This post is brought to you by SCI-Arc, an Archinect Partner School

SCI-Arc, an Archinect Partner School, is hosting its annual Spring Show exhibition later this month that will feature the work of undergraduate and graduate students from all school programs. The show takes place on its LA Arts District campus, beginning with the opening reception at 6 PM on Saturday, April 27th.

The annual exhibition is meant to highlight students' work and the diversity of SCI-Arc’s course offerings via four immersive monochromatic rooms, each with different textures covering its surfaces. The curator of this year’s Spring Show, postgraduate Fiction and Entertainment program faculty Alexey Marfin, tells Archinect: "The spaces operate on two scales: The bold statement seen from afar, but also the fine material detail seen on closer inspection."

"The exhibition will be centered around an experience through colorful and immersive rooms that explore materiality — for example, an entirely pink room, with a whole wall of pink faux fur; or an entirely black room, with a whole wall of crumpled black vinyl. SCI-Arc's work often explores materiality, texturality, and colors," he said further. "This year's Spring Show aims to foreground these interests."

When asked how the works seen in the exhibition can be taken as an embodiment of SCI-Arc’s educational philosophy, Marfin offered: "The concept for the exhibition spaces is purely experiential and spatial — rather than trying to thematically push the projects under some common umbrella. Therefore, curatorially there's a clear distinction between the identity of the space, and the identity of the work, which allows the work to really be itself and stand on its own."

"This year, much of the work explores emerging technologies such as machine learning/AI and video game engines, and how they integrate into the discourse of design. I've noticed a broader interest in interactivity — both in the form of screen-based projects which have a playable component — but also even in physical projects/installations which have interactive parts such as movable components, augmented reality, and other influences from outside the traditional architectural discipline," he shared with us in a note about the representation of nascent trends presented in the students' work. "It's really powerful how the projects retain a fascination with the construct of space and architecture, while at the same time, questioning its contemporary understanding and relevance today."

SCI-Arc’s 2024 Spring Show will be open to the public until May 6th at 960 East 3rd Street in downtown Los Angeles.