The Making and Meaning summer school at SCI Arc introduces students to architectural thinking through modelling, drawing and AI-assisted image generation.

This course has now closed

Making and Meaning is SCI Arc's four-week summer studio focused on experimentation, production and the development of a personal design language. Open to participants from diverse creative backgrounds, the programme operates as an intensive laboratory where architectural thinking is explored through making rather than representation alone.

Each year, Making and Meaning evolves through a new conceptual framework and set of methodologies. Students rotate through multiple instructors, encountering different approaches to form, tools and processes.

Digital workflows such as AI-assisted image generation, modelling, drawing and fabrication are used as active design instruments, encouraging students to test, distort and recombine ideas quickly and critically.

The studio is structured around fast paced weekly exercises that prioritise iteration, risk taking and material output. Rather than working toward a single predefined result, participants build a body of work that reflects both individual curiosity and collective studio culture.

The programme culminates in a public exhibition at SCI Arc, where student work is presented as a curated environment. Models, drawings, fabricated objects and spatial installations are displayed together, emphasising process, transformation and authorship.

Making and Meaning supports portfolio development while introducing participants to contemporary modes of architectural experimentation in an intensive studio setting.

School: SCI Arc
Course: Making and Meaning
Type: Summer school
Location: Los Angeles, USA
Course dates: June 29 to July 24 2026
Application deadline: 15 May 2026

What will I learn during this course?

– Core principles of design and visual storytelling
– New tools for ideation
– Modelling and presentation
– How to build an admissions portfolio for graduate school

What are the requirements?

– Must have completed high school and some college level

What facilities and resources are available?

– Personal studio space
– Digital fabrication lab
_ Robot house
– Print centre
– Academic advisors
– Library
– Analogue shop

What prospects can I expect upon graduating?

Applying to graduate school.

Who teaches this course?

– William Virgil, coordinator
– Curime Batliner, faculty

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