By Melissa Alonso - June 3, 2026

For more than two decades, Spike Studio has helped students across metro Atlanta imagine futures they may have never seen for themselves before. 

This summer, that work continues through the renewed partnership between Spike Studio and the Georgia Tech College of Design, where middle and high school students will once again spend part of their summer immersed in architecture, engineering, construction, and design on Georgia Tech’s campus. 

But for Spike Studio founder Oscar Harris, the program was never simply about design.

It started with exposure.

“I could see that in certain communities, young people are not exposed to creativity, they’re not exposed to architecture, they’re not exposed to engineering, they’re not exposed to construction,” Harris said. “They’re pretty much not exposed to a lot of stuff, like a desert.”

Harris is one of Atlanta’s most influential architects, known for helping shape some of the city’s most recognizable public spaces and civic projects over the last four decades. Through Turner Associates Architects and Planners, he contributed to major projects including work at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and the iconic light towers at Centennial Olympic Park created for the 1996 Olympic Games. A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects—a distinction held by fewer than 3% of architects nationally—Harris has long paired professional achievement with mentorship and community engagement.

He traces the origins of Spike Studio back to the early 2000s after witnessing a student architecture outreach initiative at Carnegie Mellon University. Inspired by the impact the program had on students from Pittsburgh’s Hill District, where Harris himself was born, he returned to Atlanta determined to build something similar.

“I said, ‘I’m going to focus on something that I particularly like,’” Harris recalled. “So I went up to Benjamin Mays High School one day, walked in the door, and said I’d like to talk to the principal.”

That conversation became the foundation for what would eventually evolve into Spike Studio.

Soon after, Harris reached out to Georgia Tech.

“I said, ‘I want to talk to the dean of architecture,’” Harris said. “And he said, ‘Yeah, this sounds great. Let’s do it.’”

Today, Malik is watching students he once mentored enter architecture school, civil engineering programs, and construction management pathways.

“We’re pushing architecture, but we’re also pushing all different fields,” he said. “We’re seeing these students mature and develop and then go into the field.”

The impact, however, extends far beyond academics.

Spike Studio Executive Director Melody Harclerode recalled one student whose family later shared how transformative the program had been emotionally.

“Before the Summer Academy, they were really shy, more introverted,” Harclerode said. “By the end, you could see his face light up.”

She said the student initially did not even want to attend the program.

“To know that these guardians saw from day one that he didn’t even want to come to Spike Studio, and then by the end he was inspired and hopeful—that’s very heartwarming,” Harclerode said. “For some students, it’s not just about career aspirations. We’re helping them build life skills and find hope and inspiration.”

That sense of belonging is also central to why Georgia Tech continues investing in the partnership.

According to Javier Irizarry, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Outreach, the program aligns closely with one of the Institute’s core values: expanding access.

“The relationship has gone on for a long time,” Irizarry said. “What Spike Studio provides is about expanding access to education and expanding access to underrepresented communities.”

For many students, simply stepping onto campus can be transformational.

“We demystify Georgia Tech,” Harclerode said. “Students come here, they see these wonderful studios, they meet educators and professionals, and they realize, ‘Wow, this is possible for me.’”

As another summer approaches, that possibility continues to grow.

Students from communities across metro Atlanta—from southwest Atlanta to Rockdale County, Lithonia, Villa Rica, Union Grove, and beyond— will once again gather on Georgia Tech’s campus to sketch ideas, build models, collaborate with mentors, and imagine futures in the built environment.

An Eagle Scout, artist, mentor, and longtime advocate for expanding access to design professions, Harris said Spike Studio has always been rooted in one simple idea: helping students see possibilities for themselves that they may not have imagined before.

“The whole thing is just expansion,” he said. “Getting more people that don’t have the opportunity involved in these professions.”