Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc)

Conversion of industrial warehouse building into an architect school. The Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) was founded in 1972 as a radical alternative to the conventional system of architectural education. The school grew rapidly and quickly developed an international reputation, ranking among the best schools of Architecture in the country. SCI-ARC was professionally accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) in 1976, just four years after its founding, and by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) in 1995. In 2000, the school moved to a 1/4 mile long historic freight depot building in downtown Los Angeles, with a student body of 500. SCI-Arc continues its energetic commitment to experimentation and to an examination of the social, as well as the formal aspects of architecture. It's 3,000 graduates can be found all over the world, practicing, teaching, writing and working in allied fields.