The Free School of Architecture (FSA), the first tuition-free school of the world, has announced its inaugural student class for 2017. 30 students drawn from across the globe will join the recently launched, tuition-free Los Angeles based school. 6 standby positions will be offered to supplement the class, bringing the 2017 FSA student body size to 36 students or three times the school’s initial goal of sitting 12 students.

Reflective of FSA’s ambitions to promote diversity and free access to knowledge, the school’s student body make up is a barometer of the issues and challenges facing the academy and the profession.

Free School of Architecture Board of Advisors 2017–18. Image courtesy Free School of Architecture

Recently, the FSA announced its Board of Advisors for 2017-18. Drawn from the fields of education, community activism, journalism, publication, art and architecture, the FSA Board of Advisors will act as the school’s brain trust, offering expertise and advice on FSA pedadgogical and disciplinary direction as well as the school's long range mission. 

Importantly, the FSA Board of Advisors will play a pivotal role in the formation of the school’s Executive Board, guiding the school to 501c3 non-profit status in 2018.

The Free School of Architecture 17 member board is made up (photograph left to right, top to bottom): Edgar Arceneaux, artist and Founder, Watts House Project; Los Angeles, California, Nicholas Boyarsky, PhD Director, Boyarsky and Murphy Architects; Faculty, Oxford Brookes University; London, United Kingdom, Dora Epstein-Jones, PhD Executive Director, Architecture + Design Museum; Los Angeles, California, , Marie-Hélène Fabre, architect, Studio manager, Didier Fiúza Faustino / Mésarchitecture; Paris, France, Eva Franch, Chief Curator and Executive Director, Storefront for Art and Architecture; New York, New York, Viviana Franco, Founder and Executive Director, From Lot to Spot; Los Angeles, California, Cesar Garcia, Founder and Director, the Mistake Room; Los Angeles, California, Jorge Gracia, Architect and Founder, Escuela Libre de Arquitectura; Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, Harriet Harriss, Senior Tutor, Royal College of Art; London, United Kingdom, Alfonso Medina, Architect, T-38 Studio; New York, New York and Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, William Menking, Founder and Editor, The Architect’s Newspaper; New York, New York, Yunhee Min, artist, Associate Professor, University of California, Riverside; Los Angeles, California, Paul Preissner, Architect, Paul Preissner Architects; Associate Professor, UIC; Chicago, Illinois, Mohamed Sharif, Architect, Sharif Lynch Architecture; Lecturer UCLA AUD; Los Angeles, California, Stephen Slaughter, architect, Assistant Professor, University of Cincinnati; Cincinnati, Ohio, Mabel Wilson, PhD Associate Professor, Columbia University GSAAP; New York, New York, Mimi Zeiger, critic and curator; Los Angeles, California.

The Free School of Architecture (FSA) is a tuition free, not-for-profit organization. Founded by educator and designer Peter Zellner in 2016, the Free School of Architecture will explore the edges of architectural education—promoting free inquiry, free discourse and free debate.

FSA will launch June 1, 2017 with a class of 36 students and a faculty of 10 teachers—offering 12 courses over the span of 6 weeks. By 2019, FSA is hoping to accept up to 48 students and will cap out at 72 students by 2020.

FSA’s classes will be organized into 5 topical course bundles or packets focused on:

–Architectural History and Theory
–Design and Aesthetic Theory
–Practical and Vocational Topics
–Philosophy
–General Studies

See FSA's new student list for 2017 that is diverse, global and inclusive:

Norah Altwaijri, West Hollywood, California

Eric Baldwin, Culver City, California

Roni Zachor Barak, Berlin, Germany

Patrice Chang, Alhambra, California

Ruta Cicenaite, Alytus, Lithuania

Elisha Cohen, Oakland, California

Javier Fresneda, San Diego, California

Jennifer Garrison, Brooklyn, New York

Andrew K. Green, Lancashire, UK

Nikole Guzman, Los Angeles, California

Gayane Hamazaspyan, Yerevan, Armenia

Crystal Huang, Duarte, California

Miriam Jacobsen, Los Angeles, California

Andrew Jennings, Chicago, Illinois

Eira Mooney, London, UK

Robert Mothershed, Alhambra, California

Connor Murphy-Boyd, Sierra Madre, California

Benjamin N. Ortega, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Morgen Peers, East York, Canada

Christiana Pitsillidou, Parnithos, Cyprus

Alvaro Puertas Villavicencio, Lima, Perú

Harsha Royyuru, Los Angeles, California

Julius Saptian, Jakarta, Indonesia

Jonathan Sharp, Los Angeles, California

Emily L. Silva, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Charlotte Spitzfaden, New Canaan, Connecticut

Aleksander Tokarz, Mexico City, Mexico

Dexter Walcott, Fort Smith, Arkansas

Sam Winks, Ridgewood, New York

Philippine Wright, Colchester, UK

Top image © FSA

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