HiArch
Week 1: July 10–14, 2023
Week 2: July 17–21, 2023
In the HiArch Summer High School Workshop program, students can register for Week 1 only, or for both Weeks 1 and 2 in combination. Week 2 focuses on model-building, and is open only to students who have completed Week 1, either in 2022 or in previous summers.
HiArch is designed to provide interested students a sense of the demands and opportunities unique to an undergraduate architectural education. In addition to new skills in formal composition and exposure to architecture practices in Chicago and beyond, participants leave the program with visual work they can use in supplementing college applications. There is no homework—instructors will assign only what can be completed by the end of each day in studio.
HiArch will meet from 10am–4pm daily. Throughout the week, students will develop both analog and digital skills, from drawing by hand to digital drafting and computer three-dimensional modeling. They will also gain exposure to the field of architecture through guest lectures and discussions with faculty and local architects.
Students will need access to a personal computer meeting the specifications outlined in the computer requirements PDF in order to run the software programs used during HiArch. Participants will be given instructions for downloading and installing software before the program begins.
Week 1
Participants will work through a series of studio projects using handmade and digital media to dive into building designs using the basic architectural concepts of plans and elevations. There will be time at the end of the day to discuss each student’s efforts with fellow participants and the faculty. Lunch lectures by guest faculty members and practicing architects will show students the kinds of architectural work being done in Chicago and around the world. Week 1 activities will include digital drafting. Students will conclude the week with a building design and multiple drawings of the structure.
Week 2
The model-building workshop is open to students who have participated in HiArch in previous summers, as well as new students enrolling in the program for a full two weeks. Students will use the drawing and modeling skills learned in Week 1 and further develop their structures through an iterative design process to add detailing to the structure and spaces. In-depth workshops, demonstrations, and experimentation sessions will help students become familiar with the types of tools and technologies used by architects today.