Archinect - Features

A Conversation with SCI-Arc's Undergraduate Chairs Kristy Balliet and Marcelyn Gow

2023-12-26T09:00:00-05:00

Archinect's Dean's List series allows us to connect with architecture's academic leaders (deans and chairs) to learn more about their pedagogical stances, academic perspectives, and what they envision for the school during their tenure.

SCI-Arc is an institution known for its historic and influential presence within Southern California's architecture and pedagogy. This legacy of progressive pedagogy continues with the appointment of Kristy Balliet and Marcelyn Gow as SCI-Arc's Undergraduate Chairs. During the Fall 2023 term, in an exclusive interview, I spoke Balliet and Gow, to discuss their new role and the observations they see for this incoming wave of undergraduate students.

A New Form of Architectural Education: A Conversation with SCI-Arc's Marrikka Trotter and Tom Wiscombe

2020-12-30T09:00:00-05:00

Finding the right college for any high school student, let alone a program to pursue, is not an easy task. While students may be enthusiastic about specific professions, different institutions approach these professions with radically distinct teaching methods and emphases.

Among the accredited programs in the Western USA, SCI-Arc stands out for the quality of student work and the cutting-edge skills its graduates bring to the workplace. I wanted to investigate what makes this "school for architectural thinking" different. What would a student applying to SCI-Arc leave with? With such an active student body and faculty, what else does the school offer that we don't already know about? Archinect wanted to learn more about what makes this school's undergraduate program so successful and hopefully shed light and add some clarity to what makes this highly sought after.

Cal Poly Pomona's Undergraduate Architecture Program Aims To Shape the Industry with Students Ready for Professional Practice

2020-11-17T12:46:00-05:00

While the notion of attending college has shifted over the years, many students look for programs that will provide a strong academic foundation and the tools to become successful professionals.

Choosing to pursue a bachelor's degree in architecture is no easy task. While the idea of becoming an architect is still an alluring profession, the intensity and rigor of an architecture program is not for the faint of heart. According to Cal Poly Pomona Department Chair George Proctor AIA, "Many first-year students of architecture discover that while the discipline is demanding, it offers far more than common preconceptions. A degree in architecture can open the door to a variety of career and professional opportunities. A degree in architecture is not like that of other disciplines, is an amalgamation of many, and could be described as a structured liberal arts degree. Every studio offers students an opportunity to learn about both, the design of buildings and environments and, the peo...

SCI-Arc's Chu Wen Ong Creates a Line-Based "Evolutionary Library" in Warsaw

2020-07-06T12:42:00-04:00

Chu Wen Ong is a recent graduate from Southern California Institute of Architecture's (SCI-Arc) B.arch program. Archinect connected with Ong to unpack her final project - END LINES. Advised by studio instructor Kristy Balliet, Ong questions the concept of paper and graphic constraints as a means to design inhabitable spaces. Ong explains "the fundamental property of a graphic line is defined by the two ends that determine where it starts and stops. By focusing on the set of ends, the collection of volumized lines starts to transform into a building where the ends are appropriated in ways that can adapt and react to different architectural roles."

Archinect's Spotlight on 2020 Thesis Projects: 2020 has been an extraordinarily challenging year for architecture graduates. Students were displaced as schools shut down, academic communities had to adapt to a new virtual format, end-of-year celebrations were canceled or changed dramatically, and now these students are graduating into an ex...