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View from Summer Immersion home base, Verde Valley School, AZ
TSOA is pleased to announce our first-ever Summer Immersion experience based at the historic Verde Valley School in Sedona, AZ. Continuing the ritual of the “migration” — the school’s annual road-trip to cooler temperatures during the summer months, and traditionally to the Midwest — we will conduct this summer program at higher elevations and closer to home. The Summer Immersion Program invites participants of all backgrounds (with or without experience in architecture) to join our small community of M.Arch students and faculty during the summer semester, engaging in an introductory design studio, visiting iconic sites, and experiencing TSOA’s distinctive educational model of Learning By Doing.
Field Trips include: Arcosanti, Waddell Studio and Sculpture Garden, Capricorn Hill Center for Surrealism, Grand Canyon, Shash Dine EcoRetreat, Taliesin West, Cattle Track Arts, and more!
Students will have the opportunity to live and work out of the scenic Verde Valley School, an international college preparatory boarding and day school, in Sedona, AZ. Located under the rim of the Colorado Plateau at an elevation of 4,500 feet, the 1,317-acre site enjoys four mild seasons, plenty of sunshine and clean air. The red rock valley campus is surrounded on three sides by national forest land and offers beautiful surroundings for year-round outdoor activities.
Verde Valley School Campus, Sedona, AZ
While based at the Verde Valley School, full-day or overnight visits will include important sites in Northern Arizona. These sites are the basis of the design project in the studio.
Arcosanti, Mayer, AZ (overnight)
Waddell Studio and Sculpture Garden, Cornville, AZ (multiple days)
Capricorn Hill Center for Surrealism (Max Ernst & Dorothea Tanning home/studio), Sedona, AZ
Sedona Arts Center, Sedona, AZ
Chapel of the Holy Cross, Sedona, AZ
Shash Dine EcoRetreat, Page, AZ (overnight)
Antelope Canyon, Page, AZ
Grand Canyon National Park
Additional activities in the Phoenix area will take place at:
Cattle Track Arts Compound (and TSOA’s home base), Scottsdale, AZ (overnight)
Taliesin West, Scottsdale, AZ (full day)
... and more!
Top to bottom: Ceramics Apse at Arcosanti, AZ ; Grand Canyon; Shash Dine EcoRetreat; Taliesin West Drafting Studio
Sedona is known for its stunning landscapes and red rock formations, of which Cathedral Rock and Bell Rock are two of the many iconic sandstone geological landmarks that define Sedona’s visual identity. Sedona is a renowned arts destination and is home to many artists and creatives. Students will have the opportunity to experience a rich tradition of arts and design that is deeply rooted in the landscape and its communities.
Chapel of the Holy Cross, Sedona, AZ (Image Credit: Bernard Spragg); Capricorn Hill Center for Surrealism, Sedona, AZ (Image Credit: Surreal Sedona)
At the heart of the Summer Immersion program will be a short design studio. Students will design a small public proposal informed by field trips, seminars, and workshops. They will imagine how local culture, climate, materiality, and landscape can inform design within the high desert.
This year, students will design a network of Welcome Pavilions that connect several historic sites of intellectual, artistic, and architectural experimentation in Arizona. Throughout the design process, students will have the opportunity to engage with real-world stakeholders, artists and architects.
The location options for the Welcome Pavilions will include the following:
Verde Valley School, Sedona, AZ (Program Home Base)
Waddell Studio and Sculpture Garden, Cornville, AZ
Arcosanti, Mayer, AZ
We will have the opportunity to spend extended time at each location at the beginning of the program.
Waddell Studio and Sculpture Garden, Cornville, AZ (top); Arcosanti, Mayer, AZ (bottom)
Waddell Studio and Sculpture Garden, Cornville, AZ (top); Arcosanti, Mayer, AZ (bottom)
Stephanie Lin is the Dean of The School of Architecture and the founder of Present Forms, a design practice that explores the techniques and reciprocities of materials, media, and space. Present Forms is a member of design collective Office III, a 2017 finalist in the MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program. Stephanie was the recipient of the AIA AZ 2023 Design Pedagogy Award for her teaching at TSOA.
Students and Faculty at TSOA
Throughout the program you will be joined by TSOA’s M.Arch students, faculty, and alumni.
John Waddell Studio, Cornville, AZ
Design seminars or workshops conducted by guest artists and architects will take place in coordination with themes presented across studio exercises and field trips.
Family Dinner at TSOA
The School’s small scale facilitates an individualized experience and fosters a close and dynamic relationship between students, faculty, visiting guests and staff. As a part of the Summer Immersion Program, students will contribute to daily community life and activities such as preparing meals, planning events, and engaging with a larger design community. The majority of community life activities will take place at the Verde Valley School, where student housing is located.
Please find a detailed schedule here.
All Immersion participants will be expected to participate in:
Summer Immersion Studio
(3 days/week, 3.5 hrs/day)
Field Trips, Workshops and Seminars(varies weekly)
Community Life
(weekly dinners, events, and/or group student activities)
Additionally, participants will have the opportunity to audit M.Arch Courses:
ARC 503 Experimental Studio
ARC 533 Experimental Media Seminar
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Student work on display at the Taliesin West Drafting Studio, Spring 2025
Sunday, July 6: Arrivals at the Verde Valley School, Welcome
Monday, July 7: Orientation, first day of classes
Tuesday, July 8: Site visit to Waddell Studio and Sculpture Garden, Cornville, AZ
Friday-Saturday, July 11-12: Overnight at Arcosanti, Mayer, AZ
Tuesday-Wednesday, July 15-16: Overnight at Shash Dine EcoRetreat; visits to Antelope Canyon and the Grand Canyon
Sunday-Monday July 20-21: Overnight at Cattle Track Arts; Day at Taliesin West
July 24: Studio Final Review
July 25: Wrap-up, Final Celebration
July 27: Move-Out of Verde Valley School
$4,800*
On-campus dorm housing from July 6 – July 27, 2025
Meals: 3 meals on weekdays, 2 meals on weekends
Basic materials for studio exercises
Group transportation for required field trips
Use of TSOA school car with proof of license and insurance
*Program Fees will be credited toward tuition should a participant decide to enroll in our Master of Architecture degree program. Participants will receive 2 elective credit hours toward their degree at TSOA.
Airfare
Transportation to/from airport (pickup available on July 6 from Groome Shuttle stop at Element Sedona)
Transportation outside of required field trips, and final project materials; ridesharing can be coordinated for participants without cars
Laptop
Camera/smartphone
Sketchbook and preferred sketching materials
Hiking footwear/clothing, hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, large water bottle
Clothing for temperatures 60-deg - 100-deg weather
Semi-formal attire (1 evening)
Register Now
For more information on the Summer Immersion Program, please contact admissions@tsoa.edu
Participants of all levels are welcome and a background in architecture is not required. This program is contingent upon a minimum enrollment; if this is not met, you will be notified by Admissions no later than May 18, 2025. In the case of program cancellation, deposits will be refunded.
