High School Students Imagine New Ideas for The Stitch

SPIKE Studio presents its annual STEM Summer Academies at Georgia Tech on June 5-9 and June 12-16, 2023, with Professor Jereme Smith.

This year, high school students will imagine the future of The Stitch, a massive infrastructure project that will connect Midtown with Downtown Atlanta. The Summer Academies program gives high school students valuable exposure to STEM careers in architecture, construction, and engineering. Participating students are given a real-world problem to solve, and during the week, they learn modeling, drawing, and structural skills to formulate a solution.

“The Stich is a decades-long issue," said SPIKE Studio Chairman Garfield Peart. "We are excited to see what brave new ideas these young men and women will imagine."

SPIKE Studio is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to mentor, educate, and develop creative abilities in youth to promote greater diversity in the architecture, engineering, and construction professions. Formerly The Atlanta Center for Creative Inquiry, SPIKE Studio was initiated in 2004 by Oscar “Spike” Harris, FAIA, CEO of Turner Associates/Architects & Planners, Inc., one of Atlanta’s leading architectural firms, and a Carnegie Mellon alumnus and trustee, in partnership with Georgia Institute of Technology and Benjamin E. Mays High School.

Oscar “Spike” Harris, was inspired to begin mentoring in creative design due to several influences, including the shockingly low numbers of minorities and women attending college and working professionally in architecture and his experience as an African-American business owner, professional architect, and active community member.

Visit spikestudio.org for more information.