris Secretary
McIntosh Poris Associates
Tom Gilmore Gilmore Associates
Kevin Ratner Forest City West
Joe Day Deegan Day Design
Ian Robertson (Honorary)
Frank O. Gehry
Michael Rotondi
Gehry Partners
RoTo Architects
Elyse Grinstein (Honorary)
Howard Sadowsky
William Gruen
Nick Seierup Projects Architecture
Scott Hughes SH_Arc
Brian Zentmyer Student Representative
Ray Kappe (Honorary) Kappe Architect Planners Eric Owen Moss, Director, SCI-Arc Eric Owen Moss Architects Paras Nanavati Alumni Representative Sam Nazarian SBE Entertainment Group
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www.sciarc.edu
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