John Southern (M.Arch ‘02), a SCI-Arc alumnus, is principal of the Los Angeles architecture firm Urban Operations. His office specializes in design/build projects, installations, and research endeavors which seek to expand critical discourse within the design profession.

Urban Operations has extensive experience in collaboration and focuses on a variety of practical topics and conceptual avenues within contemporary culture. The firm's work has appeared in galleries and publications in both Europe and the US. Recent projects include a pocket park for the Silver Lake neighborhood in Los Angeles, an experimental hillside home, and a pair of CNC-fabricated formwork pieces entitled Diamond Dogs.