UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design

embARC is a four week summer design program at UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design that 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 Community Build project. 

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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

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 

Instruction in freehand sketching, drafting, model building and digital representation teaches students how to conceptualize and communicate two and three-dimensional design ideas.

Sustainable City Planning Workshop 

Students engage as genuine stakeholders and participants in a community change process through site observations, research and the development of an authentic urban planning question.

Environmental Design Conversation Series

Presentations and talks by invited professional practitioners and CED-based guest lecturers provide a framework for the ideas and methods that support the theory and practice of environmental design. Students are given the opportunity to engage in the discourses of the discipline in guided discussion groups.

Digital Design Workshop

Building skills in digital representation, this series of focused workshops prepares students for technology-driven college-level design curricula, while also introducing participants to the latest software and digital tools available in the profession.  

 

“[The Architecture and Urban Design Studio] really taught me how to widen how I thought about things. It showed me very many different aspects of what really goes into architecture design. It also gave me a feel for what it would be like to take studio in college and what that atmosphere is like. Also the GSI’s were always encouraging and would help push students to new levels that way we spent time improving and learning…”

 

-embARC student

 

 

Students who fulfill the course requirements receive 1-5 units of credit on an official UC Berkeley transcript upon course completion. All classes are held online.