News & Stories

Sarah Whiting Named Next Dean of Harvard Graduate School of Design

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.

Harvard GSD Spring 2019 Option Studios

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…

The Inaugural Eduard Sekler Scholarship Recipient: Francisco Colom MDes ’19

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.

Alumni Q&A / James Lord MLA ’96 and Roderick Wyllie MLA ’98, SURFACEDESIGN INC.

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…

2017-2018 Annual Report: Overview by Dean Mostafavi

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 Pete Walker and Partners Fellowship: Advancing Understanding of Landscape Design, Scholarship, and Practices

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.

GSD by the Numbers 2017-2018

Using the Arboretum’s Living Lab in Hands-on Fieldwork

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.

Students, Alums Extend Helping Hands through Community Service Fellowships

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 the Grounded Visionaries Campaign, Fellowships and Financial Aid Funds Finish Strong

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.

Irving Innovation Fellowship Enriches Student Research, Bridges Academy and Practice

The Irving Innovation Fellowship exemplifies many of the ideals at the heart of the Harvard Graduate School of Design community

Alumni Q&A / Sol Camacho MAUD ’08, RADDAR

Sol Camacho is an architect and urban designer who founded and directs RADDAR, an architecture firm based in São Paulo and Mexico City.

HouseZero / CGBC Unveils First-of-its-Kind Lab & Prototype

Renovation complete, HouseZero opens as office space and research tool with an ambitious goal: to produce more energy than it uses.

Your Generosity Drives Imagination, Drives Change

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.

Reunion 2019 Survey

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.

Harvard GSD Launches New Podcast Series “Talking Practice”

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.

Message to GSD Alumni and Friends

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.

GSD MUP Faculty Fall 2018 in the News

The GSD has recently featured a number of faculty members associated with the planning program.

Alumni Council Community Values Statement

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…

Grounded Visionaries Campaign Impact Video

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…

A Fall 2018 Update from the GSD

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.

Andres Sevtsuk Talks Autonomous Vehicles, Future of Streets Research

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

The GSD Remembers Bill Saunders, Founding Editor of Harvard Design Magazine

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)….

Campaign Thank You from Dean Mohsen Mostafavi

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…

Thank You from Dean Mohsen Mostafavi

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.

Herzog & de Meuron, Beyer Blinder Belle selected for transformative expansion of Gund Hall

The project is designed to advance School’s commitment to cross-disciplinary collaboration and innovation.

Grounded Visionaries Campaign Update: We Did It!

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.

Student Portrait: Caroline Chao MArch ’19

Caroline Chao MArch ’19 talks about her experience as an architecture student at the GSD, collaborating across Harvard, and the importance of financial aid.   Make a Gift.  

The Impact of the GSD Alumni Community: Key Findings from the 2018 Alumni Research Initiative

GSD alumni are using the knowledge and skills they developed at the School to make contributions to the built environment and society in impactful ways. Key findings from the Alumni Research Initiative, a comprehensive survey of its alumni, sheds light on alumni career paths and their social impact spanning a range of areas including transportation, sustainable cities, resilience, food systems, housing, and water, which are topics of inquiry and research that align with GSD priorities.

A Letter from Beth Kramer / Thank You and Farewell to Alumni and Friends

It is with mixed emotions that I share the news that I will be stepping down from my role of Associate Dean for Development & Alumni Relations aligning with the successful conclusion of the Grounded Visionaries campaign on June 30. Over the past seven years of working with the alumni community and great friends of the school, I am exceedingly proud of what we have accomplished together and find this be the opportune moment for my transition and for reflection.

Alumni Q&A: Sameh Wahba MUP ’97, PhD ’02, KSGEE ’13

Alumni Council member Sameh Wahba MUP ’97, PhD ’02, KSGEE ’13 is a true Harvard citizen with his Master in Urban Planning (MUP) degree from the Graduate School of Design (GSD), his PhD from the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and completion of the Kennedy School of Government Executive Education’s International Finance Corporation Infrastructure Executive Program.

Dean’s Year in Review: Highlights from 2017–2018

The end of each year invites the opportunity both to reflect on our community’s accomplishments and to look ahead to future potentials. This year involved several major milestones for the GSD and for Harvard, including an energetic final year of our Grounded Visionaries campaign and the University’s capital campaign.

Student Portrait: William Baumgardner MLA ’18

William Baumgardner MLA ’18 talks about his Community Service Fellowship in Albania, traveling to Bangladesh with Marina Tabassum’s “$2000 Home” studio, and the impact of the GSD’s alumni network on the student experience.   Make a Gift.  

Alumni Council SAM Statement

The nearly 13,000 alumni of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) represent a lifelong, multi-generational community of graduates across programs and disciplines. The GSD Alumni Council is the primary representative body of GSD alumni, with the fundamental goal to promote the engagement of the alumni community with the School, to advance the GSD…

Participate by June 15 in 2018 DesignIntelligence Surveys: Architecture & Landscape Architecture

For the past 18 years, DesignIntelligence has conducted and published the results of America’s Best Architecture & Design Schools survey, which asks hiring professionals, academics, and students to provide their perspective on the strengths of programs throughout in the United States.

Empower Students to Design Outside the Lines

Through a transdisciplinary course of study with global reach, the Harvard University Graduate School of Design is training the next generation of design leaders to think collaboratively, cultivate creativity, and design outside the lines.

C Foundation Establishes C Foundation Fellowship Fund at the GSD

The GSD along with the Chinese nonprofit C Foundation, announces the establishment of the C Foundation Fellowship Fund at the GSD.

Thomas Holtz MArch ’77: A Lasting and Significant Impact at the GSD

Thomas Holtz MArch ’77 made his first mark on the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) library as an architectural draftsman. Holtz’s drawings in the Frances Loeb Library’s Special Collections trace the arc of his life and design career: the Cologne and Munich cathedrals in Germany, a country where Holtz studied as a Fulbright…

Alumni Council Honors Students with 2018 Unsung Hero Book Prize

On April 12, the GSD Alumni Council honored current students with the 2018 Unsung Hero Book Prize during a celebration in the Frances Loeb Library. Sarah Diamond MLA ’19, Tim Webster MLA ’19, Ernest Haines MLA ’18, and Jasmine Roberts MDes ’18 were this year’s recipients.

Nippon Paint Establishes the Gennosuke Obata Fellowship at the GSD

The GSD along with Japanese paint manufacturer NIPSEA Group – known throughout Asia as Nippon Paint – announces the establishment of the Gennosuke Obata Fellowship Fund at the GSD. The Gennosuke Obata Fellowship Fund, initiated during the GSD’s Grounded Visionaries campaign, will provide financial aid to GSD students from Asian countries, helping to attract, enroll, and support talented design scholars from the region as they work to become leaders in transforming the social and built environment.

Alumni Q&A: Jungyoon Kim MLA ’00 and Yoonjin Park MLA ’00 of PARKKIM

Jungyoon (Yuni) Kim MLA ’00 and Yoonjin Park MLA ’00 are Founding Principals of PARKKIM. This Spring, they are Design Critics in Landscape Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) co-teaching the option studio “Korea Remade: Alternative Nature, DMZ, and Hinterlands” with Professor Niall Kirkwood.

Mark Lee MArch ’95 Appointed Chair of Department of Architecture

Harvard University Graduate School of Design (Harvard GSD) announces the appointment of Mark Lee MArch ’95as Chair of the Department of Architecture, effective July 1, 2018. Lee has taught at Harvard GSD since 2013 and currently serves as Professor in Practice of Architecture. Lee is a principal and founding partner of Johnston Marklee, established in 1998.

Miami Welcomes the GSD’s Future of the American City effort with $1 million from Knight Foundation

To engage Miami residents in creating new approaches to address pressing urban issues—including affordable housing, transportation and sea level rise—the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is granting $1 million in support to the GSD.

Alumni Q&A / Dan Borelli MDes ’12, GSD Director of Exhibitions

Today, art and design find a natural home in the GSD exhibition galleries—in the course of a single year, GSD Director of Exhibitions Dan Borelli MDes ’12 and his team stage five major exhibitions and twelve smaller exhibitions featuring a wide variety of work.

Your Invitation to Participate / Harvard GSD Alumni Research Initiative

Feedback from alumni is vital in helping the GSD to understand if and how the knowledge and skills they refined at the School have influenced their careers and professional specialties.

Announcing Appointments of Jeanne Gang MArch ’93, Sharon Johnston MArch ’95, and Mark Lee MArch ’95 as Professors in Practice of Architecture

The Harvard University Graduate School of Design is pleased to announce three appointments to the position of Professor in Practice of Architecture: Jeanne Gang MArch ’93, Sharon Johnston MArch ’95, and Mark Lee MArch ’95, effective July 1, 2018.

The GSD honors the life, legacy, and inspiration of John Portman (1924-2017)

Last October the GSD’s Dean Mohsen Mostafavi sat down with Metropolis Magazine and Mr. Portman’s son, Jack MArch ’73, to discuss the architect’s impact and the 2017 book “Portman’s America & Other Speculations” (Harvard University GSD and Lars Müller Publishers), edited by Mostafavi.

Call for Applicants: Daniel Urban Kiley Teaching Fellowship

The Daniel Urban Kiley Teaching Fellowship is awarded annually to an emerging designer whose work articulates the potential for landscape as a medium of design in the public realm.

Alumni Q&A / Ed Meng MUP ’14

Ed Meng MUP ’14 is a Senior Program Coordinator, Metropolitan Transportation Commission (San Francisco Bay Area). Hear from him about his time at the GSD and his career path.

Loyalty Giving: A Tradition of Support

The cohort of alumni who provide unwavering annual support to the GSD Fund for student financial aid is growing, and their total contribution has almost doubled in the last five years. Among these loyal donors are established professionals, as well as recent graduates, who understand the power of design, value a quality design education, and remain committed to the tradition of giving back.