Archinect - News

SCI-Arc announces resignations and important policy changes amid months of controversy

2022-09-26T19:20:00-04:00

Nearly five months have passed since the tumultuous March 25 Basecamp panel discussion and the wave of controversies that came after. While the LA-based architecture school has slowly faded from heavy media reporting, the team at Archinect has kept an eye out for any updates and changes coming from the school.

However, recent news from the school sent out via email to the SCI-Arc Community has announced essential policy changes AND the resignations of Tom Wiscombe and Marrikka Trotter, who have received intense heat from students, alums, and the architecture community at large.

Our April 7 coverage reported on a slew of petitions, news of third-party internal investigations, public "apologies," new faculty appointments, and responses from the community. At that point, only time would tell how the school of "archit...

A public apology gone awry, new faculty appointments, and a postponed 50th-anniversary celebration are among the most recent updates to the SCI-Arc controversy

2022-04-07T20:22:00-04:00

Nearly a week and a half has passed since the March 25 Basecamp panel at SCI-Arc that sent shockwaves across the school's community and the architecture industry. Since my initial reporting on the incidents and controversies happening at the institution, discourse regarding academia and labor practices has sparked further conversations around the systemic issues highlighted at SCI-Arc.

With news rapidly spreading across the internet, a wave of responses and comments from the community has surfaced, indicating that this wasn't an issue found solely within this particular school but across the profession. As I stated previously, "Discussions surrounding work and studio culture within the architecture community are nothing new. It would be foolish to say that those working within the industry at both the professional practice and academic levels are unaware of the highly problematic issues of labor and equitable working conditions."

As our editorial team continued to follow the events ...

Controversy at SCI-Arc over labor practices leads to faculty members placed on leave. Isolated incident or a wake up call for the industry at large?

2022-04-01T15:30:00-04:00

On Friday, March 25th, a panel discussion became a lightning rod striking attention to the questionable ethics of architectural academia and professional practice. Depending on what news and social media platforms you follow, keeping track of the events that followed SCI-Arc's Basecamp lectures can appear like organized chaos.

Everyone has an opinion. Everyone has a "take" on the highly controversial and unsettling comments. But before I dive into what's already been documented and shared across the internet, it's vital to address the larger issues. Discussions surrounding work and studio culture within the architecture community are nothing new. It would be foolish to say that those working within the industry at both the professional practice and academic levels are unaware of the highly problematic issues of labor and equitable working conditions.

Ongoing efforts to reform toxic and exploitative work environments have been pushed to the forefront thanks to organizations like Th...