About the school

ARCHIP is a progressive new school of architecture, a hybrid of global and local scales, of conceptual and technical training, and a philosophical space combining the best of the European and American tradition of architecture education.

We offer an undergraduate programme (Bc.) and a graduate programme (MA), as well as Global Architecture + Design, one of the CIEE College Study Abroad Programmes. For details of the programmes, please see the relevant sections of our website.

The organisation of the Architectural Design (AD) studio at ARCHIP follows the principles of the ‘Vertical studio’ model. The Vertical studio is organised by combining students of different years into a single studio. Within the Vertical studio, all years cooperate on a single site and program, yet their scale, scope and aims are different. There are in fact multiple independent vertical studios running in parallel. There are three independent studios for the undergraduate students and one for the graduate students. There are between 15-18 students in each studio, each with a similar number of first, second and third year students. While the project’s site and program are the same for all studios, the specific design approaches and methodologies within each studio varies. Each is under the direction of a different pair of studio leaders. After each semester, students switch studios, to gain exposure to the full range of practices and design thinking unique to each studio. For their final semester, third year students are allowed to select the studio of their choice. Please visit the section Studios and Project to read about the philosophy and focus of our studios, and about our studio leaders.

At ARCHIP, the faculty and the school management strives to create a highly stimulating learning environment for our students. We greatly value dialogue – both as an integral part of the process of architecture and design, and a method of teaching and learning.