Pop-Arc is a workshop series that introduces high school students to architectural thinking and design methods, offering them an opportunity to explore careers in architecture and design. The Pop-Arc curriculum challenges students to think critically about formal decisions, take risks, and have fun. Students need no prior background in architecture or design to participate.
Pop-Arc
Under SCI-Arc’s Community Engagement initiative, Pop-Arc workshops are intended to encourage students to investigate the relationship between creative thinking and making. Students will be exposed to different working methodologies and spatial concepts, explore three-dimensional relationships, and build a vocabulary around form and space that challenges typical notions of architecture. Facilitated by SCI-Arc design faculty, current SCI-Arc students engage as peers with participating Pop-Arc students, sharing their individual experiences with applying to architecture school and becoming architecture students.
Pop-Arc workshops are currently held online, for both domestic and international schools and organizations. During the workshop, students work remotely with peers sharing ideas and working on a dedicated design project. Students are immersed in the culture of an architecture school, allowing them to get a better sense of what a real architectural education is like. The schedule of each workshop will be tailored to best fit the availability and number of students participating.
Local Pop-Arc workshops are part of SCI-Arc’s growing community engagement efforts to attract and engage LA’s diverse youth population, inspire curiosity about the world of architecture and design, as well as familiarize students with the academic environment at SCI-Arc.
The Youth Academic Community Engagement initiative at SCI-Arc is dedicated to building connections with middle and high school students locally and high school students internationally by providing program opportunities which expose youth to design tools and architectural thinking.
SCI-Arc's Youth Academic Community Engagement program is continuously seeking to grow future collaborations and partnerships for Pop-Arc and beyond. Past institutional partners which have hosted Pop-Arc workshops include Inner-City Arts, Institute of Contemporary Art LA, and many more. Please contact us if you are interested in becoming an institutional partner for future programs and workshops.
“Expanding the community engagement program has been very exciting. Pop-Arc workshops introduce young and ambitious students to design and technology, fueling their imagination and creativity.”—
Pop-Arc Vancouver, Student Work
Pop-Arc On-Site Student Work
Pop-Arc at The ICA—2019 students working on a full-scale construction
LOCAL PARTICIPATING HIGH SCHOOLS
Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts
Marina High School, Huntington Beach
Jordan High School, Long Beach
Van Nuys High School
Boyle Heights High School
Culver City High School
Belmont High School
John F Kennedy High School
Culver City High School
HAAT Academy
Jordan High School
California High School
Arleta High School
Monroe High School
South East High School
LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS
LAUSD Arts Branch
Inner-City Arts
IEA | Institute for Educational Advancement
ICA LA | Institute for Contemporary Art LA
Community Works | Creativity Summit
NOMA | National Organization of Minority Architects
ACE Mentor Los Angeles/Orange Counties
LAUSD CTE Branch
Ryman Arts
AOMA | Academy of Modern Art | Vancouver, Canada
JASS – Toronto, Canada
Workbench | Bangalore, India
Young Guns Studio | Vancouver, Canada
PREVIOUS PROGRAMS LIST
Pop-Arc On-Site | SCI-Arc
- High School students came to SCI-Arc to work onsite using our fabrication lab such as the Robot House and the Magic Box.
Pop-Arcs LA: 123 MAKE! | IEA
- “1,2,3 MAKE!” is a two-week design workshop for high school age students interested in digital design and fabrication. In addition, students are given a portfolio workshop. The workshop is open to high school students that have already taken the Design Immersion Days program (DID. The work produced can contribute to students’ developing college portfolio.
- This workshop is done in partnership with the Institute for Educational Advancement (IEA). The workshop will also be open to students participating in their Explore mentorship program.
Pop-Arc LA - ZOOM | Inner-City Arts
- A partnership with Inner-City Arts—students experience both campuses exposing them to various materials and techniques of working. Taught by SCI-Arc faculty, students explore techniques of making through hands-on physical models, drawings, as well as SCI-Arc's digital lab.
Pop-Arc LA – You Are Here | The ICA LA
- A collaboration with an art museum—students are exposed to both art and architecture making connections conceptually while working on a hands-on project.
Pop-Arc Vancouver | Young Guns Studio
- A one-week workshop at the Young Guns Studio in Vancouver taught by SCI-Arc faculty. Students explore various techniques and methodologies. The work produced can contribute to students’ developing college portfolio.
