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.
News & Stories
News Updates
Spring 2025 Update from Grace La AB ’92, MArch ’95, Chair of the Department of Architecture
Dear Alumni and Friends of GSD Architecture, Greetings from Cambridge, where spring has finally warmed the air and we have just completed the 150th year of architectural instruction at Harvard. I am happy to be in touch with you during my second year as Chair of the Department of Architecture, and at the celebratory end of a…
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.
Global Thinking. Local Action.
The Harvard University Graduate School of Design brings together the most talented students to study, investigate, and address complex design challenges at all levels—from housing shortages and community development in Boston to the effects of climate change and rapid urbanization around the world. Through practice, research, and teaching, our extraordinary faculty and staff guide students…
Knoll Empowers GSD Students to Envision the Future of the Workplace
During the 2016–2017 academic year, the Harvard Graduate School of Design concluded a three-part studio series in collaboration with Knoll, Inc., that imagined the future of the “workplace,” or the environments in which people and industries conduct work.
Ronald M. Druker Loeb Fellow ’76 Makes Historic $15M Gift to the Harvard Graduate School of Design
The Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) announced today that it has received a $15 million gift from Ronald M. Druker Loeb Fellow ’76 and the Bertram A. and Ronald M. Druker Charitable Foundation.
Alumni Q&A / Brenda Levin MArch ’76
Architect Brenda A. Levin, FAIA, MArch ’76 is known for revitalizing Los Angeles’ urban, historic, and cultural form. For over 30 years, her architecture and urban design firm, Levin & Associates Architects, has pioneered the preservation and redefinition of significant and iconic landmarks in Los Angeles
The Enduring Legacy of Professor Eduard Sekler
When Eduard Franz Sekler, Harvard University’s Osgood Hooker Professor of Visual Art Emeritus and Professor of Architecture Emeritus at the Graduate School of Design, passed away last spring at the age of 96, the GSD community responded with an outpouring of letters in remembrance of the beloved educator, architect, scholar, and friend.
The GSD and Perkins+Will Celebrate the First Phil Freelon Fellow
The Phil Freelon Fellowship Fund was established last year to expand academic opportunities for African American and other under-represented students of design.
2017 Black in Design Conference examines where and how design and activism intersect
Empowering; uplifting; sobering; timely; necessary. An event that evades simple distillation, the Harvard Graduate School of Design’s 2017 Black in Design Conference evoked a range of immediate reactions, as well as a charge for sustained dialogue over the many issues it positioned within its programming.
Four Consequential Gifts Empower Students with Financial Support
Four new student fellowships will change the lives of GSD students, thanks to the generosity of donors who share a passion for helping students realize their dream of a design education.
Alumni Q&A / John Taylor MUP ’06
John Taylor MUP ’06 is International Project Manager, National Urban Poverty Reduction Programme (NUPRP), UNDP Bangladesh. Hear from him about his time at the GSD and his career path.
Alumni Q&A / Jared Katseff MUP ’15
Jared Katseff MUP ’15 is Senior Associate, McKinsey & Company, Capital Projects & Infrastructure Practice. Hear from him about his time at the GSD and his career path.
Alumni Q&A / Stephanie Brown MUP ’13
Stephanie Brown MUP ’13 is an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company. Hear from her about her time at the GSD and her career path.
Recent GSD Alumni Faculty Appointments and Promotions
Seven alumni are among the promotions and appointments recently announced by Dean Mohsen Mostafavi, which are effective July 1, 2017.
Return to Campus / A Preview of Fall 2017
The School’s Fall program of lectures, panels, and conferences kicks off on Thursday, August 31 with a Rouse Visiting Artist Lecture.
The GSD Premieres the Wimbledon House and the Richard Rogers Fellowship
In June, the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) premiered Lord Richard Rogers’s Wimbledon House in London for the first time since restorations began in 2015 by British architect Philip Gumuchdjian and landscape architect Todd Longstaffe-Gowan MLA ’84.
Alumni Q&A / Jose Castillo MArch ’95, DDes ’00 and Saidee Springall MArch ’96
As Richard Rogers Fellows, Mexico City natives Jose Castillo MArch ’95, DDes ’00 and Saidee Springall MArch ’96 share their experience working and living in the Wimbledon House.
Reunion 2017: A Peek into the Archives
In preparation for your reunion, the GSD tracked down photos from the archives of students and the GSD from 1972 to the 2000’s.
Alumni Q&A / Aldarsaikhan Tuvshinbat MUP ’15
Aldarsaikhan Tuvshinbat MUP ’15 is Senior Program Coordinator, Metropolitan Transportation Commission (San Francisco Bay Area). Hear from her about her time at the GSD and her career path.
Alumni Q&A / Howard Kozloff MUP ’00
Howard Kozloff MUP ’00 is Managing Partner, Agora Partners. Hear from him about memorable moments at the GSD and his career path.
A Look Back at an Eventful Academic Year
A look back at a few of the projects and moments that marked the past year at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.
Alumni Q&A / Colonel Chris Castle DDes ’99, Defense Health Agency
For nearly three decades, Colonel Chris Castle DDes ’99 has planned and led operations of military healthcare environments that sustain and care for members of the U.S. Armed Forces on and off the battlefield, and he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service in a combat zone.
Highlights from the GSD’s 2017 Commencement
The GSD awarded 353 degrees to its Class of 2017 during Harvard’s 366th Commencement on Thursday, May 25.
Educating Our Design Leaders
Support Our Future Design Leaders with a Gift to the GSD Fund The global challenges we face are more pressing than ever. Whether it is social equity or sustainability, public health or transportation, the Harvard University Graduate School of Design shapes the future design leaders who will address these complex issues. With a legacy of preparing…
Dean’s Update: 2017 Highlights from the GSD
As the spring semester culminates in an exciting range of studios and thesis reviews, and as the next class of graduates prepares to embark on new careers, launch new ventures, and drive new lines of research, the Dean writes to share highlights of the important work produced at the GSD over the past year.
Riding the Rails: A Platform for Speculation on American Urbanization in the Age of High Speed Rail
Melissa Alexander MAUD ’13, the 2013 Druker Traveling Fellowship recipient, shares her research on American urbanization in the age of high-speed rail.
GSD Student Fellowship Reception 2017 Launches the Thomas Payette Financial Aid Fund
The GSD celebrated the newly created Thomas Payette Financial Aid Fund and the power of the fellowships and financial aid during its second annual fellowship reception on Wednesday, April 12, 2017.
Opening of the Sarah and Rolando Uziel AB ’57 Exhibition Wall in the Loeb Library
The Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) is pleased to announce the opening of the Sarah and Rolando Uziel AB ’57 Exhibition Wall in the Frances Loeb Library.
Furthering Innovation for the Loeb Fellowship: Leif L. Selkregg LF ’89
After almost two decades of working with Harvard University to support transformational capital expansions, Leif L. Selkregg LF ’89 is increasing his philanthropic support of the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) and the Loeb Fellowship with one of the largest gifts to the Fellowship in its 46-year history. The Selkregg Loeb Fellowship Innovation Fund…
Participate in the 2017-2018 DesignIntelligence Surveys: Architecture & Landscape Architecture
The 2017-2018 Hiring Professional and Student/Recent Graduate Surveys are now open for architecture & landscape architecture until Friday, May 26.
Faculty and alumni to participate in 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial, “Make New History”
The Chicago Architecture Biennial has announced its 2017 roster of participants, selected by 2017 Artistic Directors Sharon Johnston MArch ’95 and Mark Lee MArch ’95 of the Los Angeles–based firm Johnston Marklee and including a range of Harvard Graduate School of Design faculty and alumni.
The GSD Celebrates the Centennial Birthday of I. M. Pei MArch ’46 with Special Events and Exhibition
The GSD recently honored I. M. Pei’s milestone birthday with a celebration in Gund Hall featuring a cast of Pei’s collaborators and friends.
Alumni Q&A / Sara Myerson MUP ’11, Director of Planning, Boston Planning & Development Agency
As the Director of Planning at the BPDA, Sara Myerson MUP ’11 reflects on the growth and challenges in Boston and her time at the GSD where she learned the value of true collaboration.
Honoring International Women’s Day: Q+A with Pussyhat Project Co-Founder Jayna Zweiman MArch ’08
By now you have most likely seen the perked ears of a pink “pussyhat” adorning the head of a friend, neighbor, or celebrity. Perhaps you have even knit one of your own. While this quiet form of protest was initially designed as a clever way to keep warm at the January 21, 2017 Women’s March…
GSD Presence at Your Harvard: Miami 2017
Members of the Harvard community gathered in Miami to hear from Drew Gilpin Faust, President and Lincoln Professor of History, Harvard University, as she shared her vision for the University’s future and its global impact.
Candidates for Overseers and HAA Elected Directors Announced
This spring, alumni can vote for a new group of Harvard Overseers and Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) elected directors. This is the time to get informed on the candidates and important issues. Ballots will be mailed no later than April 1. Completed ballots must be received, at the indicated address, by 5:00 pm EDT on Tuesday,…
Alumni Q+A / Yvonne Szeto MArch ’79 of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
Since joining Pei Cobb Freed & Partners more than 30 years ago, GSD Alumni Council member Yvonne Szeto MArch ’79 has spent her career advancing the firm’s tradition of thoughtfully considered and well-crafted public works.
Jonathan Franzen and GSD Converge on St. Louis and the Urban Condition
The GSD has engaged with the city of St. Louis from various approaches over the past few years—an illustration of the School’s broader commitment to tackling the challenges facing America’s cities.
GSD’s First MOOC Developed and Taught by K. Michael Hays
For the first time, starting February 28, GSD alumni and architecture enthusiasts around the world will be able to study architecture through a new HarvardX course orchestrated by Michael Hays, the GSD’s Eliot Noyes Professor of Architectural Theory and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, as well as Interim Chair for the Department of Architecture.
Master in Urban Planning Degree Program Faculty News: Spring 2017
Neil Brenner, Professor of Urban Theory, has recently published three books that focus on the theoretical, conceptual, and methodological dimensions of urban questions. These include Critique of Urbanization: Selected Essays (Basel: Bauwelt Fundamente Series, Birkhäuser Verlag, 2016), Teoría urbana crítica y políticas de escala (edited and translated by Alvaro Sevilla-Buitrago; Barcelona: Icaria, colección Espacios Críticos,…
GSD Korea Builds Community with Year-End Events
Members of the GSD alumni community in South Korea celebrated architectural, design, political, cultural, and societal interests in Korea with four GSD Korea year-end events for 2016. The December events served as a platform for engagement in cultural, professional, and academic practices of contemporary Korea and furthering relationships with the larger academic community, including the…
Studio Reviews: Fall 2016 Highlights
During the Fall semester, students investigated pressing global, regional, and local issues through studio work. Courses tackled a range of complex topics, from perceived notions of materials and their use in architecture, to how design can address racism, segregation, and poverty in our inner cities.
Architect as Agent of Change: Michael Murphy MArch ’11
Michael Murphy MArch ’11 delivers TED Talk: Architecture that’s built to heal.
Architectural Imagination HarvardX Course to Launch in February 2017
Architecture engages a culture’s deepest social values and expresses them in material, aesthetic form. In this Graduate School of Design (GSD) HarvardX free massive open online course (MOOC) offered via the edX platform, you will have exclusive access to a GSD alumni cohort to continue your design studies. The ten module course will start February…
Stephen Ross: Reimagining Manhattan’s West Side
Real estate pioneer Stephen M. Ross visits the GSD to discuss his latest megaproject: Hudson Yards, which aims to transform Midtown Manhattan’s far West Side—one of the last undeveloped areas in New York City.
Call for Alumni Submissions: Harvard GSD 2017 Wheelwright Prize
The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) is pleased to announce the fifth cycle of the Wheelwright Prize, an open international competition that awards $100,000 annually to a talented early-career architect to support travel-based research.
Industry Giving: Advancing the Global Discourse on Design
Leading global design firms recognize the value in investing in the future of design education. As the premier design school, regularly leading rankings in our core disciplines, the Harvard University Graduate School of Design has a history of leadership and innovation that sets the standard for design education. Our alumni become principals at some the most respected firms, directing innovative work around the globe.
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. The Kiley Fellow will be appointed Lecturer in Landscape Architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design for the 2017-18 academic year. While the Kiley…
Tax-Free IRA Rollover Permanently Extended
On Friday, December 18, 2015, Congress passed the IRA charitable rollover provision of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, which included permanent reinstatement of the IRA charitable rollover opportunity. Under this legislation, qualified donors may make outright gifts of up to $100,000 per year to Harvard from their IRA and avoid taxation…