Dirty, Hard, Busy, Good…Architecture is Work. ︎
The M. Arch program locates the work of architecture at the intersection of disciplinary principles and professional competency. Ideas become impactful when translated into material conditions. The messy process of translation often results in imperfect but meaningful design proposals that address challenges of contemporary life. Embracing the compromise between ideal and real underscores our commitment to the here and now.
The M. Arch program locates the work of architecture at the intersection of disciplinary principles and professional competency. Ideas become impactful when translated into material conditions. The messy process of translation often results in imperfect but meaningful design proposals that address challenges of contemporary life. Embracing the compromise between ideal and real underscores our commitment to the here and now.

The three year program is organized in the following way ︎
Ground Work: The first year of the M. Arch program provides an intellectual and technical foundation for the production of architecture. Students are introduced to conventions of representation and construction. Conventional understandings are then transformed into contemporary design proposals through the acquisition of advanced skill sets. Design problems are inward in orientation as they absorb and explore the tenets of the discipline.

Work by M.Arch Student Emily Rose Vanags
Field Work: The second year of the M. Arch program cracks the foundation to reveal the broad spectrum of architectural possibilities that emerge when foundational knowledge engages contemporary culture. Students are introduced to the technology of building in relationship to environmental, structural, and material systems. Design problems are outward in orientation as they leverage disciplinary intelligence against a wide range of civic conditions.
Frame Work: The third year of the M. Arch program narrows intellectual and technical expertise around individual interests. Students are introduced to research methods that aim to synchronize abstract concepts with modes of practice. Design problems are simultaneously inward and outward in orientation as they define a personal frame work for engaging a professional audience.

The four streams of M.Arch coursework ︎
Criticism-Position: The criticism track established disciplinary roots. Students survey a history of architectural production and are introduced to theories shaping contemporary discourse.
Visualization-Speculate: The visualization track introduces students to methods of architectural analysis, production, and representation using inventive techniques and emerging technology.
Building-Assemble: The building track introduces students to logics of fabrication and construction that address structural, environmental, and material concerns.
Studio-Advocate: The studio track integrates criticism, visualization, and building into design proposals that demonstrate the power of architecture.
Visualization-Speculate: The visualization track introduces students to methods of architectural analysis, production, and representation using inventive techniques and emerging technology.
Building-Assemble: The building track introduces students to logics of fabrication and construction that address structural, environmental, and material concerns.
Studio-Advocate: The studio track integrates criticism, visualization, and building into design proposals that demonstrate the power of architecture.
Heather Flood
Chair of Architecture, Los Angeles
Heather Flood is a designer and educator. Her professional work integrates the disciplines and techniques of cultural research, graphic art, and architectural design to create experientially dense environments. In 2008 she formed F-lab, a research based design practice committed to the production of architectural form in relationship to contemporary culture, both pop and sub. Located at the intersection of the graphic and the tectonic, Flood’s current research slips between two and three dimensions into the space of 2.5D where color, pattern, and texture synchronize with structure in an effort to push familiar architectural forms into new spatial realms that delight in affect and organization. Flood’s work has been published and exhibited internationally. In 2012 she received the prestigious C.O.L.A. Fellowship awarded to mid-career professionals residing in Los Angeles. Prior to forming F-Lab, Flood worked in the offices of Murphy, Burnham, and Buttrick Architects in New York, HOLST Architecture in Portland, and Roto Architects in Los Angeles.
In addition to her professional practice, Heather Flood teaches design studios and design communication courses at Woodbury University where she serves as Chair of Architecture on the Los Angeles campus. She has also taught design studios at SCI-Arc and UCLA and design workshops at the University of Kentucky. Flood has a Master of Architecture degree from the Southern California Institute of Architecture where she graduated with honors and received the Henry Adams Medal. Flood has a Bachelor of Art degree from Michigan State University.