USC Graduate Architecture

RSVP Now. Graduate Architecture Open Studio — a second chance to experience USC Architecture (link in bio).

If you couldn’t make our recent Open House, join us on Wednesday, April 8 for a more focused, behind-the-scenes look at our M.Arch +3, M.Arch +2, and MAARS (CDH & PDT) programs.

Tour our spaces. See the 2026 Graduate Projects Exhibition. Talk directly with faculty and students. Get a clearer sense of the work, culture, and trajectory of the program.

Schedule
1:45 PM — Check-in (Watt Courtyard)
2:00 PM — Welcome + Tours + Exhibition + Conversations

Program discussion with Alvin Huang

RSVP at the link in bio

A look inside the USC Graduate Spring Break Externship program…

A conversation on Los Angeles as a global design laboratory, the role of mentorship in shaping careers, and the impact of immersive practice.

Featuring:
Mark Lee, Principal, Johnston Marklee (USC alum)
Marc Guberman, Principal, Foster + Partners
Nicole Betances, Designer, Foster + Partners (USC alum)
Mark Motonaga, Creative Director & Partner, RIOS (USC alum & USC Architectural Guild Board Member)

With student externs:
Evelyn Rivera (Foster + Partners)
Anna Camodeca (RIOS)

One week. Lasting impact.

—

Participating Firms + Externs (2026)
Arup — Aina Endo, Angel Opare-Ameyaw, Judy Althagafi, Preet Kumar, Vanshika Thawani
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) — Mildred Dimas
Brooks Scarpa Huber — Nupur Rajiv Gandhi
CannonDesign — Angelina Ludena
CO Architects — Htet Oo Wai Yan
Donaldson+Partners — Garrit Wilson
Foster + Partners — Zenayah Cortez
Gensler — Danrui Xiang
Good Project Company — Pedro Medina
HansonLA — Kaleel Van Voorhees
HGA — Shoon (Emily) Thu, Vanessa Tsuji
HKS Architects — Kristal Sarman, Long Yin Chiu
HLW — Aachal Venkatesh Katwa, Ella Kaller, Minh Anh Nguyen, Quang Vu Nguyen
JFAK — Kellie Dinh
Johnston Marklee — Evelyn Rivera
KAA Design — Daisy Maldonado
KFA — Blake Arrendell
Lehrer Architects — Ian Zitney, Lindsay Onofre
LOHA — Alyssa Ha, Pawel Pietryka
Meyer Davis — Jacqueline Au, Rae Qi
Michael Maltzan Architecture — Samantha Massey
NBBJ — Jack Zhao
OFFICEUNTITLED — Shelby Rajski
Omgivning — Michael McDonald, Patricia Estaris
RIOS .imagines — Anna Camodeca
Safdie Architects — Melissa Lexa, Sean Flaherty
TIGHE Architecture — Anant Mohan, Takis Miller

More than a visit.

An open studio, a working culture, and a network in motion. Admitted students experienced USC Architecture through the people who define it.

The work matters, but so does the culture behind it. Conversations, mentorship, and shared ambition shaping an environment that extends well beyond the classroom.

This is what you step into.

What does it mean to study architecture in Los Angeles?

For M.Arch student Evelyn Rivera, proximity matters. Being embedded in a city with one of the highest concentrations of globally recognized design firms, combined with faculty who are actively shaping that culture, creates a direct and continuous connection between studio and practice.

At USC, the city is not just context. It is an extension of the classroom, where ideas, people, and opportunities intersect in real time.

SBX Perspectives highlights the voices of students, faculty, and firm leaders reflecting on the USC Spring Break Externship and the broader culture of learning through practice.

Coming soon… here’s a sneak peek behind the scenes.

SBX Perspectives brings you inside the USC Spring Break Externship through the voices of five leading firms and the students embedded within them. This series captures a range of perspectives across global, corporate, and multidisciplinary practices, all connected through a shared commitment to mentorship and the next generation of architects.

Featured firms include:

Johnston Marklee
Mark Lee, Principal (USC Alum)
A Los Angeles-based design studio known for its conceptually rigorous and formally precise architectural work.
Extern: Evelyn Rivera (M.Arch +3, 1st year)

RIOS .imagines
Mark Motonaga, Creative Director & Partner (USC Architectural Guild Board Member)
A multidisciplinary practice integrating architecture, landscape, and urban design to address complex civic and cultural projects.
Extern: Anna Camodeca (M.Arch +3, 2nd year)

LOHA (Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects)
Lorcan O’Herlihy, Founder and Principal (Professor of Practice, USC)
A Los Angeles-based firm focused on socially engaged architecture, particularly housing and urban issues.
Externs: Pawel Pietryka (M.Arch +3, final year), Alyssa Ha (M.Arch +3, 1st year)

Gensler
Serena Winner, Studio Director & Principal (USC Architectural Guild Board Member)
A global architecture and design firm operating across scales and sectors, known for its integrated and collaborative approach.
Extern: Danrui Zhang (MAARS CD+H)

Foster + Partners
Marc Guberman, Senior Partner
An internationally renowned practice delivering high-performance architecture and urban projects at a global scale.
Extern: Zenayah Cortez (M.Arch +3, final year)

Across these conversations, firm leaders and student externs reflect on SBX as more than a one-week experience. It is a platform for mentorship, a testing ground for ideas, and a bridge between school and practice.