SCI-Arc

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Undergraduate Thesis 2024 project by Barbara Weiwen Soo with advisor Karel Klein (@karelnyla ). FAMILIAR HYBRIDS The project is based in Haight Ashbury, San Francisco. The thesis is about evolving the housing type, with consideration to its current context and history. In San Francisco, it is primarily zoned for single-family rowhouses, where they multiply and are repetitive. This leads to one of the biggest issues the city is facing in its current context, which is being unable to increase density. Haight Ashbury is historically known for being a close-knit eclectic community. Over the years, the evolutions of the Vernacular are slight, given that Haight Ashbury was first known as a city that wanted to break away from the past. Instead of seeing the Vernacular as ornamental, it was important to understand its spatial qualities within each evolution. As the Vernacular is more than just its facade, the people who have lived in them, know that it is an experience. Such as when one walks down a long hallway to get to the different spaces, or how the light varies based on the location and forms of the openings. Each rowhouse is strictly demarcated within every street, and we see them as individuals instead of a whole. But what I wanted to achieve is for the individual wholes and the unified wholes, to exist simultaneously. The building comprises various leveled houses, ranging from one to four levels. They are all unified by centralized common areas, which include vertical transportation, hallways, atriums, and private balconies. (continued in comments) Learn more about Undergraduate Programs at SCI-Arc in the link in bio. SCI-Arc B.Arch ranks consistently in the Top Ten Undergraduate Programs: #2 in #DesignTechnologies #3 #DesignTheory and #Practice #3 in #Research #3 #MostHired From #5 in #Communication and #Presentation skills #6 in #InterdisciplinaryStudies Top 10 #MostAdmired #schools

“Crude Doubles: The Architectural Dialogue of David Eskenazi” explores the compelling SCI-Arc exhibition “A House-Bath Appearing Twice, Crudely”. This film captures David Eskenazi’s [@d.esk / Principal d.esk / SCI-Arc design studio and visual studies faculty] innovative approach to architectural duality, where two contrasting models—a traditional frame and panel assembly and a taped-together paper model—coexist. Through the lens of craft-like neglect and vulnerable sketches of likeness, the film delves into the themes of beauty versus ordinariness and responsibility versus indulgence, revealing the complex and multifaceted nature of architectural form. Narrated by Kai Daniels (@levarburtonsavedme ), this visual journey highlights Eskenazi’s belief that we can embody multiple identities and perspectives in our creative endeavors. Watch the full film at the SCI-Arc Channel link in bio.

Undergraduate Thesis 2024 project by Andrew Oh (@ojjjong ) with advisor Mira Henry (@mira_henry ). ADOPTIVE REUSE “My project begins with a study of transporting large monuments. Transporting large monuments requires coordination, disassembling, reassembling, safeguarding, transportation means, containers, categorizing, labeling, hauling, washing, and packaging. These acts initiated my interest in transporting an existing building from one location to another. My thesis advocates for the relocation of Jumpin’ Jaks, a nightclub in Glasgow, Scotland awaiting for demolition, through disassembling, measuring, packing, safeguarding, supporting, cataloging, and labeling its façade, interior structure, and its site, relocating the building to the rural lands of Scotland.” Learn more about Undergraduate Programs at SCI-Arc in the link in bio. SCI-Arc B.Arch ranks consistently in the Top Ten Undergraduate Programs: #2 in #DesignTechnologies #3 #DesignTheory and #Practice #3 in #Research #3 #MostHired From #5 in #Communication and #Presentation skills #6 in #InterdisciplinaryStudies Top 10 #MostAdmired #schools

Undergraduate Thesis 2024 project by Hanen Abdullah (@neenzzaa ) + Sherefah Alhamdan (@ssharch ) with advisor Kristy Balliet (@bairballiet ). DISTILLED CONTEXT The discourse of fidelity in architecture based on extracted forms is the basis of the thesis. By acquiring different architectural fragments from around the region, actions to reduce the subjects’ topological qualities were performed to understand what is both gained and lost in the translation of formal fidelity. Focusing on the assortment of the default, a primary massing based on special assortment, the high-low resolution fragments were then re-applied onto the default in modes of addition and subtraction to portray an illusive manner, where crowns, silhouettes, and non-uniform elements are generated. The application of the adjusted fragments then influences the minor actions required on the default, such as apertures and filleting edges, to create a more cohesive final form. Distilled Context is the discourse of architectural fidelity through manipulating extracted forms. Altering artifacts to create a contextually relevant built environment that resonates with familiarity yet offers a unique reinterpretation. This challenges conventional notions of fidelity, offering a new paradigm for creating contextually responsive environments. Enroll now for Fall 2024. Apply at the link in bio. SCI-Arc B.Arch ranks consistently in the Top Ten Undergraduate Programs: #2 in #DesignTechnologies #3 #DesignTheory and #Practice #3 in #Research #3 #MostHired From #5 in #Communication and #Presentation skills #6 in #InterdisciplinaryStudies Top 10 #MostAdmired #schools

SCI-Arc undergraduate student Youssef Hachchane (@lightuccef / B.Arch ’25) has just been announced as the winner of the 2024 Spectacular Design Studio Award. Completed in December 2023 and published in May of this year, Hachchane’s winning submission imagines a futuristic extension to SCI-Arc’s downtown Los Angeles Arts District campus. Inspired by Paul Rudolph's Brutalism and design techniques, entitled Harmonia, Hachchan notes of his proposal: “This was a solo [effort], creating the entire project using multiple methods, including digital and physical modeling.” Find out more at the News link in bio.

Kickstart your design career with Making+Meaning (July 1 – 26). Learn the fundamentals and language of architecture to produce a robust creative portfolio. Last day to register: Thursday, June 28. Apply now at the link in bio!

Undergraduate Thesis 2024 project by Paul Kang (@by_ungmini ) + Yujung Lee (@y.jung_1107 ) with advisor Kristy Balliet (@bairballiet ). INVITATIONS Our thesis explores into the intricate relationship between urban spaces and their inhabitants, examining this interplay through the concept of 'gestural streams.' As cities grow denser and culturally more diverse, the conventional linear narrative of the architectural promenade—a journey defined by walls and sequential paths—is increasingly insufficient. In response, our thesis proposes the 'gestural stream,' a novel framework that re-envisions the interaction between architectural forms, their functions, and the inhabitants. Here, 'gesture' is interpreted as an 'invitation'—a subtle prompt that guides or suggests a certain action or pathway. This invitation, paired with the 'Stream,' symbolizes the flow of reactions or responses that emerge from that initial gesture. Individuals might accept, negotiate, or reject these invitations. Still, the culmination of these interactions shapes the collective experience. Like water carving its path in response to the landscape's topography, humans navigate and interact with spaces guided by the architectural cues they encounter. In modern urban settings, the promenade's structured linearity contrasts with the spontaneous, multidimensional rhythm of city life. Our investigation aims to comprehend how the foundational principles of the promenade can be reimagined and woven into the fabric of the 'gestural stream,' thus embracing the complexities and unpredictability inherent in today's urban existence. (continued in comments) Enroll now for Fall 2024. Apply at the link in bio. SCI-Arc B.Arch ranks consistently in the Top Ten Undergraduate Programs: #2 in #DesignTechnologies #3 #DesignTheory and #Practice #3 in #Research #3 #MostHired From #5 in #Communication and #Presentation skills #6 in #InterdisciplinaryStudies Top 10 #MostAdmired #schools

Undergraduate Thesis 2024 project by Peihao Jin (@peihao_jin ) + Zamen Lin (@zamenlmh ) with advisor Russell Thomsen (@rntarch ). NOTES ON CONJECTURAL FORM History, as we know it, is only one of many facts. Our thesis perceives history as non-linear, where there is no singular cause and effect, but a field of multiple possible interpretations. Each site therefore exists not purely in its present moment but contains an accumulation of its histories, a compounding of its past, present and future. Histories, not history. Absences, not just presence. The site of Estonia’s Tartu Cultural Center today exists as petrified pieces of something old and a living piece of something Other. Akin to a palimpsest, it comprises the memories of what once existed but also the embalming of the living present. Our thesis proposes selecting, reading, interpreting, integrating and mediating traces embedded beyond existing contextual conditions. Aspects of excavated histories are conflated and manipulated to form a complex ecology of systems, suggesting possibilities for organization, form and tectonics. Steering clear from the literal reconstruction of history, the registration of selected histories produces a series of local reactions that inflect and deform the whole. Histories registered here is not of symbolic significance but one of multiple non-sign readings, where the sign and signified no longer exist in one-to-one relationships. Eschewing from the communication of process and technique, each form of expression embodies various aspects of its latent history, contributing to a series of conjectural representations of the proposed building’s qualities. Learn more about Undergraduate Programs at SCI-Arc in the link in bio. SCI-Arc B.Arch ranks consistently in the Top Ten Undergraduate Programs: #2 in #DesignTechnologies #3 #DesignTheory and #Practice #3 in #Research #3 #MostHired From #5 in #Communication and #Presentation skills #6 in #InterdisciplinaryStudies Top 10 #MostAdmired #schools

Explore ‘Concepts in Play: SCI-Arc GT23 Part Two – Themes’ to see how SCI-Arc’s graduates creatively respond to today’s architectural challenges. This second film in the series showcases inventive uses of materials and technology, as well as unique approaches to blending digital and physical spaces. Each theme ventures beyond traditional practices, crafting spaces that engage with current social and environmental contexts. Discover how these emerging architects shape new architectural dialogues and envision innovative solutions for our world. Enroll now for Fall 2024. Application at the link in bio. SCI-Arc M.Arch ranks consistently in the Top Ten #Graduate Programs: #4 in #Design #Technologies #5 in #Communications and #Presentation Skills #5 in #Interdisciplinary Studies #6 in Design #Theory and Practice #6 in #Research #7 in #Construction Materials and Methods #8 in #ProjectPlanning and #Management #8 in #Transdisciplinary #Collaboration Across A/E/C #10 in Practice #Management #10 in #Sustainable Built #Environments / #Adaptive #Designs / #Resilient Design Top Ten Most Admired #schools