The Los Angeles Institute of Architecture and Design (LAIAD) is a small private architecture school founded in 2001 to provide an alternative way for students to begin their education in architecture or interior design.

Our mission is to provide an unsurpassed and affordable education for a small group of talented and motivated students who will be prepared to excel at the schools they transfer to or enroll in.

The LAIAD Architecture Transfer Program and Interior Design Transfer programs are for students who intend to transfer with advanced placement into a Bachelor of Architecture Program or Bachelor of Interior Design program.

The LAIAD Graduate Preparation Program is for students who already have a Bachelors degree in another discipline and want to get a Master of Architecture Degree.

The LAIAD Advanced Studies in American Space Program is a theoretical studio intended for advanced students and practicing professionals.

Currently, our undergraduate transfer program students are successfully transferring with advanced placement into leading architecture and design schools such as SCI-Arc and Otis Art Institute, and our graduate preparation students are being accepted (some with substantial scholarships) at universities such as Harvard, MIT, Yale, Penn, University of Michigan, UCLA, SCI Arc, and Cal Poly Pomona.

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media

LAIAD IN THE MEDIA
, Architects Newspaper June 2012 issue
, Contract Magazine, June 2011
, Metropolis Magazine March 2011 issue
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VISITING LAIAD
Prospective applicants are encouraged to call to discuss their goals and questions, or to visit LAIAD. The best time to visit is Monday and Thursday evenings while studio classes are in session. You may call us at any time to discuss our programs. To speak with someone or to schedule an appointment, please contact us at 213.251.4500 or by email:






Please send requests for additional information to:


213.251.4500

MAILING ADDRESS
William Taylor, LAIAD Director
617 W 7th St. Suite 200
Los Angeles, CA 90017

STUDIO LOCATION
LAIAD
3807 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 330
Los Angeles, CA 90010



MEDIA AND PRESS INQUIRES:
Please contact Taylor & Company
310.247.1099



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The faculty at LAIAD has been selected not only for their expertise and accomplishments in the practice of architecture, but also for their commitment to innovation in education and their passion for design. Collectively, the faculty have teaching experience in many excellent architecture programs, have won literally dozens of significant design awards, and their work has been widely featured in major publications in the US and abroad.


William M. Taylor, AIA
Design Studio and Founding Director

William Taylor earned his Master of Architecture degree from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1981, with distinction, and his Bachelor of Architecture from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1976.

Before founding LAIAD in 2001, William has taught architectural design since 1983, with positions at Harvard University, the University of Houston, and at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, where he developed an innovative new program for basic architectural design. William is also a principal of Taylor Fierce Architects in Los Angeles, and is involved with a variety of local and international projects.


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Carl Smith, AIA
Design Studio and Co-Director

Carl Smith received his bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Cal Poly Pomona in 1997. Carl was a founding member of Telemachus Studio in 1995. His teaching experience includes 4th and 5th year design studios at Cal Poly Pomona that dealt with the integration of digitally-based entertainment and virtual-reality technologies into an urban environment.

Carl is currently a partner with William Adams, FAIA and has numerous built projects throughout the Los Angles area.

Carl Smith Work Carl Smith Work
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Bernard Zimmerman, FAIA
Co-founder

Bernard Zimmerman earned his Bachelor of Architecture with Honors at the University of California at Berkeley in 1953 and his Masters of Architecture and City & Regional Planning from the University of Southern California in 1955. He was Co-Founder of the Architecture Department at the School of Environmental Design, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, where he was a Professor of Architecture for 35 years. Bernard Zimmerman has also been a leading practitioner of architecture for over 40 years, and recently received a lifetime archievement award from the American Institute of Architects.


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Sean Finn Sean Finn, Architect
Adjunct Design Faculty

Sean Finn received a Master’s Degree in Architecture with Distinction from SCIArc in 2001. He received his Bachelor’s of Science in Architecture from the University of Virginia in 1995. Sean has taught at SCIArc and at UVA, and has been a visiting critic at Woodbury University and the University of Southern California. Sean is currently an Associate at DesignARC in Los Angeles. At the LAIAD, Sean teaches drawing and various computer applications as they relate to design.
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Alan Guillen

Alan Guillen
Adjunct Design Faculty

Alan Guillen earned his Bachelor of Architecture  from The Southern California Institute of Architecture (Sciarc) in 2008. Alan is currently an Assistant Designer on various restuarant  and hospitality  projects for Spacecraft Design Group, a Hollywood based design and construction firm. At the Los Angeles Institute of Architecture and Design, Alan has instructed courses on various computer applications as they relate to design, practice, and Focusing on implementation of the architectural language through those various mediums.

AG_WORK AG_WORK
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Heather R. Barker
Adjunct Design Faculty

Heather Barker earned her Master of Architecture degree, with distinction, from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-ARC) in 2001; a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1996 and has studied abroad at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and the Polytechnic University of Munich. She is Founding Director of ROAM Studio and a founding editor of ‘localskins’, a periodical exploring the character of place through local art and culture.
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Robert Claiborne, Architect
Adjunct Design Faculty

Robert Claiborne earned his Master of Architecture degree from Southern California Institute of Architecture in 1993 and his Bachelor of Architecture degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in 1985. Since 1993 Robert has worked with Daniel Libeskind in Los Angeles, Berlin, San Francisco and Denver, and now practices in Quebec, Canada. Robert has taught architectural design at the University of Southern California and California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
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Julian Ohlmaier
3D Computer Modeline and Rendering

Julian Ohlmaier earned his Bachelor of Architecture from California State Polytechnic University. Julian is currently a Project Designer on various retail, educational and residential projects at Taylor Fierce Orne Architecture. At the Los Angeles Institute of Architecture and Design, Julian has instructed courses on various computer applications as they relate to design and practice.
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Scott Parker, AIA
Adjunct Design Faculty

Scott Parker brings over seven years of teaching experience to LAIAD. He has taught computer design and architectural design at Otis College, Art Center College, Cal Poly Pomona, SCI Arc and USC. From 1999 to 2003 he was a partner in the firm Johnstone Parker Architecture. Since 2003 he has been Design Architect at Bauer and Wiley Architects, a leading Orange County architectural firm.
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