During a two-week summer session, twenty high school students learned about urban design principles. During a field trip to downtown San Francisco, students made observations of the urban design principles at work and made assessments of where it was and wasn’t successful.

Students then explored, using both physical and digital models, how consideration for the human scale can influence urban design at the smallest scale – the entry sequence of a building. The design proposal that garnered the most votes was translated into a full scale installation. Working collaboratively, students used woodworking tools to fabricate and install the entry sequence design proposal.

The session culminated in a presentation of the full-scale installation, individual study models, and a mini-portfolio for each student showcasing their design processes.

Students from the Summer 2025 session shared these reflections:

It was cool to learn how people find different ways to show the transition from inside to outside

I enjoyed learning about the different components that make a good public space

I learned that architecture is about people and creating spaces with others in mind.

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