Image © SCI-Arc

For some, the summer season is filled with traveling and vacation, but for others, summer is a time to dive into workshops and intensives. Whether in or out of school—architecture, or otherwise—the months of June, July and August, are a great time to beef up that portfolio, enhance a skill set, or participate in an immersive program to explore side interests and subtopics. 

Spanning anywhere from one week to a full-month, summer programs enable architecture students and adults without architecture backgrounds to explore and expand their exposure to the field. Below, Archinect has gathered a list of summer opportunities that will push you and your architectural stamina to the limit. 

Making+Meaning at SCI-Arc in Los Angeles, CA:

Open to creative individuals and current college students alike, this four-week summer program teaches participants basic skills in model making and digital representation. While the results make great additions to any portfolio, Making+Meaning is also a perfect place to expand your horizons and challenge yourself, all within the vibrant, diverse setting of Los Angeles’s downtown Arts District. Learn more here.

Space Saloon at Fieldworks in Morongo Valley, CA:

This experimental design-build festival takes students to the high desert of Southern California for a week of collaborative learning and outdoor fun. Here, students, designers, and teachers will live and work together to develop site-specific projects which question notions of context and place. See our previously published feature on Space Saloon here, & Learn more here. 

YArch at UIC in Chicago, IL:

The month-long program's core is a studio project that immerses participants in the discipline of architectural design. For those considering a career in architecture, YArch is a way to test the waters before jumping in to graduate study. For those who simply wish to explore a lifelong interest, YArch's challenging curriculum equips participants with new ways of thinking, seeing, and making. Learn more here.

Design Discovery at Harvard GSD in Boston, MA: 

An intensive six-week program, GSD Design Discovery is an opportunity to immerse yourself in design, to approach difficulties as opportunities, to see the world anew. Perfect for those looking to dip their feet into the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, and/or urban planning, the program offers a chance to discover how design contributes to a more resilient, just, and beautiful world. Learn more here.

Design/Build School at Yestermorrow in Waitsfield, VT:

The remote school in Vermont is a training ground for do-it-yourselfers, as well as those serious about learning the building trade. The school teaches over 100 hands-on workshops a year in design, construction, woodworking, and architectural craft. With many held during the summer, Yestermorrow is a wonderful place to learn more about topics like sustainable pre-fabrication, solar design, historic masonry, or even beekeeping. Learn more here.

Design Against Extinction at ONE Lab in New York City, NY:

ONE Lab’s study program is a four-week long architecture and urban design studio focused on coding, sustainable design and digital fabrication. This year, the studio aims to combat the impending extinction of endangered animal species through pioneering acts of building design. Students will be asked to engage the city and its natural ecology in an effort to support increased biodiversity. Learn more here.

Architecture Summer School at the RCA in London, UK:

For those interested in spending some time abroad, the Royal College of Art's summer program is a great opportunity to explore the city of London while partaking in an intense and immersive design experience. Offering studio time, visits, lectures and skills training, this five-day short course is ideal preparation for those looking to get a Master's—or an excuse to travel. Learn more here

Summer DLAB at the AA in London, UK:

Another wonderful travel opportunity for the technically inclined is the AA's Summer DLAB program in London. The three-week full-time course pairs advanced computational design and analysis with large-scale prototyping techniques. In particular, students will focus on exploring how to integrate geometrical, structural and material properties with robotic metal forming processes. Learn more here.

Bauhaus Summer School at Bauhaus-Universität in Weimar, Germany:

In celebration of the Bauhaus centenary, the Bauhaus Summer School is offering 15 different courses throughout the month of August. The two-to four-week classes—in Architecture and Urbanism, Art and Design, Culture and Media, Engineering and Environment—are a great way to discover the city of Weimar and to familiarize yourself with the ideas of Paul Klee, Johannes Itten, and other world-famous Bauhaus artists. Learn more here.

Summer Academy at Istanbul Architecture and Urban Planning Research Academy:

AURA Istanbul is a non-profit established to concentrate on applying new insights to urban and architectural practices at an international level. Their inspiring summer program—"Istanbul: Past, Present, and Future"—promises lectures, on-site visits, studios, and a month of comprehensive analysis of the sprawling, historic city. Learn more here.