About SPIKE STUDIO

Mentoring Creative Futures

Our Mission

To mentor, educate, and develop creative abilities in youth to promote greater access to careers in architecture, engineering, construction, and development

SPIKE Studio activates its mission by creating engaging, informative, and interactive programs for teens. Through our Summer Academy, Catalyst programs, school presentations, and special events, we inspire students to become better creative thinkers and problem-solvers, learning from industry professionals, expanding their creativity, exploring community and site challenges, and sketching and modeling building solutions for real-life projects.

What We Do

SPIKE Studio was created to expand access, opportunities, and professional networks for youth in the built environment, particularly those from under-resourced communities. We inspire the next generation of architects, engineers, construction, and development professionals through immersive design education for middle and high school students. We don't JUST want to expand opportunity, but also to spark joy, curiosity, and confidence. We offer hands-on experiences that ignite imagination and teach students to think and build with their minds, hands, and hearts—countering an over-reliance on screens and nurturing the tangible skills today’s design industries still value.

Objectives

SPIKE Studio empowers Atlanta’s youth by addressing critical gaps in education, career readiness, and representation in the fields of architecture, engineering, construction, and development.

We are devoted to excellence in teaching, learning, and developing leaders who can make a difference in the built environment, locally and globally. Through hands-on exposure, university partnerships, and mentorship, SPIKE Studio inspires students to pursue higher education, tap into their creativity, and explore entrepreneurial and career pathways in the built environment.

History

SPIKE Studio, formerly The Atlanta Center for Creative Inquiry (ACCI), was founded in 2004 by Oscar “Spike” Harris, FAIA—architect, community leader, Fellow within the American Institute of Architects, and Carnegie Mellon trustee—in partnership with Georgia Tech and Benjamin E. Mays High School. As an African-American business owner, professional architect, and active community member, Spike was inspired to mentor high school students in architecture and design, especially those with limited access to these fields. Inspired by earlier design initiatives, SPIKE Studio became an independent nonprofit in 2009. Since its launch, SPIKE Studio has mentored hundreds of students across metropolitan Atlanta about architecture, engineering, construction, development, and the creative fields.