Design Takes on The Housing Crisis

Third prize Plimpton Poorvu Prize winners, Vincent Jackow (MArch/MIT) and Ian Erickson (MArch ’25) pin up their project.

America’s housing system is buckling under pressure. Home buying has fallen to its lowest level in decades , rents remain punishingly high, and climate disasters are destroying housing faster than communities can replace it. In Boston, the humble triple-decker—once a model of attainable multifamily housing—now stands at the center of this national emergency: aging, energy inefficient, and priced far beyond the reach of the working families it once sheltered.

Donor-funded fellowships and prizes equip designers to meet this crisis head-on, transforming studio research into housing prototypes and real-world policies that make a tangible difference in people’s lives. Gifts to the School fuel a two-part innovation engine: fellowships lower financial barriers to education, and prizes transform prototypes into concepts ready for adoption. Together, these pipelines carry ideas from the studio to city streets, ensuring that the GSD’s impact is felt not only in plans and policies, but also in the daily lives of those who need housing most. 

Stockard Fellows in Action 

The Stockard Fellowship—now celebrating its tenth anniversary—is emblematic of this approach. Established in 2015 by Loeb Fellows, alumni, and friends to honor James G. Stockard Jr. (MCP ’68, LF ’78), lecturer in Urban Planning and Design, the Fellowship helps students committed to housing and community development pursue their GSD education and, crucially, connects them to agencies and nonprofits where their skills matter most.

“I’d love it if, over the years, the GSD became the place to go to school if you want to work on housing issues, and that means having plenty of financial support to come here,” says Stockard. 

Stockard Fellows are applying their skills across the nation:

Cambridge, MA: Maura Barry-Garland (MUP ’19) put her fellowship into practice as a project manager at the Cambridge Housing Authority, where Stockard served as a board member for decades. There, Barry-Garland helped lead dramatic redevelopments of existing public housing and contributed to the creation of new public housing units. “It was extraordinary,” Stockard recalls, “to stand at a groundbreaking and see a former Stockard Fellow taking charge of work that directly improves families’ lives.” After six years at the Cambridge Housing Authority, Maura transitioned to a similar role in affordable housing development at Housing Alexandria in Alexandria, Virginia.

New York City: During her time as a Stockard Fellow at the GSD, Emily Klein (MUP ’20) focused on housing and community development. Today, she serves as the Assistant Vice President and Deputy Director for Public Affairs at the Community Preservation Corporation, the nation’s largest community development finance institution, which focuses solely on multifamily housing. Klein advances policy solutions that support the production of new and preservation of existing affordable housing in New York City and State. 

Los Angeles: A recent Stockard Fellow and GSD graduate, Michaela Gwiazda (MUP ’25), received a summer travel grant that placed her with LA Más, a nonprofit dedicated to building neighborhood stability. While there, she supported participatory planning and helped lay the groundwork for a permanently affordable housing program. 

Each example is different, but the throughline is clear: donor-backed fellowships remove financial hurdles for students while bringing design talent to the very places that need it most. 

Prizes: Prototyping the Future

Inside the GSD, donor-supported prizes for new graduates catalyze innovation before their recipients leave Gund Hall. The Plimpton-Poorvu Design Prize—now celebrating its tenth anniversary, like the Stockard Fellowship—was established by longtime friends, business partners, and GSD advocates Samuel Plimpton (MBA ’77, MArch ’80), a current member of the Dean’s Council, and William J. Poorvu (MBA ’58). The prize recognizes ambitious, cross-disciplinary projects that are both imaginative and buildable—designs that come with a plan to make them real. 

2025 Plimpton-Poorvu Design Prize Event

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The Clifford Wong Prize in Housing Design extends this ethos and is celebrating its thirty-fifth anniversary. Established in 1990 by Nelson K. Chen (AB ’75, MArch ’78), the prize recognizes socially oriented housing proposals across programs. Recent winners have reimagined cohousing from the sidewalk level up and tested tenure models that could scale nationally.

Seeding Hope 

Supporting fellowships and design prizes is an act of faith: when design talent is adequately resourced, it can help close critical gaps in society, including in the area of housing. These investments do more than recognize promise; they turn it into practice. Their impact also extends outward: the same pipeline that strengthens housing also drives breakthroughs in climate adaptation, material innovation, and real estate practice.

As Stockard observes, “Today, so many students believe design can lead to social justice. They’re finding new forms of housing that lean on each other—more sharing, more community. That mindset is why I’m hopeful.”