Beginning with early career exploration through Blueprints to Build, middle and high school students continue to develop their creativity and technical skills in the Sketch Series, explore higher education through college tours, and gain guidance from industry mentors and Bill Harrison Foundation Scholars, Each experience is designed to build confidence, expand access, and create opportunities for long-term success.
We believe representation matters. By connecting students with accomplished architects, designers, engineers, and industry leaders who invest in their growth, we are developing a more diverse and inclusive pipeline of future professionals. As students progress through the Foundation, many return to mentor the next generation, creating a lasting cycle of opportunity, leadership, and impact that honors Bill Harrison's legacy and strengthens the future of the design professions.
Blueprints to Build Workshop:
An 8-Session Workshop for Young Designers
Dive into the complete homebuilding journey with our immersive eight-session workshop. From the first sketch to the final flourish, students explore every stage of residential architecture, construction, and interior design. Participants engage with industry experts, experience hands-on site visits, and explore landscape design. The series culminates in a practical, interactive project: building a custom designer showhouse model. Students will bring their unique visions to life and proudly showcase their finished models to professionals during a final presentation at the Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles Southeastern Designer Showhouse.
Summer Sketching Series:
Unlocking Architectural Thinking
Introduce middle and high school students to the power of visual communication through our dynamic, two-session sketching workshop. Designed for creative minds, this series explores how architects use drawing to express ideas and build businesses. Students gain skills in visual thinking, quick perspective sketching, depth and dimension, fand presentation impact. Through rapid-fire exercises, participants will learn to sketch spaces confidently, bringing their unique design concepts to life on paper.
College Tours
The Bill Harrison Foundation's College Tours provide high school students with firsthand exposure to architecture and design programs at colleges and universities, helping them envision what is possible for their future.
During each visit, students explore architecture and design studios, meet with faculty and current college students, learn about admissions requirements and academic expectations, and experience what a typical day in the life of a college student looks like. These immersive experiences help students make informed decisions about their educational journey while increasing their confidence to pursue degrees in architecture, design, and related fields.
For many participants, a college tour is the moment they begin to see themselves as future architects, designers, and industry leaders.
