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The Nomadic Studio

The Nomadic Studio

Train your eye in our Nomadic Studio

The first phase of your Nomadic Studio experience begins at the end of your first year, when you will travel to Rome.* You’ll learn from architectural scholars and specialists as they explain the geometry and intentions behind the design of the 2,500-year-old city. You’ll draw and analyze the spaces you see as you walk the streets of Rome.

The streets are your classroom. Observation and analysis, through drawing, will be your teacher. This summer in Rome will prepare you for the second phase of your Nomadic Studio experience, in which you’ll travel abroad to experience and study design around the globe.

*Due to IU’s effort to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) we are canceling the Summer 2020 portion of the Nomadic Studio traveling to Rome. Students who intended to partake in Summer 2020 programming will attend in Summer 2021.

Your studio is anywhere in the world

During your third year, you will participate in the second phase of the Nomadic Studio, traveling to architecturally significant cities around the world.

While walking the streets of these unfamiliar urban areas, a sketchbook in hand, you will learn to analyze and interpret spaces and buildings, to see how architecture and design, filtered through the lenses of time and culture, permeate the streets and the spaces of each new city.

At the end of your travels, you will be able to compare and contrast these unforgettable cities based on your personal observations, experiences, and drawings. The lessons you will have learned will forever influence the synthetic and creative natures of your studio work as an architect.

In the summer of 2019, I attended the program’s three-week Rome seminar which proved to be an enlightening experience. Not only did I develop a skill for analyzing Roman architecture, but I was also exposed to new philosophies and value systems. Looking ahead, I am eager to build on these skills and garner new ones by participating in the program’s Nomadic Studio in the fall semester of 2020.
Mark Kebasso, J. Irwin Miller M.Arch Program student

Make international connections

The Nomadic Studio takes networking a step further, giving you the opportunity to meet, learn from, and collaborate with international architects and design scholars. These opportunities are promising not only for your global awareness and education as an architect, but for your future career.

Aid + alternatives

Fellowships are available to Miller M.Arch students for international travel. You also may choose to travel the Midwest or other regions of the United States to fulfill Nomadic Studio credit requirements.

Financial aid options

The Nomadic Studio provides opportunities for students to learn in other cultures and environments. This is absolutely critical in this global era.
Cynthia Weese, Partner, Weese Langley Weese Architects