Now in its Third Year, DID Debuts June 24 on the Architecture School’s Campus in Downtown Los Angeles

SCI-Arc has received a $50,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support Design Immersion Days (DID), a summer program for high school students designed to educate the next generation of architects and designers, and to encourage students to pursue higher education. This year, SCI-Arc will add 3D printing to the DID curriculum, giving students access to one of the latest breakthroughs in technology.

A rigorous, full-day, four week non-residential program for high school students, Design Immersion Days guides sophomores and juniors through a process of discovery, cultivating a lifelong appreciation for architecture and design. Students are exposed to design in all corners of their lives, while developing their skills in an immersive studio environment.

Design Immersion Days’ third edition will run from June 24 to July 19, 2013. Led by SCI-Arc design faculty Darin Johnstone, it features an artistic and energizing mix of visual design coursework, hand drawing, computer design, college readiness workshops, guest speakers and field trips. The program culminates in a final review and exhibition for family, friends, teachers, and the community.

Scholarship support is available for students whose family income qualifies them to receive financial aid.

“One of the objectives of SCI-Arc’s DID summer program is to reach a constituency that would be otherwise unable to afford such an educational experience,” said SCI-Arc Director Eric Owen Moss. “This NEA grant ensures that SCI-Arc can provide financial support to DID students from underserved communities.”

SCI-Arc launched Design Immersion Days in 2011 with seed funding from The Ahmanson Foundation. In 2012, following two successful editions, the program was awarded a Citation of Merit by the American Architectural Foundation.

This year, SCI-Arc is one of 122 organizations in California to receive an NEA Art Works grant. It is the sixth NEA grant for SCI-Arc. Most recently, in 2011 the school received a Design category grant to create the SCI-Arc Media Archive, a comprehensive digital platform featuring more than 1,000 hours of lecture videos and 3,000 architecture and design related topics.

More information about Design Immersion Days is available on the DID program page.

Major support for Design Immersion Days is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support is provided by The Green Foundation, ACE Mentor Program Los Angeles, The Bowling Family Foundation, and David Hertz, FAIA (B.Arch ’83).