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…
Mark Lee MArch ’95 assumed the role of Chair of the Department of Architecture and Professor in Practice of Architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) on July 1, 2018. He is a principal and founding partner of Johnston Marklee, which since its establishment in 1998 has been recognized nationally and internationally with over thirty…
In December 2018, a gift from Samuel Plimpton MBA ’77, MArch ’80 and his wife, Wendy Shattuck, established the Plimpton Professorship of Planning and Urban Economics. The professorship will advance the GSD in the field of urban economics, fundamental for understanding the economics of cities, as well as land use, planning, and real estate decisions in…
Frederick Chan MAUD ’74 believes that the most impactful design happens outside of the studio, and that the most important work of a graduate school is to carry out research that can shape the profession. That deep conviction in training designers of the future led to Chan’s generous gift to the GSD’s Annual Fund, which will…
As the child of artists and an artist herself, Melissa Kaish GSD ’85 grew up with painters, musicians, and writers gathering at her home for creative discussions. For her, art and design are not bound by walls; these disciplines can—and should—spill into the public sphere for the community’s benefit. With that value in mind, Kaish and her…
Please click the studio title for full descriptions of each studio. DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE POST-SHAKER – Preston Scott Cohen The studio’s hypothesis is that the Mount Lebanon Shaker Village in New York is to be converted into an art colony that reawakens the historic site as a living tradition in the present but one that extends…
1. Tell us about your background and early education? I was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. I left Cincinnati in 1979 to attend college, and I spent the summer following my freshman year back in Cincinnati, but have not spent much time there since. It is, though, a remarkable place with a number of…
Dear Landscape Architecture Alumni,Before I share news and updates from my fifth year as Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture, I would like to invite you to the upcoming GSD reception at the ASLA Annual Conference on Landscape Architecture in San Diego. One of the great satisfactions for me as Chair has been to reconnect with alumni…
Dear Alumni of the GSD, When I began my position as dean of the GSD this July, I shared with you how thrilled I was to be joining the School in this role. That sense of adventure, coupled with responsibility, has only grown with time. Thank you for your support and engagement in my first months…
Dear Landscape Architecture alumni, As I reflect upon another year as Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture, I am pleased to share with you a few highlights of news, pedagogy, and programming. At a time of heightened political discord and global awareness around the hazards of climate change, I am especially excited to recognize…
Dear Architecture Alumni,It’s a privilege to write to fellow architecture alumni as Chair of the Department of Architecture. It’s been a year of enormous transitions for me, moving from sunny Los Angeles to the more variable climate of Cambridge, opening a satellite office here, and embarking on a new leadership role at the Graduate School…
Dear DDes Alumni,I hope this note finds you all well! I am reaching out to highlight some of the changes that started last spring and some new activities this year. Last spring we inaugurated a new DDes networking event, DDes Alumni Encounters. In April 2018, we hosted Carlos Cardenas DDes ’07 and GSD Alumni Council member Zenovia…
Dear UPD Alumni,It’s been my great pleasure to connect with so many of you at various GSD alumni gatherings and planning events over the course of the last few years. I am grateful for the support and vitality of our robust alumni community; the GSD is a better place because of your engagement. Despite our global…
Dear MDes Alumni,It’s a privilege to write to Master of Design Studies (MDes) alumni as Program Director. These are exciting times to be leading the program—this has been a year of productive change for the advanced studies program, which has evolved and grown considerably over its 30-year history. With 170 students enrolled, 76 of those…
To help save her hometown of Bangkok, Thailand from rising sea levels and climate change, Kotchakorn Voraakhom MLA ’06 founded the landscape architecture design firm Landprocess and a social enterprise called Porous City Network, a landscape architecture social enterprise working to increase urban resilience. Through Porous City Network, Voraakhom works with communities throughout Southeast Asia…
With industry leaders—including Boeing and Clark Construction—and world-class academic researchers joining forces, the Harvard University Graduate School of Design’s (GSD) Laboratory for Design Technologies is undertaking its first project: “The Future of Air Travel.”
Statistical analysis and love don’t usually go together, but Kay O’Neil MCRP ’78 and David Nelson MCRP ’78 have found success with this unique pairing. The couple, who met at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD), have been together for 42 years. They are thankful to the GSD both for the foundational skills…
A look back at a few of the projects and moments that marked the past year at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. June 2018 Thirty-five students are awarded fellowships through the GSD’s Community Service Fellowship Program. The Program provides opportunities for GSD students to apply the skills they have developed in their academic programs through…
Dear Alumni of the GSD, I’m thrilled to be joining you today, July 1st, as your new dean. My excitement has everything to do with the distinction and breadth of the faculty, staff, students, and alumni that make up this School—your intellectual strengths and cultural generosities give me ever more enthusiasm for what lies ahead…
Professor in Practice of Urban Planning Toni L. Griffin is studying Hazelwood as one of four Pittsburgh neighborhoods with students in her master’s level design studio, Patterned Justice: Design Languages for a Just Pittsburgh.
For the past 18 years, DesignIntelligence has conducted and published the results of America’s Top Ranked Architecture & Design Schools survey, which asks hiring professionals, academics, students, and recent graduates to provide their perspective on the strengths of programs throughout in the United States. The GSD is proud of the School’s leading position in the 2018 DesignIntelligence America’s Best Architecture &…
As I approach my work, I assume good intent from those I’m engaging and listening to. We have to create the space for more conversations and do so with forgiving ears and with the understanding that people are going to make mistakes.
On April 12, 2019, during a celebration at the Frances Loeb Library, the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) Alumni Council honored three current students—Chantine Akiyama MArch ’19, Sidra Fatima MUP ’19, and Natalie Wang MDes ’19—with the 2019 Unsung Hero Book Prize.
The GSD is pleased to announce the establishment of the Plimpton Professorship of Planning and Urban Economics, made possible by a gift from Samuel Plimpton MBA ’77, MArch ’80 and his wife, Wendy Shattuck
Sarah Whiting, dean of architecture at Rice University, will return to Harvard, where she taught early in her career, as the next dean of the Graduate School of Design.
Please click the studio title for full descriptions of each studio. DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE AMERICAN GOTHIC, MONUMENTS FOR SMALL-TOWN LIFE Pier Paolo Tamburelli At a time when recent political developments have brought attention to the small towns of the American Midwest, the studio proposes to design a public building in provincial Ohio, trying to imagine…
As the first Eduard Sekler Fellow, Francisco Colom MDes ’19 is embracing the legacy of the beloved Professor Sekler through his work in conservation and the tensions between progress and tradition.
Through leadership and innovative design, James Lord MLA ’96 and Roderick Wyllie MLA ’98 of SURFACEDESIGN INC. have established an international reputation in urban design and sustainable landscape architecture. Founded in 2001, the award-winning practice creates dynamic parks, plazas, waterfronts, civic landscapes, and private gardens. Highlights include the Smithsonian Master Plan, Auckland International Airport, Golden…
With the passing of each academic year, our community has the opportunity to reflect on our many accomplishments and to anticipate and imagine future achievements.
The Fellowship offers recipients the rare opportunity to travel anywhere and in a time frame that works with their careers and artistic inquiry. Established in 2004 and awarded annually by the Landscape Architecture faculty to a graduating student for accomplishment in landscape design, the Fellowship has become one of the most prestigious awards in the Department and the School.
Just beyond the old iron gates of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, a creative experiment in pedagogy has been bringing the concept of plant sciences to growing, changing life.
Contributions directed to the GSD’s Community Service Fellowships have a multiplier effect in underserved communities: Current students receive funding to work with community organizations, federal and state agencies, and nonprofit institutions, assisting with design, research, or planning projects that the organizations ordinarily would not be able to access.
In its final year, the Grounded Visionaries campaign showed its global reach, most notably in the area of fellowships and financial aid. Thanks to the generosity of donors from all over the world, students from Canada, China, India, Israel, Palestine, and various Asian countries now have greater access to top-tier opportunities in design education and can learn alongside peers pursuing particular GSD programs.
The Irving Innovation Fellowship exemplifies many of the ideals at the heart of the Harvard Graduate School of Design community
Sol Camacho is an architect and urban designer who founded and directs RADDAR, an architecture firm based in São Paulo and Mexico City.
Renovation complete, HouseZero opens as office space and research tool with an ambitious goal: to produce more energy than it uses.
Your donation to the GSD works immediately to help students study the design solutions for global challenges facing society. Thanks to your essential contributions, the School can invest in the world’s next generation of designers as they explore, analyze, and confront these urgent issues.
Thank you for completing the survey! Photos will be available via Facebook and through email in the next few weeks. If you have additional feedback or questions, please email Brad Quigley, Director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving. Join the Sert Council as a leader in support of the School.
The Practice Platform at Harvard University Graduate School of Design (Harvard GSD) presents “Talking Practice,” the first podcast series to feature in-depth interviews with leading design practitioners from around the world on the ways in which architects, landscape architects, designers, and planners articulate design imagination through practice.
I feel honored to have been given the opportunity to serve the Graduate School of Design and Harvard as dean for the past decade, and am now writing to let you know of my intention to conclude my term at the end of this academic year and to return to teaching and research after a sabbatical.
The GSD has recently featured a number of faculty members associated with the planning program.
Policy of Harvard University Graduate School of Design Alumni Council Policy Nine Community Values Statement The Harvard University Graduate School of Design Alumni Council does hereby establish a Policy, Number Nine, as follows: All Alumni Council members shall ascribe to and adhere to the Community Values Statement, which states: The Alumni Council is the primary…
Over the past four years, the Grounded Visionaries campaign has brought together people from around the world who care deeply about the GSD, including students, faculty, alumni, donors, collaborators, and friends. Our Campaign goal of $110 million was, by far, the largest fundraising goal in the School’s history—an audacious goal. In this video, we are…
As the GSD embarks on another academic year, 966 students, including 361 new students, have settled in at Gund Hall ready to engage in an array of core and option studios; public lectures and events; exhibitions; and travel opportunities.
As a researcher, the Harvard Graduate School of Design’s Andres Sevtsuk has been immersed in questions of urban mobility. His work as assistant professor of urban planning and as principal investigator at the City Form Lab covers topics involving urban design and spatial analysis, real estate economics, transit, and pedestrian-oriented development, and spatial adaptability, among others
It is with great sadness that the GSD shares that our former colleague and good friend, Bill Saunders, passed away earlier this week. Bill worked with many of us over the course of his 29-year career here at the GSD, where he most recently served as the founding editor of the Harvard Design Magazine (2002 – 2011)….
Dear Alumni and Friends, I wish to offer my sincere gratitude for your support of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design as part of our Grounded Visionaries campaign. Through your generosity, the GSD is empowering students, expanding our global reach, and building our future through leading-edge faculty and transformative facilities. Please view the following video…
I wish to offer my sincere gratitude for your support of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Over the past year, through your generosity we raised over $800,000 toward annual funds, marking a strong end to our Grounded Visionaries campaign. Your continued support helps to empower the next generation of design leaders and innovators to design outside the lines. Please view the following video message in appreciation of your generosity.
The project is designed to advance School’s commitment to cross-disciplinary collaboration and innovation.
Over the past four years, the Grounded Visionaries campaign has brought together people from around the world who care deeply about the GSD, including students, faculty, alumni, donors, collaborators, and friends. Our Campaign goal of $110 million was, by far, the largest fund raising goal in the School’s history—an audacious goal.
