For College Students
The Cornell Introduction to Architecture Program is an immersive and rigorous course of study, concurrently providing exposure to architectural ideas, principles, and methods through explorations of architectural concepts, precedent, and a sequence of creative design projects in visualization and space-making. The intensive program — pairing studio design and lecture courses — is suited for motivated high school students with a strong interest in architecture, as well as undergraduates considering a master's degree in the design field.
The carefully curated curriculum is rooted in making and thinking through making, as well as critical analysis of architecture and learning from immediate and broader contexts. The outcome is a course project and a related body of work suitable for a college application portfolio, complemented by a deeper understanding of architectural education and the discipline as a whole.
The program is offered globally online, taking advantage of the latest platforms and techniques of remote learning with a strong emphasis on digital tools, while embracing and further enhancing analog and hybrid modes of design. Studio sessions in small sections, led by a group of experienced teaching associates, take place daily, with lectures and design critiques from full-time Department of Architecture faculty. Individual evaluations and a certificate of completion will be issued to each student at the end of the program.
Participation in-person is available only for students over 18, with a studio space set up in Milstein Hall. These applicants also have the option to enroll entirely online.
The final review will strengthen and advise prospective graduate school application portfolios.
Students can expect to learn the fundamentals of the architectural program including:
- The art of making and the importance of craft
- The relationship between two-dimensional and three-dimensional design
- Drawing and model making as a means of discovery and exploration
- Analog and introductory digital representation
- Conceptual clarity and expression
- The basics of architectural composition
The program is open to college students seeking to study architecture at a graduate level, or as a minor at their home institution. The course requires no specialized knowledge or background beyond a serious interest in architectural design.
Student Work
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Cube model projecthttps://aap.cornell.edu/sites/default/files/AAP_INTRO_SUMMER%202016-45_870x450.jpg https://aap.cornell.edu/sites/default/files/IMG_0772_870x450.jpg https://aap.cornell.edu/sites/default/files/Samuel%20May_cube2_870x450.jpg https://aap.cornell.edu/sites/default/files/IMG_0782_870x450.jpg
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Drawingshttps://aap.cornell.edu/sites/default/files/Plan_870x540.jpg https://aap.cornell.edu/sites/default/files/Samuel%20may%20drawing_3_870x450.jpg https://aap.cornell.edu/sites/default/files/Section_870x450.jpg https://aap.cornell.edu/sites/default/files/Samuel%20May%20drawings_1_870x450.jpg https://aap.cornell.edu/sites/default/files/Samuel%20May%20drawings_2_870x450.jpg
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Cardboard modelhttps://aap.cornell.edu/sites/default/files/IMG_0680_870x450.jpg https://aap.cornell.edu/sites/default/files/Samuel%20May_model_2_870x450.jpg https://aap.cornell.edu/sites/default/files/Samuel%20May_model_1_870x450.jpg https://aap.cornell.edu/sites/default/files/Samuel%20May%20model_3_870x450.jpg
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Landscape modelhttps://aap.cornell.edu/sites/default/files/IMG_9512_870x450.jpg https://aap.cornell.edu/sites/default/files/IMG_9523_870x450.jpg
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Performative modelhttps://aap.cornell.edu/sites/default/files/Joanne1_870x450_0.jpg
