Four members of the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) community are among the 31 winners of the 2024–25 Rome Prize. Awarded annually by the American Academy in Rome (AAR), this prestigious fellowship includes a stipend, workspace, and room and board for up to ten months at the Academy’s campus, located on the Janiculum Hill in Rome, where recipients…
GSD Reunion 2016 classes: 1951, 1956, 1961, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2005, and 2011 GSD reunion classes will descend on the hub of design discourse, Gund Hall, on September 30-October 1, 2016 for a festive weekend marking their 5th to 60th reunions and those years in between. We hope you…
We are proud of the GSD’s leading position in the 2016 DesignIntelligence “America’s Best Architecture & Design Schools” rankings; our architecture and landscape architecture programs were named first in the nation, reinforcing the GSD’s exceptional ability to prepare our graduates for professional practice. Our architecture program has ranked first for 14 of the past 15…
The GSD held its Inaugural Fellowship Reception on Wednesday, April 13, 2016, which honored the contributions of fellowships and financial aid support for GSD students. This powerful evening in Piper Auditorium convened 33 donors, friends, and faculty with 84 students who were mutually inspired by stories of impact and inspiration. During the Reception, Bart Voorsanger MArch ’64 shared…
In August 2016, Ila Berman MDes ’91, DDes ’93 will join the prestigious list of GSD alumni who have been appointed to deanships in recent years when she assumes the role of Dean of the University of Virginia School of Architecture. Other GSD alumni in deanship roles include: Amale Andraos MArch ’99 of Columbia University Graduate…
In April, there was much to celebrate with the GSD’s Inaugural Fellowship Reception on Wednesday, April 13, which honored both the contributors to and recipients of fellowships for financial aid for GSD students. This powerful evening in Piper Auditorium convened 33 donors, friends, and faculty with 84 students who were mutually inspired by stories of…
The Unsung Hero Book Prize, given annually by the GSD Alumni Council, honors students who make a difference in the Graduate School of Design (GSD) community without recognition from others.
As the premier design school, the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) has a legacy of leadership, innovation, and social responsibility. Fueled by the visionary leadership of Dean Mohsen Mostafavi, leading-edge faculty, and a talented student body, the GSD is increasingly exploring vital, global issues through its growing span of option studios. Utilizing a comprehensive…
Financial aid is a prerequisite for design education. Help the GSD achieve 300 donors to the GSD Fund that will unlock $25,000 from an anonymous alumna of the GSD. Join fellow alumni in meeting this challenge, helping to grow your support for the 90% of the GSD’s students with financial aid. Make your impact count today….
The GSD attracts the most talented, creative, and wildly ambitious students. Hear from 12 students about their passions, pursuits and career plans.
Three GSD architecture students have relished participating in the School’s Studio Abroad program, studying the interplay between architecture and urbanism in Basel, Berlin, and Tokyo, as the first three recipients of the David Kenneth Specter Fellowship. In 2014, Patricia Brown Specter, and sons Matthew and Evan, decided to celebrate the life and career of David…
Dear Alumni and Friends, I am writing to share with you some of our current initiatives and commitments in relation to the study and development of real estate at the GSD. During the past few years, I have had the privilege to meet many individuals and organizations involved in investing in, developing, and constructing important…
The Plimpton–Poorvu Design Prize to recognize students who exemplify excellence, innovation, and enhancement through their work at the GSD.
Brian D. Lee MArch ’78 and Wendy Szeto Lee made a significant philanthropic investment in the School this year aimed toward student financial aid. After nearly four decades of successful professional practice, Brian and Wendy are big believers in the continued relevance of a GSD education and the capacity of cutting-edge research and forward-thinking curriculum…
By way of pedagogy, exhibitions, lectures, research, and the act of making, the GSD is championing the vital role of the arts and culture in Gund Hall and beyond. Art’s purpose lies deeper than aesthetic delight; it has the power to question, unite, and change cultures. The broader GSD community is increasingly supportive of the…
With a contribution of $10 million to the Harvard GSD, John K. F. Irving AB ’83, MBA ’89 and his sister, Anne C. I. Oxley, kickstarted the School’s Grounded Visionaries campaign. The gift was inspired by their late father’s passion for both built and natural environments. “Our father (John E. “Jack” Irving)’s first job was working in the…
The GSD celebrates the life and contributions of Zaha Hadid. Hadid first taught at the GSD in 1986 as a Design Critic in Architecture, and then again in 1994 as Kenzo Tange Visiting Professor of Architecture. She last spoke at the School in 2013. Zaha Hadid will be remembered for her creativity, her persistence, and her loyalty…
“A beautiful failure in which the reach exceeds the grasp.” -Keith Krumwiede, Associate Professor of Architecture in the College of Architecture and Design at the New Jersey Institute of Technology The Harvard×Design Conference, the annual exploration of all things design, centered its 2016 conference on the process of productive failure. “Failure×Design,” held on Saturday, February…
The year has been off to a vibrant start for our community bringing together alumni, friends, and distinguished speakers for stimulating conversation and thought-provoking discourse. Over 400 GSD alumni and friends from around the world connected with colleagues and the GSD during ten events in Berkeley, Jakarta, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Taipei, and Cambridge….
Architect Frank Gehry has been named the recipient of the 2016 Harvard Arts Medal, which will be awarded by Harvard University President Drew Gilpin Faust at a ceremony on Thursday, April 28.
Dean Mohsen Mostafavi recently announced faculty appointments and promotions—all of whom are GSD alumni. The appointments will strengthen the intellectual underpinnings of cutting-edge pedagogy and research at the GSD. In the Architecture Department, Jeannette Kuo MArch ’04 was appointed Assistant Professor in Practice of Architecture. In the Urban Planning Department, the appointments include Daniel D’Oca…
Making urban environments more resilient is a charge taken on with urgency for many city leaders, the United Nations, and recently the Rockefeller Foundation with its 100 Resilient Cities initiative. For over a decade, Susannah C. Drake MArch ’95, MLA ’95, has tackled challenges of resiliency and ecologically productivity with her firm DLANDstudio, an award-winning…
Three alumni of the GSD have been elected for one of the most coveted awards in North American architecture: The Architectural League of New York’s 2016 Emerging Voices. Jon Lott MArch ’05, design critic in architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and Alex Anmahian MArch ’90 and Nick Winton MArch ’90, principals and co-founders…
Dana McKinney MArch ’17, MUP ’17, reflects on her spring 2016 studio experience. I am both a designer and a planner, pursuing concurrent degrees in the Architecture and Urban Planning and Design Departments. I came to the GSD because it emphasizes interdisciplinary study. The environment has challenged me, inspired me, and reaffirmed my desire…
The Harvard Graduate School of Design (Harvard GSD), with Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP), is pleased to announce the symposium Collaboration: The Lineage of an Architectural Practice, to be held Thursday 17 March from 4.00pm – 8.00pm at the Leadenhall Building in London. RSHP’s history offers a remarkable lens on the task and the potential of…
Photos from the 2/24 design lecture, Elective Affinities: Architecture Across Scales in the Contemporary City, given by Felipe Correa MAUD ’03, and reception in Jakarta. Felipe Correa MAUD ’03 is Associate Professor of Urban Design also serves as Director of the Master of Architecture in Urban Design and Director of the Master of Landscape Architecture in Urban…
On Tuesday, January 26, 2016, over 100 GSD students and recent graduates filled Piper Auditorium for Get Hired! (No Promises) panel discussion and reception. Alumni and friends from the GSD’s core disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, urban design, and design studies shared their expertise on the hiring process and career navigation. Sponsored by Development and…
In November, the GSD launched the Office for Urbanization, a trans-disciplinary initiative designed to focus the intellectual and practical capabilities of the School on a range of applied design research projects attendant to the contemporary city. The Office’s founding director, Charles Waldheim, John E. Irving Professor of Landscape Architecture, is enthusiastic about the Office’s capacity for impact through topical projects
Designing some of the world’s most respected cultural institutions at global design firm Perkins+Will has garnered Ralph Johnson MArch ’73 much national and international acclaim. Johnson is a humble visionary who was honored to hear the news in October 2015 that he was elected to the National Academy – an institution devoted to building and sharing the heritage of the arts in America – for his profound contributions.
DesignIntelligence’s 2016 ratings recognize the GSD for excellence in education and education administration. The architecture and landscape architecture programs were named first in the nation in its 2016 “America’s Best Architecture & Design Schools” ranking. Additionally, Dean Mohsen Mostafavi and three notable alumni were named to DesignIntelligence’s “25 Most Admired Educators” list. DesignIntelligence’s annual survey,…
The GSD recently hosted a number of events engaging with alumni and friends in Miami, New York, and Cambridge. On campus, the fall lecture series continued with distinguished speakers like the inaugural lecture of the Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities featuring Norman Foster held on Thursday, November 5, 2015. Just two days later, on November 7, 2015,…
The annual Design Miami fair traditionally features an entry pavilion designed by early-career architects, a public installation that serves as a beacon for the fair and that provokes consideration and curiosity among the thousands of visitors who visit the fair’s programs and galleries. For the 2015 pavilion design, Design Miami announced a first-of-its-kind collaboration with…
What does architecture have to do with fashion? If you’re designer Calvin Klein, actually quite a lot. Speaking before an overflow crowd at Gund Hall Monday evening as part of the Rouse Visiting Artist Program at Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD), Klein discussed how form, setting, space, and light have deeply informed his work as a…
Reacting to a St. Louis nonprofit group dedicated to improving the quality of life on the nearly 900 streets across the nation named for King, D’Oca began teaching a new studio course this semester that asks students to use urban planning and design, architecture and landscape architecture to help local residents begin to remake their neighborhoods.
The GSD recently hosted a number of engaging events for our community of alumni and friends. On campus, the fall lecture series kicked off with an amazing start, featuring such varied topics as landscape urbanism, architectural writing, public art interventions, and the role of communities of color in the design industry. For its annual Alumni + Friends Weekend in early October,…
This past summer, the GSD announced the appointment of Diane Davis as Chair of the Department of Urban Planning and Design. This new role builds on her experience as the Charles Dyer Norton Professor of Regional Planning and Urbanism, and on her many accolades, which include research fellowships from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the…
Ken Sungjin Min MAUD ’93 epitomizes a growing cohort of foreign-born GSD alumni who remain engaged with the School and the larger GSD community in meaningful ways even after returning to their home country and practicing for decades. As President of GSD Korea, and a member of the Josep Lluís Sert Council, Min is committed…
As the GSD community grows increasingly diverse, with more than 40% of our current enrollment from outside the U.S., it is not surprising that our alumni cohort reflects a similarly international base. While Rolando A. Kraeher MArch ’95 may be emblematic of this cohort, his story is hardly typical. One of 5 children of a Swiss-French…
Urban artist and activist Caledonia Curry—better known by her artist name “Swoon”—opened the Loeb Fellowship 45th anniversary and alumni weekend by discussing the role of art in activism and her personal shift toward art that serves a practical purpose. “I had this really gnawing feeling where we just moved mountains, where we just raised insane…
Stairways inhabit the spaces where we live and work. Whether they’re tucked into cavities in the wall or suspended in grand ceremonial style for all to see, we travel along their treads. Preston Scott Cohen, Gerald M. McCue Professor in Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, delights in stairwells: “They bind spaces together….
The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Graduate School of Design will open applications to a new collaborative two-year master’s program in design engineering this fall, according to SEAS spokesperson Paul Karoff. The program, first reported by The Crimson last spring and called the Master’s of Design Engineering, is intended for professionals who…
These are crucial tenets behind Harvard’s Graduate School of Design (GSD) teachings on housing, and now the results of those lessons are on display for the community to see. Initiated by GSD Dean and Alexander and Victoria Wiley Professor of Design Mohsen Mostafavi and produced by a curatorial research team of the School’s faculty, staff, and students, “Living Anatomy: An Exhibition About Housing,” a multimedia show in the lobby of Gund Hall, just opened and will be on display until December 20.
New York City-based designer, architect, and urbanist discusses his foray into the fashion industry and talks about his time at the GSD.
The Alumni Council promotes the engagement of the alumni community and the advancement of the GSD in the world.
Last month, Anita Berrizbeitia MLA ’87 and Diane Davis assumed their new role as Chair of the Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning and Design department, respectively. Read more as Berrizbeitia shares her vision and goals in the GSD’s series profiling leadership within the School and beyond. Stay tuned for an interview with Diane Davis in October.
Alumni volunteers led the way and hosted local events in Philadelphia, Denver, Boston, and Cambridge.
Harvard-based startup Getaway is tapping into the “tiny house movement,” and a Harvard Graduate School of Design pair is embracing the creative challenges of designing Getaway’s star attraction: so-called “tiny houses” available for vacation rental. Getaway was cofounded by Harvard Business School student Jon Staff and Harvard Law School student Pete Davis via the Millennial Housing Lab—which, in…
Harvard architect couple are transforming Boston’s landscape.
The 2002 Loeb Fellow speaks to GSD’s Class of 2015.
The GSD’s studio abroad program took students to Berlin, Germany for the spring semester to study alongside Frank Barkow of Barkow Leibinger, and Arno Brandlhuber of brandlhuber+.
Brad is the newest member of the GSD Development and Alumni Relations team. Read more about his background and what he hopes to bring to our community.
