Fay Jones School to Host Both In-Person, Virtual Design Camps in Summer 2023

Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design

Nate Cole, left, an architecture student in the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, mentors students participating in the school's two-week Advanced Camp held on the U of A campus in summer 2022.

Again this summer, the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design will host four different sessions of Design Camp, including three in-person camps on the U of A campus in Fayetteville and a virtual camp.

The 2023 Design Camp sessions include two distinct week-long in-person camps, a school-guided virtual camp and, for the second year, a two-week-long in-person residential advanced camp. Registration is open for all the camp sessions on the school's website.

Design Camp offers students a chance to learn about architecture and design and to explore what those look like as potential future careers. Each session of Design Camp incorporates the three disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture and interior architecture and design and offers projects that include all three design areas. Students have the chance to learn new skills, including sketching and observation, how to analyze a site and how to approach a design problem from conception and early ideation through completion, most often in the form of scale models and drawings.

"Design Camp is a fantastic opportunity for young students to learn about the design professions and to try on being a designer for a week," said Alison Turner, a teaching assistant professor of architecture and the school's director of community education. "If a student is interested in designing, building, drawing or aspects of the built environment like sustainability, resiliency and problem-solving, then a career in the design professions may be the right fit for them."

Two week-long camps, Fayetteville Camps 1 and 2, take place on campus June 12-16 and June 19-23. These are open to students entering ninth through 12th grades. Students also have the option to stay overnight in a campus residence hall for each of these camps.

"During the week of camp, students will have opportunities to work through design problems, meet other students with similar interests, interact with Fay Jones School faculty and students, meet design professionals in our community and tour design projects," Turner said.

Last summer, the Fay Jones School offered the first two-week Advanced Camp on campus to meet the needs of more experienced campers. Advanced Camp, which this year takes place June 11-23, is open to students entering 11th and 12th grades who have previous design experience. Students in this camp stay in a campus residence hall and have planned evening and weekend activities, including field trips.

"The Advanced Camp offers a more immersive experience for students who are serious about going into the design field," Turner said. "It is only for upper year level students who have either attended our camp before and would like to learn more, or who have design experience through a high school class or a community project. Because Advanced Camp lasts two weeks, students have the chance to tackle a more complicated design problem, interact with multiple Fay Jones School faculty and students, and see more examples of design in our community."

In addition to learning about design, students in the in-person camp sessions will get to experience what it is like to be on the U of A campus. They will spend some time during camp touring the campus and learning about some of the resources available for university students on campus.

The Virtual Camp session will be June 26-30, and it is open to students entering eighth through 12th grades. The camp will use an online learning platform with the Design Camp lessons embedded, and students will meet daily via Zoom sessions with the school's design faculty and students for discussions, feedback and guidance.

The cost for the weeklong Fayetteville Camps 1 and 2 is $400 for the day camp only and $700 for the residential camp. The cost for the two-week Fayetteville Advanced Camp is $1,650. There is no charge for the Virtual Camp, but an optional materials kit is available for $30. Materials and meals are provided for each in-person camp. A limited number of need-based full and partial scholarships are available.

Registration is required for all camps, and the registration deadline is May 19. Those who register by March 10 will receive an early-bird discount. More details and registration links can be found on the Design Camp page on the school's website.

Get a peek at the Design Camp experience in this video.

For more information, contact faycamp@uark.edu.