SCI-Arc

SCI-Arc The Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) is an independent, accredited school of architecture in Los Angeles, CA. www.sciarc.edu
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It offers graduate and undergraduate degrees, public programs and lectures. Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) is dedicated to educating architects who will imagine and shape the future. It is an independent, accredited degree-granting institution offering undergraduate and graduate programs in architecture. Located in a quarter-mile-long former freight depot in the Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles, the school is distinguished by its vibrant studio culture and emphasis on process. SCI-Arc’s 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. SCI-Arc faculty and leadership have garnered more than 500 national and international design awards and recognitions, including Progressive Architecture awards, American Institute of Architects (AIA) awards, and the prestigious Jencks and Pritzker architecture prizes. SCI-Arc is ranked 1st in computer applications and 2nd in design in the 2013 America’s Best Architecture Schools survey from DesignIntelligence, and #1 graduate and undergraduate architecture school in Western U.S.

Please join us on Wednesday, October 7 at 6pm for a lecture from Dwayne Oyler & Jenny Wu: Puzzling Assemblies.More infor...
10/03/2026

Please join us on Wednesday, October 7 at 6pm for a lecture from Dwayne Oyler & Jenny Wu: Puzzling Assemblies.

More information: https://www.sciarc.edu/events/lectures/puzzling-assemblies

Dwayne Oyler and Jenny Wu established the architecture and design firm of Oyler Wu Collaborative in Los Angeles in 2004. The firm is recognized for its experimentation in design, material research, and fabrication. The office relies on the constant exchange between design and making, encompassing a variety of scales, with small, intense installations built alongside the design of large-scale projects. The work is driven by an insistence on striking a balance between design experimentation and technical feasibility, often finding creative solutions in the zones between the two.

Dwayne Oyler and Jenny Wu will discuss their recent work alongside the ideas outlined in their new book, Puzzling Assemblies. The lecture offers a dissection of this central idea, examining its potential to enrich contemporary architectural thinking through the robust relationship between architectural concepts and puzzle logics. Through rigorous design investigations, detailed drawings, and wide-ranging analysis, Oyler Wu will unpack the fundamental assembly methods underlying puzzled forms, outlining a series of physical and perceptual operations that boldly reimagine these methods across a range of scales.

Project by B.Arch student Jonathan Sargent for Russell Thomsen's Spring 2026 4A Studio.Learn more about Undergraduate Pr...
10/03/2026

Project by B.Arch student Jonathan Sargent for Russell Thomsen's Spring 2026 4A Studio.

Learn more about Undergraduate Programs: https://www.sciarc.edu/academics/undergraduate-program/why-sci-arc

This project postulates an expansion to SCI-Arc’s campus, functioning as a large fabrication warehouse. Inherent to both the architectural industry and SCI-Arc’s extensive history is a foundational triad of representational modalities: the model, the drawing-diagram, and the photograph. Drawing parallels to the works and conjectures of conceptual artists like Lawrence Weiner, the addition poses a discursive question provoked by emerging AI, AR, and VR technologies: what happens if all three representational modes collapse into one? To accommodate this shift, the project takes form as a “typical” warehouse with exaggerated formal features, providing the necessary volume and infrastructure space for 1:1 model fabrication - where drawing-diagrams are projected directly into real space. In this sense, the drawing becomes no less tangible than the “real thing.” This provocation enacts a discontinuity of praxis, a notion that extends into the physical experience of the building itself; ambiguous elevation changes alter how the building is entered, and facade/roof opacity challenge the permeability of the typical building “envelope-form.” By disorienting these parameters, the occupant is compelled to question how they interface with representational models and physical architecture as a singular construct.

09/30/2026

Recognizing vision, leadership, and transformation.

At the 2026 SCI-Arc Gala, we will honor distinguished leaders who continue to shape the global impact of architectural education. Join fellow alumni, practice principals, and design patrons as we honor this year's honorees and raise vital funds for student aid.

Reserve your tickets today: https://www.sciarc.edu/events/events/sciarc.edu-gala2026

Project by M.Arch students Chaya Sathawarintu + Liva Sadovska + Rakayla Gabriel + Tan Du Phi for Maxi Spina’s Spring 202...
09/30/2026

Project by M.Arch students Chaya Sathawarintu + Liva Sadovska + Rakayla Gabriel + Tan Du Phi for Maxi Spina’s Spring 2026 Applied Studies studio.

Learn more about SCI-Arc Graduate Programs: https://www.sciarc.edu/academics/graduate/why-sci-arc

This project examines the tectonic relationship between natural stone and rammed earth construction examines the tectonic relationship between natural stone and rammed earth construction through a series of hybrid architectural assemblies. Composed of three found boulders and cast rammed-earth elements, the project establishes a reciprocal relationship in which each material defines the position, stability, and expression of the other. The layered construction of rammed earth introduces a precise tectonic order that contrasts with the irregular geometry and geological permanence of stone, while moments of compression, contact, and equilibrium articulate the structural logic of each composition. Rather than treating the materials as discrete elements, the project resolves them into a unified assembly where construction, material, and form are inseparable. Positioned between sculpture and architecture, the work proposes an approach to making in which rammed earth construction is understood not only as a building technique but as a tectonic system capable of organizing spatial relationships, expressing material stratification, and mediating between natural geology and architectural intervention.

What’s it really like to study at SCI-Arc? Come see for yourself.Join us at SCI-Arc for Open House 2026 on Saturday, Oct...
09/29/2026

What’s it really like to study at SCI-Arc? Come see for yourself.

Join us at SCI-Arc for Open House 2026 on Saturday, October 24 at 10AM. Step inside a school where architecture, experimentation, and technology come together.

Register today: https://www.sciarc.edu/events/events/open-house

Explore our programs, meet faculty and leadership, connect with current students, and get a firsthand look at life in our studios. Whether you’re considering undergraduate, graduate, or postgraduate study, this is your opportunity to discover what’s next.

Project by B.Arch students Maryam Alsheyab + Danelia Diaz for David Freeland's Spring 2026 3B Studio.Learn more about Un...
09/27/2026

Project by B.Arch students Maryam Alsheyab + Danelia Diaz for David Freeland's Spring 2026 3B Studio.

Learn more about Undergraduate Programs: https://www.sciarc.edu/academics/undergraduate-program/why-sci-arc

Concert Hall Project was developed in 3B Design Studio as an exploration of the idea of the “theater before the theater,” where the performance experience begins long before entering the main hall. Rather than concentrating activity within a single building, the project distributes program across the site, allowing movement, circulation, and everyday interactions to become part of the theatrical experience.

The program is organized into four interconnected volumes, each assigned a primary function: the main theater, back-of-house, music school, and secondary performance spaces. Public-facing programs engage directly with the central courtyard, while more private spaces, including rehearsal spaces, archives, administration, and back-of-house, are strategically separated to support the public experience. One of the theaters opens directly onto the courtyard, allowing performances to extend outdoors and audiences to move seamlessly between interior and exterior spaces.

Rather than relying on a conventional section-cut model, the project uses a system of hinged façade panels that open to reveal the building’s interior. As the walls unfold, the model transforms into a sectional representation, exposing circulation, structure, and the relationships between public and private spaces without permanently dividing the building. This interactive approach allows the architecture to be experienced through movement, mirroring the project’s central idea that theater is revealed gradually through exploration rather than all at once.

Please join us on Friday, October 2 at 6pm for an opening reception and artist talk for the Andrew Holder curated exhibi...
09/26/2026

Please join us on Friday, October 2 at 6pm for an opening reception and artist talk for the Andrew Holder curated exhibition Levers Long Enough to Move the World: Sketches in Contemporary Architecture.

More information: https://www.sciarc.edu/events/exhibitions/levers-move-the-world

Levers Long Enough to Move the World is an exhibition of architectural sketches at the Pratt School of Architecture featuring the work of more than 50 contemporary practices. It is organized around a question and theory. First, what is the sketch today? Second, as a proposed response, that sketches are levers. They are a way of asserting architecture’s physicality in an ever-less material world, and of exerting the force of this physicality entirely out of proportion to their smallness, quickness, and humility.

Andrew Holder, Chair, Graduate Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Design, Pratt Institute; Principal, The Los Angeles Design Group

Co-Curators:
Alex Tahinos, Adjunct Assistant Professor
Inmo Kang, Visiting Assistant Professor
Fernando Garrido Carreras, Visiting Assistant Professor

Please join us on Wednesday, September 30 at 6pm for a lecture from Lucas ter Hall: Bespoke Ceramics in Architecture.Mor...
09/25/2026

Please join us on Wednesday, September 30 at 6pm for a lecture from Lucas ter Hall: Bespoke Ceramics in Architecture.

More information: https://www.sciarc.edu/events/lectures/bespoke-ceramics

Lucas ter Hall is an architect and co-founder of Studio RAP, an award-winning architectural firm based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He graduated with distinction from TU Delft in 2014, specializing in Robotics in Architecture. Together with co-founder Wessel van Beerendonk, he focuses on uniting computational design with robotic fabrication to create bespoke ceramic architecture. Passionate about the intersection of technology and craftsmanship, Lucas frequently shares his expertise globally, lecturing at institutions and events such as ETH Zurich, UPenn, ACADIA, and KLAF, as well as serving as a juror for AIA New York. At their studio, Lucas and Wessel lead a team that designs and produces intricate, 3D-printed ceramic facades entirely in-house. Through projects like New Delft Blue and The Ceramic House, frequently featured in publications like Dezeen and Wallpaper*, Studio RAP explores how technology can reintroduce expressive ornament into the built environment.

In this lecture, architect Lucas ter Hall shares Studio RAP's journey, from its founding ambitions to its current work with advanced digital craftsmanship. The presentation opens with the studio's core vision: bridging the gap between design, engineering, and robotic fabrication under one roof. The lecture showcases key achievements to date, highlighting milestone projects that demonstrate the studio's approach to architectural ceramics. By combining algorithmic design with custom robotic clay printing, Studio RAP has successfully reintroduced bespoke ornament and tactile details into contemporary facades. Finally, the session offers an exclusive look ahead at upcoming work. Lucas will share the studio’s next generation of future projects, illustrating how Studio RAP continues to develop its methodology and explore new possibilities for bespoke ceramic architecture.

Project by M.Arch 1 student Lin Ma for Andrew Zago’s Spring 2026 1GB studio.Learn more about SCI-Arc Graduate Programs: ...
09/23/2026

Project by M.Arch 1 student Lin Ma for Andrew Zago’s Spring 2026 1GB studio.

Learn more about SCI-Arc Graduate Programs: https://www.sciarc.edu/academics/graduate/why-sci-arc

This project explores how a Loop can generate architectural space, using movement as the starting point for design and creating a building with a rich spatial experience through courtyards and continuous circulation. At the beginning of the project, our class visited UCLA Parking Structure to document how people move through the parking structure and selected a representative loop as the basis for our designs. Although we started from the same path, we each developed our own architectural proposal through different geometric transformations and design strategies.

To further develop my project, I studied Renato Rizzi's Gdańsk Shakespearean Theatre, focusing on its circulation system and the relationship between movement and courtyard spaces. By adjusting the height, rotation, twisting, and alignment of the volumes, I gradually generated the initial form of my building. During this process, I noticed that, in addition to its main central courtyard, the theater contains several smaller, carefully organized courtyards. Inspired by this strategy, I rotated the cubic volumes to create dynamic corner conditions, allowing a series of irregular courtyards to emerge naturally between the masses and enriching the spatial layers of the project.

Another important inspiration came from one of Rizzi's spatial sequences. Along the edge of the building, two open spaces gradually compress into very narrow passages before suddenly opening up again, creating a dramatic transition from compression to release. I did this design by introducing a regular square frame around the irregular loop. As the rotated volumes touch the square boundary, they naturally create a series of narrow, tension-filled spaces that emphasize this sequence of spatial compression and expansion.

The square frame was then developed into a continuous exterior corridor surrounding the building, with the main staircases located along its perimeter. This allows visitors to move freely between different floors from the outside of the building, while ramps and additional staircases inside connect different levels more gradually, creating smoother circulation and stronger visual connections between spaces with relatively small height differences. The exterior corridor is enclosed with metal screen that creates changing patterns of light and shadow while reducing the visual heaviness of the building and giving it a lighter, more open appearance.

As the project developed, the design was adapted to its site by bringing together several existing building programs into a single Loop system. (continued in comments)

09/23/2026

SCI-Arc welcomed new and returning students to the Fall 2026 semester! Fall 2026 at SCI-Arc is packed with guest lectures, book launches, symposiums, alumni events, and exhibitions - check the Events link in bio for more information!

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960 E 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA
90013

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Tuesday 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am - 6pm
Thursday 10am - 6pm
Friday 10am - 6pm
Saturday 10am - 6pm
Sunday 10am - 6pm

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