A Case Study from the Boston Architectural College Summer Academy
Ottiya Magazine
From the Ottiya Magazine
This article reflects on an early experience observing creative, project-based learning in action. While originally written by our Founder, Rufina Park, before Ottiya formally launched as a magazine, the ideas explored here continue to shape how we think about creativity, structure, and learning by doing.
On July 30, I visited the Boston Architectural College to observe its Summer Academy Program, a four-week intensive experience for high school students. It was the final day before the student exhibition, and the open studio buzzed with quiet urgency as students made final adjustments to their models and presentations.
The studio walls were lined with maps of Boston, architectural drawings, and conceptual sketches—evidence of weeks spent exploring not just how buildings look, but how they function within a city.
Learning Architecture from Multiple Perspectives
As I entered the studio with Rex Tzen (M.Arch I Candidate, Harvard Graduate School of Design), one of the program’s instructors, I learned that each week focused on a different architectural lens. In the final week, students worked within studios dedicated to Guerrilla Architecture—temporary, rapidly deployable structures—and Spatial Poetry, a studio introducing students to building systems and program at an urban infill scale.
Leading up to this point, students were guided through a wide range of perspectives:
- documenting existing built environments
- reimagining familiar urban spaces
- balancing aesthetics with purpose
- considering the needs of cities, neighborhoods, and communities
Students were also encouraged to think beyond visual design—engaging all their senses by considering sound, texture, smell, and movement within space.
Designing with Empathy and Intention
In the Guerrilla Architecture studio, I spoke with Emily Noonan, a senior at Newburyport High School, who was designing a temporary public structure for an empty lot near the BAC. Her project included a colorful noise-canceling wall and a tent-like structure designed to provide shade and intimacy.
Her goal was simple but thoughtful: to create a place where people working nearby could pause, rest, and feel momentarily removed from the surrounding noise and heat. The design was not flashy, but deeply human.
Space as Poetry
In the Spatial Poetry studio, student Michael McCabe presented The Woven Path—a conceptual installation for a narrow urban plot between two buildings. His design imagined a basalt path weaving through dense bamboo, punctuated by a small cascading pond. The intention was to create a space so enclosed that the surrounding city disappeared.
Listening to Michael describe his project brought to mind the Korean word for “rest,” 휴식 (hyu-shik)—a word derived from the Chinese characters (休息). The first character is a person (人) standing beside a tree (木) and the second character symbolizes when the heart (心) is alone (自).
As Rex noted during the critique, the design was “simple, but not simplistic.”
Structure Enables Creativity
Across studios, one theme stood out clearly: students were given freedom within structure.
They weren’t handed unlimited options, nor were they constrained by rigid formulas. Instead, each studio set clear goals and boundaries, within which students explored, experimented, and made meaning. Feedback focused not only on aesthetics, but on whether a design fulfilled its purpose.
This balance—between rules and freedom—allowed creativity to flourish without descending into chaos.
What This Teaches Us About Creative Education
Conversations about creativity in education often sound abstract. Sir Ken Robinson’s famous talk, “Do Schools Kill Creativity?”, continues to spark debate, yet implementing creativity in real classrooms remains difficult—especially within systems built on standardization.
The BAC Summer Academy offers a compelling case study. It shows that creativity doesn’t require abandoning structure. Instead, it thrives when:
- goals are clear
- constraints are intentional
- students are trusted to explore within them
Creativity, in this sense, is not a lack of rules—but a thoughtful relationship with them. These ideas echo the philosophy shared by Linda Liukas, creator of Hello Ruby, who emphasizes creativity, curiosity, and starting small as the foundation of learning.
Explore more from the Ottiya Magazine and discover how our early ideas continue to shape our work today.
Today, that same spirit lives on through Ottiya’s courses, songs, and stories—designed to help kids learn through creativity, connection, and play.
