Dezeen School Shows: a care centre that connects people living with dementia with past memories is included in Dezeen's latest school show by students at California Baptist University.

Also featured is an installation informed by the patterns found in plants and a poetry museum that aims to highlight poetic reflection.

California Baptist University

Institution: California Baptist University
School: College of Architecture, Visual Arts and Design
Course: Architecture Program
Tutors: Krysten Burton, Ryan Chung, Susan Duemer, Aaron Greene, Keelan Kaiser, Young Lee, Matthew Niermann, David Ogoli, Katherine Papineau, Mark Roberson, Karim Youssef and Jacob Slagill

School statement:

"California Baptist University (CBU) architecture students design for the public good. The architecture programme at CBU prepares students to serve as design professionals rooted in the Christian faith tradition.

"This unique approach to architectural education encourages students to be inspired and guided by faith perspectives as they endeavour to serve the public good.

"The CBU architecture programme offers an accelerated five-year accredited Master of Architecture degree in the Inland Empire area of Southern California, USA, and features a variety of opportunities for interdisciplinary inquiry, professional development, and global study and engagement.

"The design curriculum within the CBU architecture programme emphasises an analytical and data-driven approach to understanding the impact of architecture on human experience and the natural environment across a range of project types.

"The work in this school show represents the imagination of a plurality of questions and courses by students who, as a whole, participate in critical investigations of design, material, and the ephemeral."

Redlands Theatre by Karissa Mortiz

"The land on which this theatre is developed was once considered prosperous by indigenous people. This project seeks to address contemporary prosperity theology through a regenerative approach to the theatre, restoring the native site.

"Thin and translucent architecture completes the aesthetic approach."

Student: Karissa Mortiz
Course: ARC310 Performance Design
Tutor: Karim Youssef

Skywell Christian Study Centre by Christopher Diaz

"This centre aims to strengthen the connection between people and God. Taking inspiration from Abbot Suger and contemporary methods, this project seeks to direct an upward gaze through volumetric and spatial assemblies.

"The roof bends and lifts from base to apex, finished with a cascading exterior tiling system to form programmatic volumes that are dynamically stacked to complete the volumetric effects desired by the designer."

Student: Christopher Diaz
Course: ARC410 Sacred Space
Tutor: Karim Youssef

Wrightwood Memory Care by Amalia Sosa

"Creating liveable spaces for seniors battling the impact of dementia and Alzheimer's disease is the focus of this project. The fluid and continuous circulation between residences and services is prioritised as well as a direct connection to nature.

"Materiality reminiscent of a domestic environment is created with a sense of optimism and hope."

Student: Amalia Sosa
Course: ARC510 Advanced Studio
Tutor: Keelan Kaiser

A Fullness of Ornament by Keiren Wright

"This botanical garden installation integrated in architecture is influenced by the contemporary role of patterns and motifs in the design of public park spaces.

"The research that informed the final design included biomimetic and metaphorical concepts of tapering, integrated elements, peeling, part-to-whole, intricacy, swirling and natural order."

Student: Keiren Wright
Course: ARC512 Thesis
Tutor: Matthew Niermann

Sanctuary of Reflection by Sarah Schoeber

"An idea about reading and reflection led to this imaginative project, which is a poetry museum featuring a collection of spaces that highlight the experience of poetic reflection.

"Introspective participation and immersion drove the design, providing users with a spatial experience by combining poetry and education."

Student: Sarah Schoeber
Course: ARC210 Intermediate Design
Tutor: Aaron Greene

Alignment, Housing and Urban Agriculture by Cabot Ferguson

"This urban infill project imagines synthetic housing and urban agriculture – it responds to an unusual site geometry, taking advantage of the inherent form-generating value within.

"Situated adjacent to the High Line in New York City, USA, the design responds with a prominent void following the direction of the High Line, offering vegetated public spaces on the ground and third floor.

"This void aims to connect the structure to the users on the street and around the neighbourhood."

Student: Cabot Ferguson
Course: ARC310 Mixed Use
Tutor: Ryan Chung

Lighthouse Christian Study Centre by Alyssa Lee

"The centre acts as a beacon of light and hope within its community – light emanates through a carefully composed envelope created with a regular pattern of gently tapering and twisting vertical facade members and continuous glazing.

"Inside the building, daylight and surface reflections create a sense of uniformity and synthesis, while each expressed facade member is uniquely machined and milled."

Student: Alyssa Lee
Course: ARC410 Sacred Space
Tutor: Matthew Niermann

Riverside Ecology Charter School by Christopher Diaz

"This project is an entry for the Committee on the Environment (COTE) Top Ten for Students competition, shaping a high school charter school around the subject of ecology for college preparation in STEM fields.

"A range of shapes, forms and voids mimic biological traits like diversity and regeneration.

"A restrained material palette reinforces the spatial and volumetric composition, anchoring this proposal onto an important semi-urban corner on Mission Avenue, USA."

Student: Christopher Diaz
Course: ARC510 Advanced Design
Tutor: Keelan Kaiser

Metamorfosi by Joao Vitor Cousseau Grazziotin

"The ability to see oneself is a feature of this design. Using an analogy of eyes, mirror and light, this project seeks to create a persuasive reflection of the theatre through a mirror and the use of light to represent performance.

"Metamorfosi aims to create a magical space that allows guests to reflect on themselves, their culture and their perspectives afresh. This experience then turns the guest around upon departing as a refreshed and renewed citizen."

Student: Joao Vitor Cousseau Grazziotin
Course: ARC312 Performance Design
Tutor: Krysten Burton

Wrightwood Memory Care by Aaron Gamez

"Creating liveable spaces for seniors battling the impact of dementia and Alzheimer's disease is the focus of this project.

"This design explores the value of prospect as a tool for connecting with deep memories, providing stability and calmness to combat confusion and loneliness.

"Producing familiar domestic comfort and emphasising a connection to nature in both the foreground and in the distance are priorities of this work."

Student: Aaron Gamez
Course: ARC510 Advanced Design
Tutor: Keelan Kaiser

Partnership content

This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and California Baptist University. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.