The Summer Scholars, Explorations in Architecture and Design program at the U-SoA is a pre-college course designed for students who are interested in architecture and design. Explorations builds familiarity with design processes while detailing the exciting role that architects and designers play in shaping and building society. This program also allows high school students to earn six (6) college credits.
U-SoA's curriculum will serve as the model with specially-designed courses to include Design, Graphics and Theory, with a focused theme for each session. Interrelated aspects of architecture, including design, landscape architecture, historic preservation and urban planning, will assist the student in combining learned information with actual hands-on experience.
In the studio, students will explore and gain familiarity with the techniques and concerns of designers by drawing, model-making, and proposing designs for several projects. School of Architecture resources will include drafting supplies and equipment, computer-aided design programming, and photographic equipment. Studio courses will encourage intuitive action and rapid visual analysis. At the close of the program, a school-wide exhibition will display the students’ work.
The intensive three-week course couples “laboratory” experiences in the design studio with lectures by distinguished faculty and guest professionals. These “laboratory” experiences will be enhanced via local excursions to the significant landmarks of architectural and urban design; offering architectural styles including Mediterranean, Art Deco, MiMo, Bahamian, Cape Dutch, Mission, Neo-Classical and much more.
Special guest experts will guide these “urban classroom” tours. For example, an Art Deco historian will guide the students through the Miami Beach Art Deco District, a landscape architecture scholar will explain the Renaissance gardens of Vizcaya, and architects will conduct tours of their recent award-winning houses and high-rise buildings.
Students will have ongoing feedback on an individual basis from the Instructors and Director as their work proceeds. At the close of each short project, every student’s design solutions will be discussed (in a presentation format) with the entire group. A final review, in which faculty will react informally to the students' progress, will accompany the exhibition of students' works at the close of the program.
