The GSD welcomed a host of alumni and guests to campus in September and October for an exceptional roster of alumni events, exhibitions, and public lectures. Highlights included a tour for recent graduates of the Michael Van Valkenburgh-designed Brooklyn Bridge Park with Nate Trevethan MLA ’01 while Jeanne Gang MArch ’93 and Thom Mayne MArch ’78 spoke on “Heliomorphism” at the Office for Urbanization’s inaugural conference here in Cambridge. Members of the Josep Lluís Sert Council, the GSD’s leadership giving society, were invited to tour the Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s Building for the Future designed by NBBJ with Alex Krieger MCPUD ’77 and Tom Sieniewicz MArch ’85. This unique opportunity invited guests to learn about the innovative construction and state-of-the-art research spaces that aim to advance patient care and further research by placing the clinicians and scientists side by side. As alumni and friends convened on and off campus, GSD students explored vital, global issues during option-studio travel week, including fair housing in Ferguson, Missouri and the history of the brick in Bogota, Colombia.

Over 100 alumni descended on Gund Hall on September 30 and October 1 for a festive weekend marking their 5th to 50th reunions and years in between. Alumni celebrated the power of design in conversations with leadership from each of the program areas. Exploring the current student experience, Rachel Vroman MArch ’10 detailed the fabrication facilities available to GSD students, from hand tools to robotics, in the GSD’s Fabrication Lab, and Dan Borelli MDesS ’12 discussed the process of translating visual and text-based research and material into a three-dimensional exhibition. Ines Zalduendo MArch ’95 opened the Special Collections at the Frances Loeb Library to share how the collections are advancing the GSD’s disciplines by connecting interests of researchers to resources in the library. Meanwhile, Chris Herbert MPP ’88, PhD ’97 informed how the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University is analyzing housing policy and practices shaped by economic and demographic factors. Rounding out the weekend: An exploration of the Autodesk BUILD Space in the Seaport Innovation District led by Rick Rundell MArch ’86; an architectural tour of the Harvard Art Museums with Justin Lee MArch ’04; and look inside the ongoing renovations at Harvard’s Sert-designed Smith Campus Center (formerly known as Holyoke Center) and how this project will provide Harvard with a welcome front door in the heart of the campus; creating new public spaces for the Harvard community; and collaboration space for students, faculty, and staff.

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Alumni Insights and ChinaGSD lecture by Calvin Tsao MArch ’79. Tsao shared his over 30 years of professional experience with Zack McKown MArch ’79, and practice insights of working in historically/politically sensitive context in China, including the rebuilding of Jingfu Palace Museum in the heart of the Forbidden City, Beijing. The lecture was followed by discussion with Prof. Jorge Silvetti, Nelson Robinson Jr. Professor of Architecture at Harvard GSD, Guo Boya MDes ’17 and Emerald Wu MArch ’18.

View more photos on the GSD Facebook page.