Art Center College of Design (aka "Art Center") is a private college located in Pasadena, California, and was cited by BusinessWeek as one of the 60 best design schools in the world.[1] The College logo is an orange circle, also known as the Art Center "Dot", which has been a part of the College identity since its inception by Tink Adams[2]. Art Center offers undergraduate and graduate programs in a variety of art and design fields, as well as public programs for children and continuing studies serving the Los Angeles community. Art Center is particularly known for its Transportation (Automobile) Design, Product Design and Entertainment Design programs. It also has notable photography, graphic design, advertising design, illustration, fine art, film, environmental design programs. Art Center offers graduate degrees in Fine Art, Media Design, Broadcast Cinema and Industrial Design. The College maintains two campuses in Pasadena; both are considered architecturally notable.
Art Center built its reputation as a vocational school, essentially, preparing returning GIs for work in the commercial arts fields. It has traditionally maintained a strong "real world" focus, emphasizing craftsmanship, technique, and professionalism while somewhat de-emphasizing theory. Instructors are working professionals, for the most part, and projects are intended to map to real-life assignments with some being sponsored by industry or nonprofit organizations including Nike, Disney, NASA, and BMW. During the past decade, Art Center has developed programs and projects that focus on design's potential to generate positive social change and improve people's lives through the College-wide initiative, Designmatters. In recognition of Art Center's commitment to addressing social and humanitarian issues through design, in 2003 Art Center became the first design college to ever receive NGO (non-governmental organization) status by the United Nations.
Art Center offers programs year-round with three terms per year. While undergraduates can obtain a four-year Bachelor degree in about 2 years and 8 months (8 terms total), most students take a term off for independent study, part-time "lite" terms, or to complete industry internships, lengthening their stay to 3+ years. The accelerated learning environment stems from the college's trade school roots. Administrators and faculty want to develop "real world" work scenarios as much as possible, in which there are no summer vacations.
Art Center is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges[1] and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design[2].
History
Art Center was founded in 1930 in downtown Los Angeles as the Art Center School. During and after World War II, the Art Center ran a technical illustration program in conjunction with the California Institute of Technology. In 1947, the post-war boom in students caused the school to expand to a larger location in building of the former Cumnock School for Girls in the Hancock Park neighborhood, while still maintaining a presence at its original downtown location. The school began granting Bachelor's and Master's degrees in arts in 1949, and was fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges in 1955. In 1965, the school changed its name to Art Center College of Design. The school expanded its programs, including a film program in 1973. The school moved to its trademark Hillside Campus in Pasadena in 1976. The school operated the Art Center Europe in La Tour-de-Peilz, Switzerland for ten years starting in 1986. In 2003, the Art Center was granted Non-Governmental Organization status by the UN Department of Public Information. After mulling locations in Pasadena and downtown Los Angeles, Art Center opened the South Campus in Pasadena in 2004.
Facilities
Art Center College of Design maintains two campuses in Pasadena: Hillside Campus and South Campus.
Hillside Campus
Photo of Art Center during the night.
Designed by noted modernist architect Craig Ellwood, the Hillside Campus broke ground in November 1974. The trademark "bridge building" dramatically spanned an arroyo and roadway on 175 acres (0.71 km2) wooded in the hills above Pasadena. Opening in 1976, the building was later expanded with the south wing, designed by former Ellwood associate James Tyler, which was constructed between 1989-91. The Hillside Campus houses classrooms and studio space, multiple computer labs, a model shop with traditional tools as well as rapid prototyping technologies (5 axis CNC, laser-cutting, FDM 3D printing, and plaster 3D printing) and painting facilities, a Color, Material, and Trends Exploration Lab (CMTEL), an (Auto) Interior Simulation Lab, photo and film stages and printing/editing facilities, as well as a student gallery and an external exhibit gallery, both open to the public. The Hillside Campus has been designated as a historic monument by the City of Pasadena.[3].
South Campus
The South Campus opened in 2004 in a former aircraft-testing facility built during World War II. Renovated by the Santa Monica-based firm Daly Genik Architects, it houses the graduate art program and studios, a print shop, a letterpress studio, and a full range of public programs (Art Center at Night, Art Center for Kids, Design-Based Learning Lab), as well as a unique 16,000-square-foot (1,500 m2) exhibition space known as the Wind Tunnel. The award-winning building received the first LEED rating in the city of Pasadena and its sustainable features include a "green" roof and sculptural skylights made of Texlon ETFE. The Wind Tunnel has hosted major events including the biannual Art Center Design Conference, like 2008's "Serious Play"; an annual Summit on Sustainable Mobility; large exhibitions such as "Supersonic: 1 Wind Tunnel, 8 Schools, 120 Artists", "Gardenlab", and "Open House: Architecture and Technology for Intelligent Living" (with Vitra Design Museum); and various community meetings and events.
Notable alumni
Notable Faculty
See also
References
External links
Coordinates: 34°10′09″N 118°11′07″W / 34.16922°N 118.18522°W / 34.16922; -118.18522
