Course General Description

From your first day at SVA, you’ll work at your own desk with unlimited access to a state-of-the-art computer lab in a design-firm atmosphere. You’ll learn to integrate current technology with the traditions of drawing and drafting. You’ll become proficient in the specialized language used by today’s preeminent design and construction firms. And most importantly, you’ll learn what it takes to turn a design idea into a real space. Our faculty, some of the most respected working professionals in the industry, will help you get there. Whether it’s Jack Travis, FAIA, Principal Architect and Designer, Afri Culture / Design Culture; Ralph Ottaiano, AIA, Levien & Company, Inc.; Gita Nandan, Founding Partner, Thread Collective LLC; or Anthony Lee, Founder, Honest Struggle—all of them are here to help you design a wide range of projects: apartments, restaurants, offices, schools, museums and cruise ships. You’ll also present your work to internationally renowned interior designers and architects along with real life clients. We invite partners in recognized interior design and architecture firms such as Gensler and HOK, magazine editors from major publications including Interior Design Magazine and Metropolis, and heads of design for brand-name companies like MTV and Polo Ralph Lauren. Through this process, you’ll gain confidence and insight and might even meet your future boss or client. At SVA you’ll also have the opportunity to explore specialized areas of interest, whether in the creative areas of design and presentation skills, the technical areas of construction documentation, project management and construction administration, or the business areas of finance, marketing and company management. Courses such as Rhino and Digital Fabrication Concepts, Advanced Computer Rendering Techniques, and Design/Build are other ways to customize the program. For example, you can participate in projects for schools and other community-based organizations, take tours of design firms and showrooms such as Steelcase and Herman Miller to get behind the scenes. In addition, the administration and faculty will work with you to secure summer and part-time internships that provide real life learning experiences.

School General Description

Welcome to New York City, SVA’s hometown, and the leader of today’s creative economy, with more than 14,000 creative businesses and nonprofits. According to the EY Global Talent in Global Cities 2015 study, New York attracts more creative talent than any other city in the world because it “enjoys a unique cultural scene, embedded in a cosmopolitan and forward-thinking urban environment.” There is no better place to study, practice and work as a creative professional. Critique is a vital and challenging part of the educational experience in a college of art and design. Participating in this practice requires students to be open and vulnerable while they present their work for discussion and questioning, and to trust the transformative powers of the process in service of the work. Through the frequent repetition of this act of openness, students and faculty share and strengthen their humanity, empathy and kinship and their work evolves.