LOS ANGELES, April 25, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Southern California Institute of Architecture (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 20, 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 at www.sciarc.edu">www.sciarc.edu.
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).
About SCI-Arc
Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) is dedicated to educating architects who will imagine and shape the future. It is an independent, accredited degree-granting institution offering undergraduate and graduate programs in architecture. Located in a quarter-mile-long former freight depot in the Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles, the school is distinguished by its vibrant studio culture and emphasis on process. SCI-Arc's approximately 500 students and 80 faculty members, most of whom are practicing architects, work together to re-examine assumptions, create, explore and test the limits of architecture. SCI-Arc faculty and leadership have garnered more than 500 national and international design awards and recognitions, including Progressive Architecture awards, American Institute of Architects (AIA) awards, and the prestigious Jencks and Pritzker architecture prizes. SCI-Arc is ranked 1st in computer applications and 2nd in design in the 2013 America's Best Architecture Schools survey from DesignIntelligence, and #1 graduate and undergraduate architecture school in Western U.S. SCI-Arc is located at 960 E. 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013. www.sciarc.edu">www.sciarc.edu
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