NewSchool of Architecture and Design Students Create Comprehensive Vision for San Diego Transportation Corridor
Proposals detailed in book and video developed during NSAD design studio collaboration with Bjarke Ingels Group

San Diego—Oct. 2, 2013—NewSchool of Architecture and Design (NSAD) students are offering a comprehensive vision for the San Diego County transportation corridor from La Jolla to the Mexican border. The project, completed during a special studio course offered in collaboration with the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), offers a model for cities around the world to redevelop suburban areas to become high quality sustainable urban areas. Video renderings of the project can be viewed at the NSAD YouTube channel. An online book is also available: “NSAD-BIG Studio: String Theory.”

The NSAD-BIG design studio was led by Kai-Uwe Bergmann, a partner with BIG, who has been involved in architecture projects in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the United States. The BIG firm, based in Copenhagen and New York, is considered to be one of the leading companies in innovative, contemporary architecture, and the firm has won international awards and recognition.

“This has been a terrific opportunity to collaborate with NSAD through this special design studio project,” said Bergmann. “The quality of the design studio projects was impressive as students tackled a high-profile regional challenge and applied our String Theory concept to create a cohesive presentation of possible solutions to the region’s transportation corridor. It is my hope that the San Diego community sees what a treasure trove they have in NSAD as a think tank of ideas.”

The design studio project, co-taught by NSAD instructor and local architect Frank Wolden, was inspired by the decision the San Diego County regional planning agency SANDAG to approve an extension of the light rail from San Diego’s Old Town area to the University of California, San Diego. That planned extension is expected to be in operation by 2018, and it connects with an already-established transportation network that reaches the Mexican border. The NSAD exercise focuses on seven proposed sites along the extended transportation corridor.

Bergmann writes in the book’s introduction:  The vision is ambitious and long-ranged, looking at the overall development of the San Diego region with a focus on diversity, the social, and “the green” in contemporary cities. The vision, which we are calling “String Theory”… proposes a new urban corridor that will not only link existing neighborhoods together but also serve as an armature for brand new typologies of development. Thereby it introduces a new basic structure for the San Diego region and creates a basis for massive urban renewal.”

About NewSchool of Architecture and Design
NewSchool of Architecture and Design (NSAD), founded in 1980, is located in San Diego, California. For the past two years, DesignIntelligence has ranked NSAD among the top 10 undergraduate architecture schools in the western United States in its publication “America’s Best Architecture & Design Schools.” NSAD is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS), a national accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. NSAD’s Bachelor of Architecture, Master of Architecture and Executive Master of Architecture programs are accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). NSAD also offers a pre-professional Bachelor of Arts in Architecture, along with a Bachelor of Science in Digital Media Arts, a Bachelor of Science in Construction Management, a Master of Construction Management and a Master of Science in Architecture. The school’s expanding global design education offerings include a new Bachelor of Interior Design program available in 2013–2014. For more information, visit www.NewSchoolArch.edu.

Anna Cearley
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