Program within the UCLA Architecture and Urban Design Department moves to off-campus facility
By Lawrence Han
Nov. 28, 2012 1:09 a.m.
The original version of this article contained an error, and the original headline contained information that was unclear. See the bottom of the article for additional information.
Starting next fall, a program within the UCLA Architecture and Urban Design Department will move to an off-campus facility and will be supported entirely through tuition, officials announced last week.
The post-graduate architecture program, known as SUPRASTUDIO, is a one-year post-professional studio course focusing on a specified research theme, said Neil Denari, a professor of architecture in the department. The program, currently housed on-campus in Perloff Hall, will relocate to Playa Vista, Calif. about 10 miles south of the UCLA campus. The shift is part of an overarching effort to encourage collaboration with outside industrial partners, Denari said.
The program will be funded solely through tuition paid by its students, said Leila Hamidi, director of program development and career services.
The Graduate Council, a subcommittee of the UCLA Academic Senate, officially approved the program’s proposal to change to self-supporting status in July, Hamidi said.
It is fairly common for other professional programs at UCLA to be self-supporting because state funding has decreased in recent years, placing restrictions on the programs, said Kyle McJunkin, director of curriculum coordination and operations at UCLA.
By moving to a self-supporting funding model, SUPRASTUDIO can potentially generate more funding than would otherwise be possible, he said.
“(Being self-supporting) allows us to expand programs more ambitiously than (with state funding),” Hamidi said.
SUPRASTUDIO will expand its class size threefold ““ from 15 to 45 students ““ when it moves to the larger satellite location, Denari said.
The program will also give students more studio options to choose from ““ adding two additional studios for a total of three. Each studio will have its own research theme, focusing on the application of technology in architectural design, Denari said.
World-renowned architects Frank Gehry, Greg Lynn and Thom Mayne will lead the studio courses, Denari said.
The program, called IDEAS, will add a new home, which will have state-of-the-art technology in its 6,000 square-foot lab for testing research, Hamidi said.
“(The new facility) will provide a new level of research for the school,” Denari said.
Faculty in the department said they hope the program’s relocation to the new off-campus facility ““ where it will be in the vicinity of companies like YouTube and Earthbound Media Group ”“ will garner the attention of potential collaborators.
“(It’s) not as isolated (as before) way up here on campus, and will be more accessible,” Denari said. “I think collaborators will be interested in (the program’s) new level of public engagement.”
The Architecture and Urban Design Department also plans to make the facility stand out as an independent hub of architectural research and education, Denari said.
“We’ll have demonstrations, exhibitions, seminars, lecture series, a cultural center and more,” he said. “This will not just be a place to simply train students to finish a post-graduate course.”
The filing period for SUPRASTUDIO applications will be open until Jan. 7, Denari said.
Correction: A program within the UCLA Architecture and Urban Design Department is moving to an off-campus facility. The program will be funded solely through tuition paid by its students.
