Harvard Graduate School of Design

The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) is the graduate school of design at Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It offers master's and doctoral programs in architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, urban design, real estate,[1] design engineering, and design studies.

Harvard Graduate School of Design
Coat of arms
TypePrivate graduate school of design
Established
  • 1874 (first courses taught)
  • 1936 (GSD established)
Parent institution
Harvard University
DeanSarah Whiting
Academic staff
206
Students
  • 878
  • 362 (architecture)
  • 161 (urban planning and design)
  • 182 (landscape architecture)
  • 173 (doctoral/design studies)
Location
Cambridge, Massachusetts
,
U.S.

42.3758°N 71.1139°W / 42.3758; -71.1139
CampusUrban
Websitegsd.harvard.edu

The GSD has over 13,000 alumni and has graduated many famous architects, urban planners, and landscape architects. The school is considered a global academic leader in design fields.[2][3]

The GSD has the world's oldest landscape architecture program (founded in 1893) and North America's oldest urban planning program (founded in 1900). Architecture was first taught at Harvard University in 1874.[4] The Graduate School of Design was officially established in 1936, combining the three fields of architecture, urban planning, and landscape architecture under one graduate school.[5]

History
Charles Eliot Norton brought the first architecture courses to Harvard University in 1874

Architecture

Charles Eliot Norton brought the first architecture classes to Harvard University in 1874.[6]

Urban planning and design

In 1900, the first urban planning courses were taught at Harvard University, and by 1909, urban planning courses taught by James Sturgis Pray were added to Harvard's design curriculum as part of the landscape architecture department. In 1923, a specialization in urban planning was established under the degree program of Master in Landscape Architecture. In 1929, North America's first urban planning degree (at the graduate level) was established at Harvard under short-term funding from the Rockefeller Foundation. The planning program migrated to the Graduate School of Design in 1936. Then in 1981, the then City and Regional Planning Program under John Kain ceased at the Graduate School of Design and was dispersed to the Kennedy School of Government and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. In 1984, the Department of Urban Planning and Design was formed under Dean Gerald M. McCue with the inclusion of the Urban Design Program. Then in 1994, the Urban Planning program was officially returned to the Graduate School of Design under the aegis of Albert Carnesale, the Dean of the Kennedy School of Government, and Peter G. Rowe, the Dean of the Faculty of Design; with the first class entering in academic year 1994–1995. At the time, this program was envisioned as a physical planning program. In 2021, the Department of Urban Planning and Design assumed responsibility for a third graduate degree, the Master in Real Estate[7] (MRE).

Landscape architecture

In 1893, the nation's first professional course in landscape architecture was offered at Harvard University. In 1900, the world's first landscape architecture program was established by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. and Arthur A. Shurcliff. The School of Landscape Architecture was established in 1913.[8] Lester Collins who studied there, graduating in 1942, became professor after World War II, and soon Dean of the course.[9][10]

Establishment

The three major design professions (architecture, urban planning, and landscape architecture) were officially united in 1936 to form the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Joseph F. Hudnut (1886–1968) was an American architect scholar and professor who was the first dean. In 1937, Walter Gropius joined the GSD faculty as chair of the Department of Architecture and brought modern designers, including Marcel Breuer to help revamp the curriculum.

In 1960, Josep Lluís Sert established the nation's first Urban Design program. George Gund Hall, which is the present iconic home GSD, opened in 1972 and was designed by Australian architect and GSD graduate John Andrews. The school's now defunct Laboratory for Computer Graphics and Spatial Analysis (LCGSA) is widely recognized as the research/development environment from which the now-commercialized technology of geographic information systems (GIS) emerged in the late 1960s and 1970s. More recent research initiatives include the Design Robotics Group, a unit that investigates new material systems and fabrication technologies in the context of architectural design and construction.[11][5]

Deans
DeanTenureCareer
Joseph Hudnut1936–1953Architect
Josep Lluís Sert1953–1969Architect and urban planner
Maurice D. Kilbridge1969–1980Urban planner
Gerald M. McCue1980–1992Architect
Peter G. Rowe1992–2004Architect
Alan A. Altshuler2005–2008Urban planner
Mohsen Mostafavi2008–2019Architect
Sarah M. Whiting 2019–present Architect

Academics
Gund Hall, designed by architect John Andrews in 1972, is the home of the Harvard Graduate School of Design
The historic Robinson Hall in Harvard Yard was the home of the GSD until 1972, when the school moved to nearby Gund Hall.

The degrees granted in the masters programs include the Master of Architecture (MArch), Master in Landscape Architecture (MLA), Master of Architecture in Urban Design (MAUD), Master of Landscape Architecture in Urban Design (MLAUD), Master in Urban Planning (MUP), Master in Real Estate (MRE), Master in Design Engineering (MDE), Master in Design Studies (MDes). The school also offers the Doctor of Design (DDes) and jointly administers a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in architecture, urban planning, and landscape architecture with the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.[12]

Rankings

As of 2016, the program's ten-year average ranking places it first, overall, on DesignIntelligence's ranking of programs accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board.

Executive Education

Executive Education operates within GSD providing professional development classes.[16] The Advanced Management Development Program in Real Estate (AMDP) is a year-long executive development course open to established real estate professionals. Upon graduating from AMDP, participants are full-fledged Harvard University Alumni. Throughout the year, Executive Education offers short duration programs in the fields of architecture, urban planning, design, and real estate to a diverse audience of learners.[16]

Student body

As of 2012–2013, there were 878 students enrolled. 362 students or 42% were enrolled in architecture, 182 students or 21% in landscape architecture, 161 students or 18% in urban planning, and 173 students or 20% in doctoral or design studies programs. Approximately, 65% of students were Americans. The average student is 27 years old.[17] GSD students are represented by the Harvard Graduate Council (HGC), a university-wide student government organization. There are also several dozen internal GSD student clubs.[18]

Research and publications

In addition to its degree programs, the GSD administers the Loeb Fellowship,[19] and numerous research initiatives such as the Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure. The school publishes the bi-annual Harvard Design Magazine, Platform, and other design books and studio works.

Design Research Labs

The GSD Design Labs synthesize theoretical and applied knowledge through research with the intent to enable design to be an agent of change in society. There are seven current labs: Material Processes and Systems Group; Energy, Environments and Design; New Geographies Lab; Responsive Environments and Artifacts Lab; Social Agency Lab; Urban Theory Lab; Geometry Lab.

Campus

The GSD campus is located northeast of Harvard Yard and across the street from Memorial Hall. Gund Hall is the main building of the GSD, and it houses most of the student space and faculty offices. Other nearby buildings include space for the school's Design Research Labs, faculty offices, the Loeb Fellowship program office, and research space for students, including those in the MDes and DDes programs.

Gund Hall
Gund Hall's huge slanted glass roof provides light to the 5 staggered levels of studio space, known as the Trays[20]
The Trays within Gund Hall.

Gund Hall is the main building, which has studio spaces and offices for approximately 800 students and more than 100 faculty and staff, lecture and seminar rooms, workshops and darkrooms, an audiovisual center, computer facilities, Chauhaus, the cafeteria, a project room, Piper Auditorium, and the Frances Loeb Library. The central studio space, also known as the Trays, extends through five levels under a stepped, clear-span roof. Gund Hall has a yard that comprises a basketball court and is often used for events, as an exhibition area for class projects, and as the setting for commencement ceremonies. The building was designed by architect John Andrews and supervised by structural engineer William LeMessurier both GSD alumni.[21]

Frances Loeb Library

The Frances Loeb Library, is the main library of the Graduate School of Design. The library has a collection of over 300,000 books and journals. It also has a Materials and Visual Resources Department, and the Special Collections Department, which houses the GSD's rare books and manuscript collection.

Fabrication Lab

The Fabrication Lab has both traditional tools and state-of-the-art technology available for model making and prototyping to faculty research and student course work. The Fabrication Lab has a full wood shop, metals shop, printing labs, 3D printing, CNC tools, robotic machines, laser cutter machines, etc.[22]

Notable alumni and faculty

As of 2013, the GSD had over 13,000 alumni in 96 countries. The GSD had 77 faculty members and 129 visiting faculty members. 45% of the faculty members were born outside of the United States.[23]

Frank Gehry studied urban planning at the GSD. Though he did not complete the program, he received an honorary doctorate from the school in 2000.
Philip Johnson, architecture alumnus
José Rafael Moneo Vallés, architecture faculty
Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., founder of the landscape architecture program

Alumni

Current faculty

Notable faculty currently at the school include Anita Berrizbeitia, Eve Blau, Sean Canty, Jennifer Bonner, Hanif Kara, Jorge Silvetti, Antoine Picon, Farshid Moussavi, Jeanne Gang, Peter G. Rowe, John R. Stilgoe, K. Michael Hays, Krzysztof Wodiczko, Martha Schwartz, Mohsen Mostafavi, Preston Scott Cohen, Rahul Mehrotra, Rem Koolhaas, Grace La, Rafael Moneo, Sarah M. Whiting, Toshiko Mori, Mark Lee, and Sharon Johnston.

Emeritus faculty

Former faculty

References
  1. "About - REAL ESTATE and the BUILT ENVIRONMENT". REAL ESTATE and the BUILT ENVIRONMENT. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  2. "The Best US Architecture Schools for 2014 are..." November 4, 2013.
  3. "2013 United States Best Architecture Schools". November 21, 2012.
  4. "Harvard Graduate School of Design". www.gsd.harvard.edu.
  5. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 10, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "Harvard University, Graduate School of Design. The GSD History Collection, Administrative Affairs: An Inventory". Retrieved November 22, 2017.
  7. "Master in Real Estate". Harvard Graduate School of Design. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  8. Alofsin, Anthony (2002). The Struggle for Modernism: Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and City Planning at Harvard.
  9. "Landscape Architect Lester A. Collins Dies". Washington Post. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  10. "History of the Garden". Innisfree Garden. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  11. . gsd.harvard.edu. Retrieved on 2012-04-03.
  12. "Doctoral Programs". Harvard Graduate School of Design. Harvard University. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  13. "Harvard Master in Design Engineering". www.mde.harvard.edu. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  14. "Harvard Graduate School of Design - Homepage". www.gsd.harvard.edu. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  15. "Doctoral Programs". Harvard Graduate School of Design. Harvard University. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  16. "Harvard Graduate School of Design Executive Education". Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  17. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 20, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. Student Group Directory, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Retrieved 22 April 2018
  19. "The LOEB Fellowship". The LOEB Fellowship. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  20. Eleanor Gibson, Herzog & de Meuron to overhaul Harvard GSD's Gund Hall, Dezeen, July 26, 2018.
  21. "Architectural Forum - December 1972" (PDF). Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  22. "Harvard Graduate School of Design". www.gsd.harvard.edu.
  23. "Endowment" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 4, 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
  24. Wilson, Dreck Spurlock (March 2004). "Louis Edwin Fry Sr. (1903–2000)". African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945. Routledge. pp. 217–221. ISBN 978-1-135-95629-5.
  25. "Michaele Pride, Architect, and Educator". African American Registry (AAREG).
  26. "Harvard Graduate School of Design - Nader Tehrani". www.gsd.harvard.edu. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  27. Emily Young, Building a Name for Herself, The Los Angeles Times, March 14, 2002
  28. "Judges 2009 Bjarke Ingels". World Architecture Festival. Archived from the original on February 26, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2009.
  29. Alan Powers, "Chermayeff, Serge", Grove Art Online
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