Summer is almost here and UCLA Architecture and Urban Design are looking forward to an exciting four weeks packed with design, architecture and exploration! Individuals in the A.UD Summer Program spend their days investigating the world of Los Angeles architecture and design through two unique summer programs in architecture, design, and related fields: JumpStart (July 5-29) and Teen Arch Studio (July 11-22, with PLUS extension from July 24- July 29).

Learning from the brightest of A.UD design instructors, individuals enrolled in JumpStart and TeenArch programs acquire new skills in digital software and 3D modeling while building up their own portfolio for future endeavors. Studio time is typically composed of lectures on conceptual themes related to assigned coursework, and technical tutorials in digital modeling and drawing. Students are divided into small sections of 9-12 students, and assigned to individual instructors and TA’s for tutoring and review of assignments principle ideas.

In previous years, Jumpstart students explored architectural ideas and contemporary digital techniques through exercises that included the design of an outdoor courtyard installation exploring the relationship between the idea of scale and size, the design of a non-denominational chapel exploring the formal language of faceted surfaces, and the translation of logo and typography design into three-dimensional form. To familiarize students with the concept of translating two- dimensional drawings into  three-dimensional objects, the summer assignments focused on digital modeling, descriptive geometry, orthographic, axonometric and perspectival projections. Exercises also introduced principles in construction, regulation, transformation, notation.  The design exercises also consider such fundamental issues as mass/ surface, solid/ void, heavy/ light, simple/ complex. These exercises recognize that the process of design is determined and bounded by both constraints and opportunities.

Parallel to the design curriculum, the A.UD Summer Programs also incorporate a number of extracurricular lectures, activities and workshops, including: lectures by local designers and architects (Past lecturers include Neil Denari, Hitoshi Abe, Greg Lynn, Heather Roberge, Kevin Daly, Barbara Bestor, Leong Leong, Maxi Spina, and Wonne Ickx); portfolio workshops designed to guide students through the conceptual and practical aspects of portfolio design for application to undergraduate and graduate programs in architecture; and a career symposium with active designers. On select weekends, the program explores the city of Los Angeles itself—a place known for its experimental and progressive architecture and modernist history—through visits to significant sites such as the Eames House, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Bonaventure Hotel, Broad Art Museum, MOCA, Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels, Neutra VDL House, MAK Schindler House, as well as professional offices such as Morphosis, Neil Denari Architects, Barbara Bestor and Ball-Nogues Studio.

For more information on the UCLA A.UD Summer Programs, visit http://www.aud.ucla.edu/programs/ucla_a_ud_summer_2016_11.html. Live online summer sessions are offered on March 14 @ 6pm, April 13 @9am, and May 20 @6pm. Check the website for full schedule and program information, or email summer@aud.ucla.edu.