Join Our Summer Studio, Starts June 6
This is a three part course, structured to grow from beginner to advanced. Each session builds on the prior session.
Have you ever wondered what makes some architecture and design great? Join us as we lift the veil in this intense, private, hands-on design course in which you’ll learn how to use the same powerful geometric and classical principles that the most famous and remarkable architects and designers in historical and contemporary case studies used to generate new and extraordinary work.
This course bridges timeless design principles with contemporary practice, offering tools that enhance both conceptual clarity and technical execution. Students will produce original design work supported by critique and iterative refinement. Students will leave with a working knowledge of geometric design methods, classical proportion and order systems, and their applications in contemporary practice. Students who successfully complete the course will receive a certificate.
Anyone from any background or skill-level is welcome!
This studio teaches professional competencies essential to contemporary practice, including:
Design thinking and problem solving
Historical and theoretical grounding
Site analysis and contextual design
Communication and visual representation
Ethical clarity and professional judgment
Technical documentation and systems awareness
Project management and collaboration
Awareness of local building codes and regulatory frameworks
Students who successfully complete this course will receive a certificate for being able to:
Identify and draw classical orders, anatomical proportions, and sacred geometries using hand tools and observational techniques
Apply and generate architectural compositions and spatial narratives using classical principles and proportioning systems
Analyze and respond to site conditions, environmental factors, and community needs through contextual design thinking
Design and document a new public building, its materiality, ADA compliance, and its’ surrounding landscape using classical logic, zoning awareness, and symbolic anchoring
Integrate color theory and plant selection into landscape compositions with anchoring features
Present and critique design work clearly and ethically in structured studio settings
Collaborate and lead within small teams to manage timelines, refine proposals, and demonstrate holistic thinking in design practice
William Ross
AIA, ICAA, Forbes Business Council
Private Design Studio
100 South Juniper Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19109
June 6, 2026 – August 30, 2026
(22, 4-hour sessions meeting for 11 weeks, with a break for the 4th of July weekend.)
9am - 1pm
Max Enrollment: 3 Students
2pm - 6pm
Max Enrollment: 3 Students
$99 / class
$25 / hour
$76 / class
$19 / hour
Enter Code EARLY to apply this
$99 / class + third party fees
$25 / hour + third party fees
Financing Partners will facilitate this
Flourish Foundation reserves the right to award as many or as few applicants as it chooses.
(Required) Describe a building or place you encountered in real life that taught you something about design that you couldn’t have learned from a book or lecture. What did you learn? (Max 5,100 characters, approx. 850 words)
(Required) Please share one original project you created unaided (real or imagined) that demonstrates your architectural thinking, spatial reasoning, and design logic as applied to the built environment at a variety of scales. Upload a single PDF (max 10MB).
There is no class July 4th and 5th for the Fourth of July weekend.