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The Kempner Institute, Mayer, AZ
TSOA is pleased to announce our 2026 Summer Immersion experience, hosted by the Kempner Institute for Sustainable Living & Education on the former site of the historic Orme School in Mayer, AZ. TSOA’s Summer Immersion continues the ritual of the “migration”—the school’s annual road trip to cooler temperatures during the summer months. This year, we will spend the season in the high-desert landscape of the Prescott National Forest. The Summer Immersion Program welcomes participants of all backgrounds, whether or not they have experience in architecture, to join our small community of M.Arch students and faculty during the summer semester. Participants will engage in an introductory design studio, visit iconic examples of architecture and creative community throughout the state, while experiencing TSOA’s distinctive educational model of Learning By Doing.
The final program is still in development. In previous years, field trips have included Arcosanti, Waddell Studio and Sculpture Garden, the Capricorn Hill Center for Surrealism, the Grand Canyon, Biosphere 2, Taliesin West, Cattle Track Arts, and more.
Students will have the opportunity to live and work at the scenic Kempner Institute, located on 300 acres of high-desert ranch land surrounded by the Prescott National Forest. The campus—formerly the historic Orme School, a college-preparatory boarding school that closed in 2025—features modern facilities and ample spaces for living, dining, and learning, anchored by historic stone-and-timber buildings set within a high-desert bosque of native cottonwood, sycamore, ash, and juniper trees. Located at an elevation of 4,000 feet and nestled between Prescott, Sedona and the Verde Valley, the campus offers a temperate climate in the early summer and is surrounded by miles of open landscape offering access to hiking, ancient cultural sites and some of the most dramatic geology in the Southwest. The Kempner Institute is a living laboratory dedicated to experimental education in regenerative architecture, agriculture, and regional land management. The campus includes a network of spaces for exploring permaculture design, dryland agriculture, and sustainable food systems, alongside natural building and sustainable construction. The site features an organic farm, orchards, a working ranch, and future plans for a farm-to-table culinary school.
Kempner Institute, Mayer, AZ
Old Main
Dining Hall
Herb Garden
While based at the Kempner Institute, full-day or overnight visits will include important sites throughout Arizona and will help inform the studio design project.
The program is still being finalized. Past trips have included:
Arcosanti, Mayer, AZ
Waddell Studio and Sculpture Garden, Cornville, AZ
Capricorn Hill Center for Surrealism (Max Ernst & Dorothea Tanning home/studio), Sedona, AZ
Sedona Arts Center, Sedona, AZ
Chapel of the Holy Cross, Sedona, AZ
Cattle Track Arts Compound (and TSOA’s home base), Scottsdale, AZ
Taliesin West, Scottsdale, AZ
Biosphere 2, Oracle, AZ
Alexander Pancho Memorial Farm, Kawulk, AZ
...and more!
Top to bottom: Ceramics Apse at Arcosanti, AZ ; Grand Canyon; Biosphere 2; Taliesin West Drafting Studio
At the heart of the Summer Immersion program will be a short design studio sited at the Alexander Pancho Memorial Farm, a 40-acre traditional dryland farm and open classroom for native food cultivation on the Tohono O’odham Nation operated for generations by the Johnson family. The family is currently developing a master plan for the farm in order to expand their work, a multi-faceted practice rooted in a movement that looks to the O’odham Himdag, the ancient life ways of the Tohono O’odham people, to create solutions for the future. From developing and disseminating traditional crafts to promoting Native Food Sovereignty, the Johnson’s practice is a form of cultural revitalization in the service of community continuity, health, economic development and climate action.Students will design an education pavilion for the Pancho farm informed by local culture, climate and materiality. Seminars, workshops and field trips to iconic like-minded experimental creative communities will guide students through the design process. Students will have the opportunity to engage with real-world stakeholders, artists and architects, including a Native foods event and demonstration hosted by the Johnson family.
Alexander Pancho Memorial Farm, Kawulk, AZ
Chris Lasch is the President of The School of Architecture. Chris is a teacher, practitioner, and researcher dedicated to experimental architecture. Established in 2003 with Benjamin Aranda, his studio Aranda\Lasch approaches design through a deep investigation of structure and materials. Recognition includes the United States Artists Award, Young Architects Award, Design Vanguard Award, AD Innovators, and the Architectural League Emerging Voices Award. Their early projects are the subject of the best-selling architecture book, Pamphlet Architecture 27: Tooling. Aranda\Lasch has exhibited internationally in galleries, museums, design fairs and biennials. Their work is part of the permanent collection of the MoMA in New York and the Heard Museum in Phoenix. Chris Lasch is based in Tucson, AZ
Students and Faculty at TSOA
Throughout the program you will be joined by TSOA’s M.Arch students, faculty, and alumni.
John Waddell Studio, Cornville, AZ
Design seminars or workshops conducted by guest artists and architects will take place in coordination with themes presented across studio exercises and field trips.
Family Dinner at TSOA
The School’s small scale facilitates an individualized experience and fosters a close and dynamic relationship between students, faculty, visiting guests and staff. As a part of the Summer Immersion Program, students will contribute to daily community life and activities such as preparing meals, planning events, and engaging with a larger design community. The majority of community life activities will take place at the Kempner Institute, where student housing is located.
$4,800*
On-campus dorm housing from June 7 – June 28, 2026
Meals included
Basic materials for studio exercises
Group transportation for required field trips
*Program Fees will be credited toward tuition should a participant decide to enroll in our Master of Architecture degree program. Participants will receive 2 elective credit hours toward their degree at TSOA.
Airfare
Transportation to/from airport (airport pickup available on June 7)
Transportation outside of required field trips, and final project materials; ridesharing can be coordinated for participants without cars
Laptop
Camera/smartphone
Sketchbook and preferred sketching materials
Hiking footwear/clothing, hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, large water bottle
Clothing for temperatures 60-deg - 100-deg weather
Register Now
For more information on the Summer Immersion Program, please contact admissions@tsoa.edu
Participants of all levels are welcome and a background in architecture is not required. This program is contingent upon a minimum enrollment; if this is not met, you will be notified by Admissions no later than May 4, 2026. In the case of program cancellation, deposits will be refunded.
