President of Design for Disasters Foundation Vipavee Kunavichayanont MArch ’08 debuted the exhibition “Flood and Grandma Tiam’s Hats” at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. The exhibition ran for two weeks in November 2024 and was born from the collective efforts of over 100 artists, community members, and volunteers to support flood-affected communities in Thailand….
Presenting the MDE Trailer MDE is actively producing various videos that communicate the program to prospective students, employers, and the broader public. We began with the MDE trailer (below) and would be thrilled for you to share this within your own networks. We hope this is a resource for you in explaining MDE, especially if…
The Daniel Urban Kiley Teaching Fellowship is awarded to an emerging designer who demonstrates a promising trajectory towards consequential work in the design of the urban public realm. The Kiley Fellow will be appointed Lecturer in Landscape Architecture for the academic year. While the fellowship is awarded competitively on an annual or semi-annual basis, successful…
The Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) is pleased to announce C. Ronald Ostberg MArch ’68, Gretchen Schneider Rabinkin MArch ’97, Harry G. Robinson, III MCPUD ’73 and Calvin Tsao MArch ’79 as the 2024 recipients of the Harvard GSD Alumni Award. The award, now in its fourth year, honors outstanding leadership by GSD alumni…
The Harvard University Graduate School of Design’s Alumni Council and Frances Loeb Library are pleased to honor three students with the 2024 Unsung Hero Book Prize. This year’s honorees are Ashutosh Lohana MDes ’24, Makio Yamamoto MLA ’25, MUP ’25, and Steve Hemmann MRE ’25. “The GSD is a truly global community, and when we look at our…
Celeste Martore’s journey to completing her master of architecture at the GSD followed a nontraditional path that started on the soccer field, in theaters, and on film sets. Celeste attended UC Berkeley to play soccer and earned her undergraduate degree in sustainable environmental design. With the rigors of collegiate soccer, she was unable to pursue…
“You’ll be looking at industrial buildings in a design class, and then the next day in a finance class you’ll have a guest lecturer who built an entire investment trust focused on industrial properties. He’ll make an offhand comment—something about the square footage of the building. And you realize: I know exactly what he’s talking…
“Why do drains look the way they look? Why is the mulch higher here, and why is it that color? Why does that stormwater drain sit the way it does? Whatever I make in life, I hope someone asks, ‘Why did you do this that way?’ because we can’t be confident that everything that’s been…
Annual giving helps ensure the continued impact of the GSD on those invested in the future of design, from our current and prospective students to the communities we work alongside. With various funds and giving opportunities to choose from, annual giving is the easiest way to support the next generation of GSD designers and planners….
“For people without an architecture background, it can be difficult to even consider pursuing an education in the field. Financial aid plays a crucial role in motivating and supporting nontraditional architecture students such as myself. Many students without an architectural background can bring forth unique perspectives, adding richness and diversity to the future of architecture.”…
“We strongly believed that a deeper level of engagement with community-based organizations could provide us with more comprehensive insights. We knew it would enrich our coursework by connecting theory with real-world implementation.” – Abdul-Razak Zachariah MUP ’23 Abdul-Razak Zachariah MUP ’23 and Lamei Zhang MUP ’23 met during their first year at the GSD in…
“Going to Central Falls and talking to people on the ground reveals things about the way that people live and use space that you wouldn’t be able to learn elsewhere.” – Gianina Yumul MUP ’23 Central Falls, Rhode Island is small both in terms of its geography and population, and its buildings aren’t particularly renowned…
Dear Alumni & Friends, I am thrilled to present the GSD’s Annual Impact of Giving report, where we celebrate your generous support of the GSD during the 2022–2023 fiscal year. Throughout this time of transition at Harvard, and amidst ongoing challenges, our students continue to innovate and design for our shared future. Our alumni and…
“Financial assistance was what made it possible for me to choose the GSD, and is especially important for students of color, who may not come from financial privilege. Going back to school at age 34 is valuable—because with age comes maturity, and there is always more to learn. This time around, my focus is on…
“Winning the Cossutta Prize helped my financial situation immensely, and my work and school performance have benefited. On top of that, I felt like I was affirmed for the work I had done these past two years. It made me much more confident as a designer.” —Maggie Musante MArch I ’24 _____ In Maggie’s undergraduate…
“For people without an architecture background, it can be difficult to even consider pursuing an education in the field. Financial aid plays a crucial role in motivating and supporting nontraditional architecture students such as myself. Many students without an architectural background can bring forth unique perspectives, adding richness and diversity to the future of architecture.”…
“With more financial aid, we could have a greater diversity of students at the GSD. I know many people who would never consider applying because they don’t have the financial means. That could have been me, easily. If I leave the GSD and I end up with the means, I plan to give back because…
Dear MDE Alumni, Greetings from Cambridge! Much has happened since the last newsletter, including several notable firsts: our first alumni reunion, the launch of an MDE alumni chapter, and an MDE representative (Zeerak Ahmed MDE ’18) joining the GSD Alumni Council. This is also my first newsletter as an MDE director, and the entire MDE…
Dear Alumni and Friends of Landscape Architecture, I bring you greetings from Cambridge during this eventful time in the fall semester. I understand that global events might be impacting you or your families, just as they’ve touched campus life, and I send my heartfelt support to each of you. There is much to report about…
Real Estate, as the saying goes, is about location, location, location. But it is also about timing. By one estimate, nearly one-sixth of U.S. commercial office space was vacant this past summer: a greater share than after the financial crisis and Great Recession of 2008-2009—despite an economy so robust that the Federal Reserve Board has been…
Dear GSD community, It was wonderful to see so many of you last Thursday afternoon for our all-school event to start the semester, and a big thanks again to faculty members Danielle Choi, Toni Griffin, Eric Höweler, Dana McKinney White, and Andrew Witt for their incredibly thought-provoking presentations, and to Student Forum president Cory Page…
Dear Architecture Alumni, Hello and warm greetings from Cambridge! During my first month as Chair of the Department of Architecture, this summer is a particularly special and exhilarating time—a chance to recharge and imagine all the possibilities for discovery through design. I look forward to working together and I am immensely grateful to Dean Sarah…
The Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) is pleased to announce Edwin “Teddy” Cruz MDes ’97, Shaun Donovan AB ’87, MPA ’95, MArch ’95, William “Bill” Johnson MLA ’57, Frank Christopher Lee MAUD ’79, and Cathy Simon MArch ’69 as the 2023 recipients of the Harvard GSD Alumni Award. In its third year, the award honors…
“Winning the Cossutta Prize helped my financial situation immensely, and my work and school performance have benefited. On top of that, I felt like I was affirmed for the work I had done these past two years. It made me much more confident as a designer.” —Maggie Musante MArch I ’24 ________ Maggie’s journey to…
The Harvard University Graduate School of Design’s (GSD) Alumni Council and the GSD’s Frances Loeb Library are pleased to honor four students with the 2023 Unsung Hero Book Prize. This year’s honorees are Alexandra Barnes MDes ’23, Tobi Fagbule MDes ’23, Cory Page MLA ’25, MUP ’25, and Ellie Sheild MUP ’23, MRE ’24. “Each year, I am surprised…
“Financial assistance was what made it possible for me to choose the GSD, and is especially important for students of color, who may not come from a background of financial privilege. Going back to school at age 34 is valuable—because with age comes maturity, and there is always more to learn. This time around, my…
To most people, trash is just a mixture of discarded things without value. However, to Arthur Huang MArch ’04, trash represents a new beginning. Huang’s Taiwan-based company, MINIWIZ, home of the remarkable TRASHLAB laboratory, revolutionizes the waste and recycling industries through innovation, technology, and design. Essentially, MINIWIZ is on a mission to unlock the upcycling…
“Change will only happen if we include people that don’t come from hegemonic forms of power and influence, yet are disproportionately affected by structural outcomes.” — Francisco “Pancho” Brown MDes ’20 We recently spoke with Francisco “Pancho” Brown MDes ’20. Pancho is a Nicaraguan designer and creative consultant with experience in humanitarian and commercial architecture,…
“You can be an ambitious person who’s had a robust professional career, but also be self-aware enough to know when you need to take a break—because of whatever is happening in the world or in your life. The choice was clear to me once I sat down and really thought hard about what the best…
Tosin Odugbemi MArch ’24 often inhabits several spaces simultaneously, a skill and perspective that deeply benefits her study of the built environment. A child of two doctors, Tosin moved with her family from South Africa to Canada at a young age. She grew up in the prairies of British Columbia in a predominantly white neighborhood, with…
“I believe our role as designers is to think more systematically. It’s not just about designing the layout of the house, but understanding the impact of that house. What trees were on the land before? What species lived in those trees? We are beginning to understand that our role is not to design spaces and…
“Nature is changing, the climate is changing, and so we, too, need to change. We must understand that fixed definitions of nature from the past no longer apply in this era of uncertainty we are confronting. Climate change is causing cities to sink, and our current infrastructure is making us even more vulnerable to severe…
Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) announces Grace La MArch ’95 as Chair of the Department of Architecture, effective July 1, 2023. La is Professor of Architecture at the GSD and principal of LA DALLMAN, a practice internationally recognized for work that integrates architecture, engineering, and site. La is the second woman to be…
“On our very first day of school, [GSD professor] Jerold S. Kayden [MCRP ’79] said to me, ‘Being a planner can be a curse, because you actually live in your work and decisions.’ As I’ve grown in my position, that’s something I think about often. It helps me to be aware of the responsibilities and…
“My work is multi-layered and multi-disciplinary; sometimes it’s civic art, sometimes it’s planning, sometimes it’s community engagement, sometimes it’s architecture, sometimes it’s landscape design, and sometimes it’s a combination of everything.” — Paola Aguirre Serrano Paola Aguirre Serrano MAUD ’11, is a GSD Alumni Council member and the founder of Borderless Studio, an urban design…
Dear Landscape Architecture Alumni, I bring you greetings from Cambridge, where the autumn weather has been beautiful, and we are already past the midpoint of our fall semester. It’s my great pleasure to report that from where I sit, the mood in the school is positive and upbeat. Our “Back to School” gathering in early…
A Fall 2022 Message from Dean Sarah M. Whiting Dear GSD Alumni and Friends: First and foremost, I welcome students, faculty, staff, and soon alumni and friends, back to the GSD. It’s hard to believe it, but this is the first semester that we are starting fully in person since spring of 2020! Not only…
The GSD Alumni Council Award honors outstanding leadership by GSD alumni, underscoring the essential role GSD graduates play in leading change around the world. Founded and led by the GSD Alumni Council, the award recognizes and celebrates the diversity, leadership, range, and impact of GSD alumni within their communities and across their areas of practice….
The Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) is pleased to announce Chelina Odbert MUP ’07, Donald Stull MArch ’62 (in memoriam) and David Lee MAUD ’71, and Allyson Mendenhall FASLA, AB ’90, MLA ’99 as the 2022 recipients of the Harvard GSD Alumni Award. The award, in its second year, honors outstanding leadership by GSD alumni, underscoring…
Following the launch of Harvard Design Press last spring, the Press is pleased to announce the release of three titles this fall: John Andrews: Architect of Uncommon Sense, Frida Escobedo: Split Subject, and Empty Plinths: Monuments, Memorials, and Public Sculpture in Mexico. Documenting John Andrews’ MAUD ’87 path from Australia to the United States and…
The Harvard University Graduate School of Design’s Alumni Council and the GSD’s Frances Loeb Library are pleased to honor five students with the 2022 Unsung Hero Book Prize. This year’s honorees are Junainah N. Ahmed MArch ’23, Aeshna Sanjive Prasad MAUD ’21, MDes ’22, Sarah Elizabeth Page MAUD ’23, Naksha Satish MAUD ’22, and Arshaya Sood MDes ’22,…
Dear Alumni and Friends, With the end of commencement ceremonies and celebrations held over the past several days, the school year officially has come to a close. Congratulations again to the class of 2022, as well as the graduates from 2020 and 2021, for whom we were, at long last and not a minute too…
During an unprecedented time, the Harvard GSD Alumni Council created Design Impact, a leadership series that emphasized design as a tool for transformative change and healing. Design’s power has always been most potent when its practitioners can come together. In the early days of the pandemic, though, the world was folding into small, quarantined boundaries….
The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) is pleased to announce a new 12-month degree, the Master in Real Estate (MRE), for individuals seeking to acquire core real estate skills while learning how real estate can advance beneficial spatial, social, and environmental outcomes in cities and metropolitan areas worldwide. The school has received a combined…
First Graduate School of Design alum to serve as HAA president, Allyson Mendenhall is committed to creating inclusive alumni experiences When Allyson Mendenhall AB ’90, MLA ’99, walked past the Harvard Graduate School of Design’s Gund Hall as an undergraduate at Harvard College, she never imagined that she would one day step inside as a…
In 2021, the Harvard Graduate School of Design invested in a set of short introductory education programs that are directed at sharing the value of design with the global public. Early Design Education (EDE)—which invites different audiences to “think and make” through design—includes Design Discovery Virtual, Design Discovery in-person, and Design Discovery Youth summer…
Mead is a member of the GSD’s Dean’s Leadership Council and Candidate for Board of Overseers. Scott Mead AB ’77 was 13 years old when he received one of his grandfather’s cameras, a gift that sparked a lifelong passion for photography. He captured images around his home and spent hours in his family’s darkroom developing…
Dear GSD Alumni and Friends, I write to encourage you to pause and take in yesterday’s email from President Bacow sharing the Report and Recommendations of the Presidential Committee on Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery. The report opens with the simple, direct claim that “Harvard’s motto, Veritas, inscribed on gates, doorways, and sculptures all…
Harvard Graduate School of Design (Harvard GSD) announces Gary R. Hilderbrand MLA ’85 as new chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture, effective July 1, 2022. Hilderbrand is the Peter Louis Hornbeck Professor-in-Practice at the GSD, where he has taught since 1990, and Founding Principal and Partner of Reed Hilderbrand. Hilderbrand succeeds Anita Berrizbeitia MLA…
The GSD renamed the 50th Anniversary of Urban Design Program Lecture for Jaqueline Tyrwhitt, a GSD associate professor who worked to establish and fortify the urban design program during its founding years. The Jaqueline Tyrwhitt Urban Design Lecture will be delivered each year by a visionary urban planner, designer, scholar, or leader who has opened…
In honor of the 50th anniversary of Gund Hall, we raise a glass to you and all those who have helped shape the school into what it is today and what it will be in the future. Thank you for being a valuable member of the GSD community. Wishing you and yours a joyful and…
