Betsy Cole
M.Arch 1
"If the M.Arch program is kindergarten, M+M is preschool..."
Josh Alcantar
CAMS Senior & Applicant for SCI-Arc's Fall 2010 B.Arch program
"The opportunity to put my foot into the doorway of an architect's life..."
Read more >>
Jean Monestime
M.Arch 1
"I even learned how to deal with impossible group project dynamics..." Read more >>
MAKING + MEANING
The Foundation Program in Architecture
About the program
Curriculum
Faculty
Application procedure
Play the 2009 Making+Meaning Video
About the program
Making + Meaning is a five-week summer program at the Southern California Institute of Architecture that introduces the principles of architecture in a hands-on exploration of spatial experimentation, design methodologies and the creative process.During this intensive program, students survey and challenge the discipline's boundaries by drawing, making and constructing. Methodologies range from material experimentation to compositional strategies; from imagination to inhabitation.
Making + Meaning students meet leading thinkers in architecture, engage in open dialogue, delve into the city of Los Angeles' wealth of experimental architecture and produce a rich creative portfolio crystallizing their explorations.
The program derives its strength from the diverse backgrounds of its students. From those gauging their interest and curiosity in architecture, to those beginning an architectural degree, Making + Meaning is a platform for individual learning in a collective environment; an introduction to the discipline of architecture and a welcome to SCI-Arc's culture and community.
The Final 39. from Paul Trussler (M.Arch '12) & Ben Crawford (M.Arch '12).
Back To TopCurriculum
Students are immersed in a studio atmosphere in which the process of creating and learning are inseparable. Material exploration and model-making techniques are introduced early on as means to visualize and test three-dimensional ideas, while two-dimensional representations offer a generative insight into spatial composition.Throughout these explorations, students learn to balance intuitive responses with the need to clearly present their work to a jury and peers. With a faculty to student ratio of 1:12, the program seeks to provide a thoughtful and engaged guidance of the creative work and its continual development.
The creative curriculum is supported by a series of focused seminars exploring technology and fabrication techniques, architecture history and critical thinking, design methodology and contemporary architectural production. Details and highlights include:
+ Design laboratory
Students are exposed to diverse design methodologies while experimenting with and exploring the properties of different materials. Notions of spatial composition, scale and inhabitation are introduced as week-long assignments and presented in reviews at the end of the week.+ Visual Studies laboratory
Students explore diverse modes of two-dimensional representation as generative methodologies in architecture. Ranging from gesture to observation, the Visual Studies Laboratory offers a mirror onto spatial investigations disclosing alternative ways of seeing and understanding.+ Project development
Outside of classes, students develop their projects individually and/or collaboratively. The Making + Meaning studio is open to enrolled students every day, 24 hours a day.+ Resources
SCI-Arc resources and facilities are available to enrolled Making + Meaning students. Those include computer labs and digital storage, fabrication shop, photography studio, the Kappe Library, as well as SCI-Arcs Lecture Series and symposiums.+ Exploring Los Angeles
Weekly guided tours allow students to take in some of LA's most innovative architecture, both historic and contemporary, providing a comprehensive survey of architectural ideas and expressions in the built environment.+ Visiting architects
Each week a principal from a leading Los Angeles architecture firm visits the class for a question and answer session with students. Participating firms include: Daly Genik Architects, Eric Owen Moss Architects, Griffin Enright Architects, Hodgetts + Fung, Jones Partners, Michael Maltzan, Morphosis / Thom Mayne, RoTo / Michael Rotondi, Testa & Weiser and Xefirotarch.+ Portfolio development
Focused workshops introduce layout design and material formatting compilation strategies. Faculty and teaching assistants are available for advice, critique and counseling on the development of a creative portfolio.+ Group Exhibition & Final Presentation
At the end of the term, students produce a Group Exhibition open to the public, in which notable Los Angeles architects and jurors critique and contribute to the dialogue in a daylong review session.+ Certificate of completion
Upon successful completion of the course, students receive a Making + Meaning certificate.+ Class hours
Making + Meaning meets Monday through Friday from 9 am to 6 pm. Field trips are conducted on Saturdays from 10 am to 2 pm.Back To Top
Faculty
Alexis Rochas, SCI-Arc faculty member and architect, directs Making + Meaning with other SCI-Arc faculty members and graduate students teaching different aspects. The course includes guest lectures by faculty from throughout SCI-Arc as well as by professionals from outside the school. Topics include history, tectonics and the culture of architecture.
Participating faculty include, Dana Bauer, David Ross, Herwig Baumgartner, Betty Kassis, Benjamin Bratton, Jean-Michel Crettaz, Heather Flood, Dora Epstein, Darin Johnstone, Rob Ley, Elena Manferdini, Marcelo Spina and Paulette Singley.
Back To TopApplication procedure
Admissions to Making + Meaning is on a rolling basis until the end of June. Early application is recommended to secure a place in the program.
A $275 enrollment deposit is required upon acceptance. Tuition is due on the first day of class.
Interested in enrolling into Making+Meaning this summer?
Choose from two ways to apply to the program:
(1) APPLY ONLINE
or
(2) Download the application form available in the upper right area of this page and prepare the additional documents required with your submission.
Mail application materials to:
SCI-Arc Admissions Office
Making + Meaning
960 E. 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013
If you have any questions, please contact our Admissions Office at 213.356.5320 or admissions@sciarc.edu.
Back To Top
Summer 2010
July 12 - August 13
Apply by June 30
Application Checklist:
Completed application form
$25 application fee (non-refundable)
Statement of interest
(one-page)
Two samples of creative work. Submissions must not exceed 8.5 x 11 inches. Send only reproductions of your work.
Resume or curriculum vitae
or Download Application
PROGRAM COST Tuition: $3,125
Lab fee: $275
TOTAL: $3,400
Other expenses:
Room & Board: not included
Materials (estimate): $200
Scholarships available. See application for details
CONTACT US
admissions@sciarc.edu
213.356.5320
FACULTY Alexis Rochas
Program Coordinator
Participating faculty include:
Dana Bauer
Ground Up llc
David Ross
Code-A
Benjamin Bratton
The Culture Industry
Jean Michel Crettaz
slap!
Heather Flood
F-lab
Dora Epstein-Jones
Jones: Partners, Architecture
Darin Johnstone
Darin Johnstone Architecture
Rob Ley
Urbana
Elena Manferdini
Atelier Manferdini
Marcelo Spina
Patterns
Paulette Singley
Woodbury University










print