Top Schools in Architecture: SCI-Arc

SCI-Arc

The Southern California Institute of Architecture (now SCI-Arc) was founded in 1972 to shake up traditional architecture education.

Discipline: Architecture
Location: Los Angeles, USA
Undergraduate: Bachelor of Architecture
Graduate: Master of Architecture

Number of student: 500
Number of faculty: 80

Strengths

An ambitious and challenging philosophy that architects must “engage, speculate and innovate to take the lead in reimagining the limits of architecture”

Overview

The Southern California Institute of Architecture (now SCI-Arc) was founded in 1972 to shake up traditional architecture education and introduce outside-the-box thinking. Today, the school is still known for its progressive curriculum, plus a board of trustees that includes titans like Frank Gehry and Thom Mayne. “SCI-Arc is where architects become mad scientists,” says director/CEO Hernan Diaz Alonso. His message to potential students is “architecture is an act of optimism.” Set in an old freight depot, the school is a haven for experimentation, which mainly happens in the Magic Box, a cutting-edge digital fabrication lab alongside the Robot House and Analog Fabrication Shop.

Notable alumni

Pritzker Prize winner Shigeru Ban, Gaston Nogues and Benjamin Ball of Ball-Nogues Studio