Newschool of Architecture and Design

Last weekend I got the opportunity to checkout Newschool of Architecture and Design located in the heart of downtown San Diego. They were having an open house and I got the chance to speak with several graduate professors and students. After completing four years of undergrad at a school that was heavily based on theories, it is a nice to find a school that implement and bestow upon their students a hands-on, real world learning experience. The school's uniqueness is best captured in its modernized exterior and urbanized interior facades. The exterior has a clean modern feel, while the interior has an urban rustic feel with exposed pipes and cables. During my time there I was able to take some snap shoots of the exterior facade (upper left), studio space for students (upper right), workshop (lower left), and models handmade by students (lower right). I am completely in love with the studio work space that is provided to every student (both undergrad and graduate). It is a individual space where students can work on their models and projects while being surrounded by natural light that are filtered in through the walls cover with warehouse windows. Having lived in San Diego several years ago, I am bewildered by the fact that I never knew such a gem existed until now.

I am super excited to apply for the graduate program in Architecture, after speaking with two former graduate students who presented their thesis project called the RAD-LAB. David and his team came up with the ingenious idea of leasing desolate unused land from the City of San Diego and transforming it into a pop-up park that would provide outdoor activities and entertainment for the residents of East Village. After a raising $60,000, from a Kickstarter project, the team was able to break grown and have the park up and running by March 2014. After seeing how their project can make such a big impact I have hope that neighborhoods around the world can be revitalized through beautiful design.