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embARC 2022 group photo

embARC Summer Design Academy

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An immersive, four week summer design program for rising high school juniors and seniors.

JULY 3 - 28, 2023

APPLY NOW
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REGISTER FOR THE EMBARC VIRTUAL INFO SESSION HERE.

The embARC program at UC Berkeley's College of Environmental Design brings together high school students from diverse backgrounds to explore architecture, urban design and sustainable city planning through integrated components: an architecture + urban design studio, a sustainable city planning workshop, a digital design workshop, an environmental design conversation series and a materials exploration workshop. No prior experience in environmental design is necessary.

Students will be able to develop their portfolio for their college applications in any area of environmental design - architecture, city planning, and landscape architecture. Classes include ample studio time, one-on-one critiques and “live” gallery showcases. Students will also go on field trips, and design and build a project for a local non-profit organization. Students who fulfill the course requirements receive credit on an official UC Berkeley transcript upon course completion.

Students working in architecture studio
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Benefits of Attending

  • Explore architecture, urban design and city planning as possible college majors and careers
  • Develop technical and time-management skills through college-level coursework
  • Work with peers who have similar interests
  • Build a design portfolio to use when applying to college
  • Be exposed to actual public policy issues and make a real impact on your world
  • Earn a certificate of completion and credit on an official UC Berkeley transcript
Application & Registration
Deadlines & Fees
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Student Experience

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CURRICULUM

embARC students work on real design projects and engage as genuine participants in a process to develop solutions to authentic urban planning questions. The program's multi-disciplinary approach provides a comprehensive framework for "placemaking."

  • ARCHITECTURE + URBAN DESIGN STUDIO
  • SUSTAINABLE CITY PLANNING WORKSHOP
  • ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN CONVERSATION SERIES
  • DIGITAL DESIGN WORKSHOP
  • MATERIALS EXPLORATION WORKSHOP
  • COMMUNITY BUILD
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Faculty

photo of lecturer
Kimberly Suczynski Smith
Lecturer in City & Regional Planning & Director of embARC Summer Design Academy

Ever since joining PYATOK in 2010, Kim Suczynski Smith has been lending her holistic, multidisciplinary perspective and interest in education to our most complex projects – whether neighborhood and campus planning, multi-building affordable housing communities, sensitive mixed-use infill, or engaging in building types new to the firm.

Kim enjoys working directly with communities, across large stakeholder groups, and with high school and university students learning about design in the built environment. She guides PYATOK’s equity and community outreach programs, including our Diversity Fellowship through UC Berkeley. Also at UC Berkeley, Kim teaches an urban planning studio – examining how Bay Area cities, and particularly Oakland, plan for change – and conducts the embARC Summer Design Academy for high school students. Her academic and volunteer work emphasize hands-on, design-build learning, promoting design advocacy, and removing barriers to the profession for disadvantaged communities.

Kim’s recent project contributions include the Balboa Reservoir Master Plan and Blocks C and D in San Francisco, the multi-phase Paradise Creek affordable housing project in National City, and Jones Berkeley Market-Rate TOD on San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley. She is currently overseeing the construction in Santa Rosa, California, of the Caritas Village Navigation Center, an innovative, three-story health services hub for people experiencing homelessness. The Caritas Center is by far PYATOK’s largest such project to date, and was realized under Kim’s leadership through a highly-collaborative development process involving numerous stakeholders and funding sources.

photo of lecturer Aly Ard
Aly Ard, Fabrication and Build Lead
Aly Ard is a designer and fabricator based in Richmond, California. She is currently the Shop Director at Sweitzer Inc, a commercial contractor focusing on architectural details and custom build-outs in the Bay Area. Aly studied Architecture at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo where she discovered her love for hands-on fabrication on the human scale. She allows her architecture background, fabrication experience, and desire to explore all materials (new and discarded) to influence and drive her furniture and art. Aly is pursuing her Architecture License with the goal of using the Design-Build method to make attainable, community-involved change.

To receive program updates add yourself to our mailing list.

Questions? Email embarc@berkeley.edu.

Register for the embARC virtual info session HERE / Date: March 7, 2023 / Time: 4:00pm (PT).

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COLLEGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
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