Current GSD Staff, Faculty, Teaching Fellows, Teaching Assistants, and Students can request space online via SERT (Schedule Events, Rooms, and Technology), as well as the Direct Spaces mobile app.

Requests are only available for the current academic term. SERT is offline in between terms while the permanent course schedule is being finalized.  If you need assistance while SERT is offline, contact [email protected].

Teaching Assistants will gain access to SERT once they have completed the hiring process with the Academic Programs Business office and taken the required training course.

For instructions on how to plan a public event at the GSD, see event planning instructions for faculty and staff or event planning instructions for students.

Room Usage Policy

In recent years, the GSD has seen rapid growth in population with little increase in square footage. Due to this space limitation, the GSD community has to adhere to ground rules surrounding room usage in order to lead to the overall best use of this important resource. In order to guarantee that the school represents itself with a unified message, GSD Building Services enforces the following:

Any GSD affiliate is allowed to use GSD rooms. Rooms must be officially reserved via the online portal SERT or the Direct Spaces App.

Academic courses, studio reviews, and official public events are the first priority for room usage.

Courses do not end until 6 pm, therefore evening events must adhere to a start time of 6:30 pm or later to ensure an audience and resources to be available.

Only one public event can be scheduled on any given night. Any proposed events in conflict will be denied. Check availability on the GSD Events page.

Non-Academic requests in rooms that require furniture setup (Stubbins (112), Porticos, and Piper) or large-scale events with food, will incur custodial charges when booking the space. Please see the GSD Custodial Policy for details.

The following Classrooms and Academic Spaces are left open for informal student use on nights & weekends*;

  • Gund
    • Loeb Library Lobby Level
    • 2, 3, & 4 Lounges
    • Info-Commons, L20
  • 40 Kirkland
    • 1D Seminar Classroom
    • 1H Common Space Available 24/7
  • 42 Kirkland
    • 1A Seminar Classroom
    • 1G Seminar Classroom
    • 1E Common Space Available 24/7

*Please note spaces are not meant for project work.  Model building should be done at the assigned Gund Studio workspace or Fab Lab Project Room, Gund L31.

Last-minute shifts in room allocations can happen at any time due to a decision on best use by the administration. This means that all room allocations are subject to change at any time. (Every effort will be used to avoid this with high-profile events.)

Other amenities:

Lactation Room (422)

Located in 4th Floor South. If you are interested in utilizing this space, please contact Student Affairs, GSD Human Resources, or Faculty Affairs for assistance.

Interfaith Meditation & Prayer Room (423)

Located in 4th Floor South. This space is available on a first come, first serve basis.

Tips

There is a high volume of studio reviews on Tuesdays-Thursdays 1 pm-6 pm, and some are scheduled without advance notice. Avoid requesting rooms, specifically first-floor rooms, during this time to avoid changes to your reservation.

When Event Planning, consult the academic calendar to look for downtime in academic demands, such as weekends, school breaks, and studio travel weeks when more rooms are available.

In general, the more rooms you require, the higher the chances are that one or more of those rooms will be changed at the last minute due to high demand. We suggest for large conferences limit your use of Gund Hall rooms and look for other locations for meals or other segments of the event that could have equal success off-site.

If requiring a room on the first floor of Gund, custodial charges do not apply to lecture-style spaces, such as 109 or 111, which are ideal for large lectures, or to 124 (currently set up in large seminar style). 516 is another ideal space for larger lectures in Gund, and 485 Broadway 222 can hold a 49-person max lecture-style event.

During busy academic periods, consider moving event meals and receptions off-site, as we do not have a dedicated catering space.

Event Proposal Form

If your room reservation is associated with a public event, which is any event open to the GSD community, Harvard community or the public, the event requestor should fill out the event proposal form, embedded in SERT, as part of their room reservation.  In this form, you will be prompted for details of your request, including the audience, event sponsor, event description, as well as billing information for any fees that may apply, and text and images for the event website (if it will be posted to the GSD Online Calendar). Completed requests are reviewed weekly. We recommend submitting your request at least two weeks in advance.

If the Events Committee believes that hosting a proposed speaker would not be in alignment with the GSD’s community values, the committee reserves the right to deny or cancel the event.

Further questions on event planning at the GSD should be directed to [email protected].

All student groups who wish to plan events not previously submitted with their group budget proposal must discuss their intentions with the Student Forum Student Groups Chair before a room reservation will be confirmed, and may contact Erica George, Coordinator of Student Activities and Outreach, for advice and assistance. Event requests should be submitted through the student group platform Engage.