GSD Faculty, Alum, and Student Win 2023 Graham Foundation Grants

Members of the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) community are among recipients of new project grants from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts . Announced in late May, the Foundation’s 2023 grants present nearly $560,000 in funding to support 64 projects by 93 individuals and collaborators who are “working to realize innovative and interdisciplinary ideas that contribute critical perspectives on architecture and design.” The funded projects include publications, research programs, exhibitions, films, podcasts, digital initiatives, public programs, and other formats that further ideas, dialogues, and new understandings of architecture.

The GSD awardees and their projects are:

Yun Fu, Design Critic in Urban Planning and Design, for the publication Thinking and Building on Shaky Ground. Building with earthquakes is a familiar yet persistent design problem for resilient construction on all continents. The book elaborates on various factors for earthquake-resilient architecture in six thematic chapters that explore the design strategies of lightness, quickness, exactitude, visibility, multiplicity, and consistency. These factors allow designers to develop contextual solutions that marry technical know-how with social and cultural understanding, ranging in scale from buildings to furniture and urban master plans.

Dana McKinney, Design Critic in Urban Planning and Design, for Black—Still, an installation that offers an accessible entry point into architecture. Situated within the Craft Contemporary’s courtyard in Los Angeles, the reverential volumes are responsive to various obstacles beneath the surface, on the ground, and above. The prism’s glossy black finish evokes the tar running below the ground’s surface—the use of the color black frames an introspective space. Black is celebrated as “clean,” “pure,” and “good,” and is a source of collective healing. Its blackness subverts traditional and modernist notions of whiteness, presenting novel and diverse expressions of architecture.

Anna Bokov (MArch ’04) for the publication From Method to Style: Elements of Spatial Composition and Architectural Pedagogy after Vkhutemas. The publication centers on Elements of Spatial Composition, a textbook published in 1934 by a group of former Vkhutemas faculty who sought to salvage the pedagogical methods of that avant-garde school at the onset of Stalin’s stylistic mandates in the Soviet Union.

Curry J. Hackett (MAUD ’24) for Drylongso: Imaging the Black Landscape, a research project that incorporates oral histories and archival material to inform installations, writing, craft, and drawings that collectively render everyday life of Black lands in the American South. Drylongso (a Gullah-derived word meaning “ordinary” or “same old”) is an indexing and speculation of the geographies and landscapes shaped by Black cultural production. Hackett was a finalist for the 2022 Wheelwright Prize for his proposal “Drylongso: Sociospatial Tropes of the African Diaspora.”

Nahyun Hwang (MArch ’01) and David Eugin Moon (MArch ’01), of N H D M Architects, present Migrating Futures, an ongoing project that investigates the historical and contemporary geographies of diverse diaspora communities and transnational migrant workers within Korea and across Asia. While subjected to the enduring colonial legacy of subjugated and racialized laboring bodies and extremely precarious work and living conditions, the ostensibly transient global subjects shape and embody emergent and hyper-local spatial typologies, new socialities, and potently intersectional cultural and agentive capacities.

The Graham Foundation will announce grants to organizations, as well as winners of the 2023 Carter Manny Award, later this year.

Loeb Fellowship Announces Incoming Class of 2024

The Loeb Fellowship at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) has chosen the 2024 Class of Loeb Fellows: nine innovators, problem solvers, visionaries, and practitioners who lead the charge for social justice and transformative change. They work in fields as diverse as post-disaster support, cultural infrastructure, land ownership reform, and climate justice.

Every academic year, the Loeb Fellowship at Harvard GSD welcomes a new cohort of gifted mid-career professionals. They arrive from diverse backgrounds but share a passion and common purpose: to strengthen their abilities to advance equity and achieve positive social outcomes. During their 10-month residency, Loeb Fellows immerse themselves in a rich academic environment, auditing courses at Harvard and MIT, exchanging insights, and expanding professional networks. They also engage with Harvard GSD students and faculty, participate as speakers and panelists at public events, and convene workshops and other activities that encourage knowledge sharing and creation. Throughout, Loeb Fellows consider how they might refocus their careers and broaden the impact of their work.

The incoming cohort of 2024 Loeb Fellows are:

Catherine Buell

Former Director, Amazon Housing Equity Fund / Washington, DC, USA

Akeem Dixon

Founder and CEO, The Intersect / Philadelphia, PA, USA

Henry Grabar

Staff Writer, Slate / Paris, France and New York, NY, USA

Mavis Gragg

CEO, HeirShares / Durham, NC, USA

Maria-Mercedes Jaramillo Garcés

Secretary of Planning, City of Bogotá / Bogotá, Colombia

Adi Kumar

Executive Director, Ndifuna Ukwazi / Cape Town, South Africa

Line Ramstad

Founder and Director, Gyaw Gyaw / Vormsund, Norway

Kannan Thiruvengadam

Director, Eastie Farm, Inc. / Boston, MA, USA

Joseph Zeal-Henry

Co-Founder, SOUND ADVICE and Capital Development Manager, Greater London Authority / London, UK  2024 Loeb/ArtLab Fellow

“Every year, Loeb Fellows add a special, irreplaceable energy to the GSD community. They come from all over the world, bringing with them such rich and varied experiences and an ambitious optimism that opens our eyes to what’s possible. At the GSD, we are incredibly fortunate to count them among us, and I can’t wait to welcome next year’s class in Cambridge,” says Sarah M. Whiting, Dean and Josep Lluís Sert Professor of Architecture at the GSD.

“When the Selection Committee makes its decision in the spring, we already know these individuals are highly accomplished and show great promise for growing their influence,” observes Loeb Fellowship Curator John Peterson. “Our work is to recognize the opportunity this educational experience presents for and the catalyzing effect being within the cohort has on their potential.” Peterson is an architect, activist, and curator of the Loeb Fellowship program.

After their year of Harvard GSD residence, Loeb Fellowship alumni join a powerful worldwide network of over 450 lifelong Loeb Fellows. Many are recognized leaders, like Theaster Gates (LF ’11), Toni Griffin (LF ’98), Alessandro Petti (LF ’17), Emmanuel Pratt (LF ’17), Ana María Durán Calisto (LF ’11), Stephanie Hankey (LF ’22), Michael Uwemedimo (LF ’22), Jordan Weber (LF ’22), and Mpho Matsipa (LF ’22), all of whom are represented at the Venice Biennale Architettura 2023. Tau Tavengwa (LF ’18) is on the Biennale Jury, and incoming Loeb Fellow Joseph Zeal-Henry is a co-curator of the British Pavilion 2023.

The Loeb Fellowship continues its collaboration with the ArtLab at Harvard University to welcome Joseph Zeal-Henry as its 2024 Loeb/ArtLab Fellow. Zeal-Henry will have access to studio space and will be able to engage with the ArtLab community and its intellectual resources and networks. As the third Loeb/ArtLab Fellow, he joins past Artist Fellows Jordan Weber (LF ’22) and Dario Calmese (LF ’23).

ArtLab Director Bree Edwards says, “I am excited to have Joseph Zeal-Henry join us as he investigates how arts and culture are central to urban planning and policy. Joseph’s cross-sector research, storytelling, and the innovative ways he brings people together align with the mission of ArtLab.”

The Loeb Fellowship traces its roots to the late 1960s, when John L. Loeb directed a Harvard GSD campaign based on the theme of “Crisis.” Loeb saw the American city in disarray and believed Harvard could help. He imagined bringing promising innovators of the built and natural environment to Harvard GSD for a year, challenging them to do more and do better, convinced they would return to their work with new ideas and energy.

John L. and Frances Loeb endowed the Loeb Fellowship as part of their gift to the “Crisis” campaign. They worked closely with William A. Doebele, the Frank Backus Williams Professor of Urban Planning and Design (now Emeritus), the program’s founding curator, who guided the program from the Class of 1971 until 1998, and shaped an experience that has had a powerful impact on generations of urban, rural, and environmental practitioners.

Prizes & Honors 2023

Each year at commencement, the Harvard Graduate School of Design confers awards on graduating students who demonstrate exceptional scholarly achievement, leadership, and service. Congratulations to the student award recipients, and to all of the 2023 graduates for your tremendous accomplishments.

School-wide Awards

Gerald M. McCue Medal

The Gerald M. McCue Medal is awarded each year to the student graduating from one of the school’s post-professional degree programs who has achieved the highest overall academic record.

• Oonagh Saskia Binnie Davis (MArch II ’23)

Digital Design Prize

The Digital Design Prize is presented by the Graduate School of Design to the students who have demonstrated the most imaginative and creative use of computer graphics in relation to the design professions.

• Amelia Wen Jiun Gan (MDes ’23, Mediums Domain)
• Sonia Sobrino Ralston (MLA I AP ’23)

Peter Rice Prize

The Peter Rice Prize honors students of exceptional promise in the school’s architecture and advanced degree programs who have proven their competence and innovation in advancing architecture and structural engineering.

• Sujie Park (MArch I ’23)

Plimpton-Poorvu Design Prize

The Plimpton-Poorvu Design Prize recognizes the top team or individual for a viable real estate project completed as part of the GSD curriculum that best demonstrates feasibility in design, construction, economics, and in fulfillment of market and user needs.

• 1st Prize: Pinyang Chen (MLAUD ’23)
• 1st Prize: Vivian Cheng (MAUD ’23)
• 1st Prize: Cheryl Lin (MArch II ’24)
  • for their submission, The Gansevorrt: Design for Longevity

• 2nd Prize: Madeleine Jade Levin (MUP ’23)
• 2nd Prize: Arielle Raine Rawlings (MUP ’23)
• 2nd Prize: Maddie Farrer (MArch I ’25)
  • for their submission, Boyd Street Gateway

• Honorable Mention: Taerie Kim (MUP ’23)
• Honorable Mention: Claire Jing Hui Tham (MUP ’23)
• Honorable Mention: Heejin Park (MAUD ’23)
• Honorable Mention: Lai Zhou (MDes ’23, Publics Domain)
• Honorable Mention: Aelin Li (MDes ’24, Narratives Domain)
  • for their submission, Truly, Oregon! Empower Lloyd Center, Portland, OR

Clifford Wong Prize in Housing Design

The Clifford Wong Prize in Housing Design aims to help re-establish the essential role of architects in society to provide not only the fundamental needs of human shelter but to meet the challenge of designing creative solutions for improving living environments. The Prize is awarded for the multi-family housing design that incorporates the most interesting ideas and/or innovations that may lead to socially-oriented, improved living conditions.

• Randy Crandon (MArch I ’25)
• Maddie Farer (MArch I ’25)

Alumni Award

The Alumni Award recognizes and celebrates the diversity, range, and impact of outstanding GSD alumni leaders within their communities and across their areas of practice. It underscores the essential role GSD graduates play in leading change around the world.

• Edwin Cruz (MDes ’97)
• Shaun Donovan (BA ’87, MPA ’71, MArch ’95)
• William Johnson (MLA ’57)
• Frank Christopher Lee (MAUD ’79)
• Cathy Simon (MArch ’69)

Irving Innovation Fellowship

The Irving Innovation Fellowship offers a graduating student the opportunity to extend their research and discovery beyond their time as a student and work with a group of mentors and colleagues to contribute to the school’s pedagogy and dialogue on an annually changing topic.

• Amelia Wen Jiun Gan (MDes ’23, Mediums Domain)

Sinclair Kennedy Traveling Fellowship

The Sinclair Kennedy Traveling Fellowships support a full academic year of research at destinations outside of the United States.

• Sharon Michelle Welch (MDes ’23, Publics Domain)

Fulbright Grants

The Fulbright US Student Program is an international exchange program in the fields of education, culture, and science, offering advanced research, study, and teaching opportunities in over 140 countries.

• Tomi Seyi Laja (MArch II ’23)
• Julia Cheryl Meinhardt (MUP ’23)

Architecture Awards

American Institute of Architects Medal

The American Institute of Architects Medal is awarded to a professional degree student in the Master in Architecture graduating class who has achieved the highest level of excellence in overall scholarship throughout the course of their studies.

• Kaitlynn Ann Long (MArch I ’23)

Alpha Rho Chi Medal

The Alpha Rho Chi Medal is awarded to the graduating student who has achieved the best general record of leadership and service to the department and who gives promise of professional merit through their character.

• Daniel Haidermota (MArch I ’23)
• Leonard E. Palmer (MArch I ’23)

James Templeton Kelley Prize

The James Templeton Kelley Prize recognizes the best final design project submitted by a graduating student in the architecture degree programs.

• MArch I: Jacqueline Wong Huey Yean (MArch I ’23)
• MArch II: Deok Kyu Chung (MArch II ’23)

Julia Amory Appleton Traveling Fellowship in Architecture

The Julia Amory Appleton Traveling Fellowship is given to a student in the Department of Architecture on the basis of academic achievement as well as the worthiness of the project to be undertaken.

• Yijia Tang (MArch I ’23)

Kevin V. Kieran Prize

The Kevin V. Kieran Prize recognizes the highest level of academic achievement among students graduating from the post-professional Master in Architecture program.

• Oonagh Saskia Binnie Davis (MArch II ’23)

Dept. of Architecture Faculty Design Award

The Department of Architecture Faculty Design Award was established by the faculty of the Department of Architecture with the aim of recognizing significant achievement within a body of design work completed by a student at the GSD. This award is given to graduating students from each of the department’s two program.

• Ashleigh-Paige Fielding (MArch I ’23)
• Pablo Castillo Luna (MArch II ’23)

Dept. of Architecture Certificate of Academic Excellence

The Department of Architecture Certificate of Academic Excellence is awarded by the faculty of the Department of Architecture to a graduate of the professional degree program in architecture (MArch I) in recognition of their academic achievement throughout their course of study in the program.

• Ashleigh-Paige Fielding (MArch I ’23)

Landscape Architecture Awards

Thesis Prize in Landscape Architecture

The Landscape Architecture Thesis Prize is given to the graduating student who has prepared the best independent thesis during the past academic year.

• Sonia Sobrino Ralston (MLA I AP ’23)
• Kevin Thomas Robishaw (MLA I ’23)
• Celina Chinyere Abba (MLA I AP ’23)
• Enrique Cavelier (MLA I AP ’23)

American Society of Landscape Architects Certificates

Nominated by the faculty in the GSD’s Department of Landscape Architecture, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) awards a certificate of Honor and a Certificate of Merit to students enrolled in the Master in Landscape Architecture program who have “demonstrated a high degree of academic scholarship and of accomplishment in skills related to the art and technology of landscape architecture.”

• Tian Wei Li (MLA I and MDes ’23), Certificate of Merit
• Riley Warren Nystrom (MLA II ’23), Certificate of Merit
• Pitchapa Setpakdee (MLA II ’23), Certificate of Merit
• Enrique Cavelier (MLA I AP ’23), Certificate of Honor
• Dian Xi Diana Guo (MLA I and MDes ’23), Certificate of Honor
• Justin Patrick Hailey (MLA II ’23), Certificate of Honor

Landscape Architecture Foundation Olmsted Scholar

Each year the faculty in the Department of Landscape Architecture nominates a student for the Landscape Architecture Foundation Olmsted Scholars Program. The program recognizes and supports students with exceptional leadership potential.

• Celina Chinyere Abba (MLA I AP ’23)

Norman T. Newton Prize

The Norman T. Newton Prize is given to a graduating landscape architecture student whose work best exemplifies achievement in design expression as realized in any medium.

• Sonia Sobrino Ralston (MLA I AP ’23)

Peter Walker & Partners Fellowship for Landscape Architecture

The Peter Walker and Partners Fellowship for Landscape Architecture is awarded to support travel and study for a graduating GSD student to advance their understanding of the body of scholarship and practices related to landscape design.

• Pavin Banternghansa (MLA I AP ’23)
• Lara Trimarco Prebble (MLA I ’23)

Jacob Weidenmann Prize

The Jacob Weidenmann Prize is awarded to the student of the most distinguished design achievement graduating from the Department of Landscape Architecture.

• Kevin Thomas Robishaw (MLA I ’23)

Charles Eliot Traveling Fellowship in Landscape Architecture

The Charles Eliot Traveling Fellowship is awarded annually as the highest honor by the Department of Landscape Architecture to one of its graduates.

• Celina Chinyere Abba (MLA I AP ’23)

Urban Planning and Design Awards

The Award for Academic Excellence in Urban Planning and Urban Design honors graduating students from each of the programs who have achieved the highest academic record.

Academic Excellence in Urban Planning

• Elizabeth Houston Sheild (MUP ’23)

Academic Excellence in Urban Design

• Sarah Elizabeth Page (MAUD ’23)

Award for Outstanding Leadership in Urban Planning and Urban Design

The Award for Outstanding Leadership in Urban Planning and Urban Design honors graduating students from each of the programs who have demonstrated outstanding leadership during their time at the Graduate School of Design.

•  Abdul-Razak Mohammed Zachariah (MUP ’23)
•  Sikun Lamei Zhang (MUP ’23)
• Rolando Girodengo Lobo (MAUD ’23)

Thesis Prizes in Urban Planning and Urban Design

Planning and Design Thesis Prize is given to the graduating students in each of the programs who have prepared the best independent theses during the past academic year.

• Michael Patrick Zajakowski Uhll (MUP ’23)
• Saad Boujane (MAUD ’23)

The Award for Excellence in Project-Based Urban Planning

The Award for Excellence in Project-Based Urban Planning is given to students who have demonstrated exceptional ability in urban planning projects including research and design studios throughout their course of study.

• Jonathan Yedahm Lee (MUP ’23)

The Award for Excellence in Urban Design

The Award for Excellence in Urban Design is given to students who have demonstrated exceptional design ability throughout their course of study in the Urban Design program.

• Sarahdjane Mortimer (MAUD ’23)

American Institute of Certified Planners Outstanding Student Award

The American Institute of Certified Planners Outstanding Student Award recognizes outstanding attainment in the study of planning by students graduating from accredited planning programs. The recipient of the award is chosen by a jury of planning faculty at each school.

• Mary Claire Abbott (MUP ’23)

Ferdinand Colloredo-Mansfeld Prize for Superior Achievement in Real Estate Studies

The Ferdinand Colloredo-Mansfeld Prize for Superior Achievement in Real Estate Studies is awarded annually to a graduating student from any program who has exhibited superior academic accomplishment and leadership in real estate studies.

• Pinyang Chen (MLAUD ’23)
• Elizabeth Houston Sheild (MUP ’23)

Druker Traveling Fellowship

Established in 1986, The Druker Traveling Fellowship is open to all students at the GSD who demonstrate excellence in the design of urban environments. It offers students the opportunity to travel in the United States or abroad to pursue study that advances understanding of urban design.

• Sarah Elizabeth Page (MAUD ’22)

Design Studies Awards

Dimitris Pikionis Award

The Dimitris Pikionis Award recognizes a student for outstanding academic performance in the Master in Design Studies degree program.

• Pedro Onofre Rodríguez-Parets Maleras (MDes ’23)

The Daniel L. Schodek Award for Technology and Sustainability

The Daniel L. Schodek Award for Technology and Sustainability honors the memory and legacy of Professor Daniel Schodek and the standards of excellence he established during his 40 years of teaching and mentoring at the GSD. The award is given annually in recognition of the best Master in Design Studies thesis in the area of technology and sustainable design.

• Kritika Kharbanda (MDes ’23)

The Design Studies Thesis Prize

• Alaa Suliman Eltayeb Mohamed Hamid (MDes ’23)

The Design Studies Domain Awards

• Dian Xi Diana Guo (MDes, Ecologies Domain, and MLA I ’23)
• Nix Liu Xin (MDes ’23, Mediums Domain)
• Chi Ting Coco Tin (MDes ’23, Narratives Domain)
• Kendall Antonio Nicholson (MDes ’23, Publics Domain)

Design Engineering Awards

Overall Academic Performance

The Overall Academic Performance award recognizes a graduating MDE student for outstanding academic performance in the Master in Design Engineering degree program.

• Caroline Olivia Ty Fong (MDE ’22)

Leadership and Community Prize:

The Leadership and Community award recognizes one or more graduating students who have displayed outstanding leadership and community building within the Design Engineering cohort and who have represented MDE values to the larger world.

• Yoolim Jenn Kim (MDE ’23)

Outstanding Design Engineering Project

• Rebecca Brand (MDE ’23)
• Caroline Olivia Ty Fong (MDE ’23)

Award-winning Thesis Projects

Meet the GSD Class of 2023 Commencement Marshals

Each year, graduating students from the Harvard Graduate School of Design come together to nominate and elect classmates to serve as commencement marshals by program. Being selected as a commencement marshal is one of Harvard’s most beloved traditions and is a high honor for a graduating student. During commencement exercises, marshals help to organize the GSD procession to Harvard Yard. After Commencement, the marshals become the alumni liaisons for their class cohorts.

Meet the graduates who will represent their program at the GSD’s 2023 Commencement:

 

Architecture: Sarah Pumphrey

Sarah Pumphrey proclaimed her dream to be an architect in first grade. After exploring the fields of graphic design and sociology, she graduated with a BFA in Architectural Design from James Madison University near her hometown of Richmond, Virginia. At JMU, she earned the Thesis Prize, the J. Binford Walford Scholarship in Architecture, and was named Alan Tschudi Outstanding Student in Design. While at the GSD, Sarah engaged in student leadership, serving as Student Forum Academic Chair and Resources Chair, a Mentor with The Mentor Collective, and a Graduate Teaching Assistant. Sarah was an entrepreneur-in-residence at MITdesignX , and, alongside her co-founders, won third place of the top nine startups at MIT in 2021. She collaborated with CO-G Architecture and worked for MACHADO SILVETTI during her time at the GSD. This summer, Sarah will nurture her love for sharing knowledge, “works-in-progress”, and interdisciplinary learning by teaching in the GSD Design Discovery program.

 

Landscape Architecture: Matthew Gorab 

 

Originally from Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, Matt Gorab moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where he studied Architectural Studies at Boston University. At Harvard, Matt worked as a Research Assistant Teaching Assistant and served as an MLAI ’23 Class representative. During his time at the GSD, his interests in Landscape honed in on the healing capacities of Landscape and the harmonies infrastructure and Landscape can yield. As a recipient of the Penny White Project Fund, Matt completed field research for his project, Rest Stopping Across America: An Investigation of Northeast and Midwest Rest Stops. When he finds the time, Matt enjoys bookmaking, reading, or sitting under a Shagbark Hickory. 

 

 

Urban Design: Haixin Yin

Haixin Yin was born and raised in an urban planner family in Kunming, China. He received his B.A. in Architecture with distinction from Tongji University, where he was appointed the college marshal with the highest honor of Outstanding Graduate of Shanghai. His professional interests lie at the intersection of urbanism, AI-aided design, and sustainable development. At GSD, Haixin explored how cities can use high-performance transportation infrastructure, such as high-speed rails, to cultivate centrality and efficiency, proposing sustainable travel methods in the urban realm. And his paper Speedy Facade: AI generation of 3D building façades from users’ verbal descriptions, which helped all stakeholders join the decision-making process with improved inclusiveness, was recently accepted by eCAADe 2023. Outside of class, Haixin volunteered at Sunshine House, co-creating artworks with individuals with different abilities and participating in public exhibitions. He enjoys running along the Charles, snowboarding, and traveling in his free time.

 

Urban Planning: Lindsey Mayer

Lindsey Mayer grew up in the Rocky Mountains of Ogden, Utah and received her B.A. in Political Science at the University of Portland. Before coming to Harvard, Lindsey worked for the New York City Mayor’s Office under the Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development , where she was inspired by the role that planning can play in making cities more equitable. She then went on to work at the NYC Economic Development Corporation where she co-founded the Design Corps, an initiative that paired architects with restaurants under the City’s outdoor dining program in response to Covid-19. During her time at the GSD, Lindsey discovered how planning is crucial in meeting our decarbonization goals and worked on several climate-oriented projects based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she plans to work after graduation. She is tremendously honored to represent the 2023 cohort of graduating MUPs and is already looking forward to her future class reunions.

 

Design Studies: Ibrahim Ibrahim

Ibrahim Ibrahim is a Lebanese design technologist working across disciplines and scales: from philosophy of technology to innovative technical workflows, to exploring collaborations between humans, machines, and artificial intelligence. He is currently a MDes (Mediums) candidate where he researches the creative applications of machine learning in design processes and tools. Prior to joining Harvard, Ibrahim practiced as an architect and computational designer in Los Angeles, Madrid, and Dubai. He holds a B.A. in Architecture from the American University of Sharjah, where he received the MAD Award, Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence, and the Sheikh Khalifa merit scholarship.

 

 

Design Engineering: Yoolim Jenn Kim

Yoolim Jenn Kim, originally from Seoul, had a formative cross-cultural upbringing in Korea and the US. She studied sociology and psychology at Wellesley College and researched at MIT’s Media Lab , where her passion for the convergence of social science, technology, and design flourished. She then worked as a consultant at Accenture, catering to clients across finance, hospitality, and healthcare. At Harvard, Jenn further expanded her horizons by exploring complex systemic problems, including designing a sepsis diagnostic kit, promoting food waste awareness, combating malnutrition in Mali, and preserving indigenous knowledge as cultural sovereignty. Her nonlinear and diverse journey embodies the multidisciplinary spirit of the MDE program and its students, whom she is constantly inspired by. Jenn also served as the MDE ’23 Class Representative for two years and Teaching Fellow at SEAS . In her leisure time, Jenn enjoys walking by the Charles, hot yoga, and exploring art museums. Jenn is honored to represent the remarkable 2023 cohort of MDE students.

 

Doctor of Design: Daniel Tish

Daniel Tish is a designer and researcher whose work lies at the intersection of digital fabrication, material science, sustainability, and computation. Daniel’s dissertation research develops carbon-negative, 3D-printable building materials made from microalgae. His work treats the high carbon footprint of the built environment as an opportunity for design and configures circular economies and technological solutions to address this issue. The research establishes multidisciplinary collaborations with domain experts in material science and operates from both a top-down ecosystem and a bottom-up material perspective. Daniel is a member of the MaP+S group at the GSD, and the Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities and the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University have generously supported his research. Daniel is an Instructor in Architecture at the GSD and was previously a Lecturer at the University of Michigan. His work has been published in several journals and international conferences and recently exhibited at Design Miami/Basel .

 

Harvard GSD Shortlists Four Architects for 2023 Wheelwright Prize

Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) is pleased to announce four shortlisted architects for the 2023 Wheelwright Prize. The Wheelwright Prize is an international competition for early-career architects. Winners receive a $100,000 (USD) fellowship to foster intensive, innovative architectural research that is informed by cross-cultural engagement and can make a significant impact on architectural discourse. Winning research proposal topics in recent years have included the potential of seaweed, shellfish, and the intertidal zone to advance architectural knowledge and material futures; how spaces have been transformed through the material contributions of the African Diaspora; and new architecture paradigms for storing data that can reimagine digital infrastructure.

The 2023 Wheelwright Prize drew a wide pool of international applicants. A first-phase jury deliberated in April; a winner will be announced in June.

Jurors for the 2023 prize include: Noura Al Sayeh, Head of Architectural Affairs for the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities; Mira Henry, design faculty at Southern California Institute for Architecture; Mark Lee, Chair of the Department of Architecture and Professor of Practice at Harvard GSD; Jacob Riedel, Assistant Professor in Practice of Architecture at Harvard GSD; Enrique Walker, Design Critic in Architecture at Harvard GSD; and Sarah M. Whiting, Dean and Josep Lluís Sert Professor of Architecture at Harvard GSD.

The four finalists for the 2023 Wheelwright Prize, and their proposals, are:

Isabel Abascal: “Mother Architecture: Shaping Birth”

Isabel Abascal is a Mexico City–based architect and writer. In 2015, she founded the architecture studio LANZA Atelier, along with Alessandro Arienzo. From 2015 to 2017, Abascal was the Executive Director of LIGA, Espacio para Arquitectura, a platform dedicated to the dissemination and discussion of Latin American architecture. There, she curated myriad exhibitions, and co-edited the book Exposed Architecture, published by Park Books. She has also contributed to publications such as DOMUS, Avery Review,Arquine, Wallpaper*, and the UNAM Journal, among others. Abascal studied architecture at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, the Technische Universität in Berlin, and at the Vastu Shilpa Foundation in Ahmedabad, under Balkrishna Doshi.

The World Health Organization estimates that almost 800 women died from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth every day in 2020. Almost 95% of these deaths occurred in low and lower middle-income countries, and most could have been prevented. The high number of maternal deaths in some areas of the world reflects inequalities in access to quality health services and highlights the gap between rich and poor. With “Mother Architecture: Shaping Birth,” Abascal examines how rethinking architecture and spatial design can impact maternal mortality through case studies of matriarchal societies, home waterbirths, Pritzker-Prize maternity centers, and floating hospitals.

The Wheelwright Prize would expand research through case studies from the Americas and Europe to Western Africa and Southeast Asia, including Bolivia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Bangladesh, Senegal, and the United Kingdom.  The research will inform the design of a  space model for birth that could be implemented in both rural and urban areas by international health organizations and NGOs. The fieldwork, data collection, and prototype development, among additional research, will be disseminated amongst health practitioners and planning authorities, specifically for the places where the research was conducted.

Maya Bird-Murphy: “Examining Architectural Practice Through Alternative Methodology and Pedagogy”

Maya Bird-Murphy is a designer, educator, and the founder of Mobile Makers, an award-winning non-profit organization bringing design and skill-building workshops to underrepresented communities. She was selected by Theaster Gates and the Prada Group as an Experimental Design Lab awardee, featured as one of 50 people who shape Chicago in Newcity Magazine, and received the 2022 Pierre Keller Prize at the Hublot Design Prize ceremony in London. In 2018, she was named as an AIGA Design + Diversity Conference National Fellow.  The same year, she was featured in The American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Emerging Professionals Exhibition 2018 for Mobile Makers. Bird-Murphy attended Ball State University and received an M.Arch from Boston Architectural College.

Through her research and practice, Maya Bird-Murphy, investigates the connection between architecture and identity. She cites that the mounting challenges the architecture field faces, including the climate crisis, social inequality, and land equity, can no longer be ignored. With “Examining Architectural Practice Through Alternative Methodology and Pedagogy,” Bird-Murphy aims to investigate the friction that exists between the traditional and alternative design practices, to document the nuances of individual practices, and ultimately, to gather and share knowledge through architectural storytelling. The research proposal takes a critical look at how to accelerate systems change in the architecture field, and what United States–based firms can learn from alternative practices around the world, specifically by exploring innovative methods to collect, store, and share open-source knowledge and stories that foster authentic connection and dialogue in the field.

With the Wheelwright Prize, Maya-Murphy plans travel to eight international cities to research and gather stories and data, visit firms and project sites, and conduct interviews with alternative practitioners, including Material Cultures in London, Fernanda Canales Arquitectura in Mexico City, Atelier Masomi in Niamey, and Estudio Guto Requena in Sao Paolo. The research will result in a published anthology that features stories, interviews, and original works of art and design that amplify alternative practice models and methodologies. A collection of portraits will be housed on a project website for individuals who want to establish an alternative practice of their own, designers looking to work for a firm doing more meaningful work, or clients looking for mission-driven firms to work with. She will also schedule in-person curated experiences in select cities, including dinner salons, roundtables, panel discussions, and other related events.

Jingru (Cyan) Cheng: “Tracing Sand: Phantom Territories, Bodies Adrift”

Jingru (Cyan) Cheng works across architecture, anthropology, and filmmaking. Her practice follows drifting bodies—from rural migrant workers to forms of water—to draw out latent relations across scales, confronting intensified social injustice and ecological crisis. Cheng received commendations from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) President’s Awards for Research in 2018 and 2020. She is also a 2022 Graham Foundation Grantee. Her work has been exhibited internationally, as part of Critical Zones: Observatories for Earthly Politics at ZKM Karlsruhe, Germany (2020-22), Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism (2019), Venice Architecture Biennale (2018), among others, and included in the Architectural Association’s permanent collection. Cheng holds a PhD by Design and M.Phil in Architecture and Urban Design (Projective Cities) from the Architectural Association (AA), and was the co-director of AA Wuhan Visiting School (2015–17). She co-led the MA architectural design studio Politics of the Atmosphere (2019–22) and currently teaches an interdisciplinary module across all schools at the Royal College of Art in London.

From airports to beaches and river basins to hydroelectric dams, sand has an unnoticed yet significant impact on the built environment and human communities. Sand is a key component of concrete, glass, asphalt road, and artificial land, supporting modern cities and modern life. The act of dredging from underwater systems and channels, sand mining erodes riverbanks and disrupts ecosystems, resulting in a long chain of consequences and dependencies. Colossal amounts of sand are mined and moved to shape one habitat while destroying another. With “Tracing Sand: Phantom Territories, Bodies Adrift,” Cheng  dissects iconic sand sites that give form to spatio-cultural territories that have been fueled by colonial globalization and high consumption. Her proposal aims to establish a reflexive framework for architecture towards a paradigm shift in the value system: what does it mean to build today amid ecological crisis and social injustice?

The Wheelwright Prize will support travel to airports in Singapore, beaches in Florida, rivers in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, and rural immigrant communities in China. Cheng will conduct interviews with key stakeholders and research design decisions, procurement routes, contractual relations, financing, regulations, and policies. Combining her research across architecture, anthropology, and filmmaking, Cheng plans to develop educational and public programs and a multi-media archive that will be open access and made available for the affected communities, activist groups, and associated researchers.

DK Osseo-Asare: “Bucky in Africa: Remembering the Chemistry of Architecture”

DK Osseo-Asare is a Ghanaian American designer who makes buildings, landscapes, communities, objects, and digital tools. He is a co-founding principal of the transatlantic architecture and integrated design studio Low Design Office (LowDo), based in Austin, United States, and Tema, Ghana. He holds an appointment in Humanitarian Materials at the Pennsylvania State University, where he directs the Humanitarian Materials Lab, a transdisciplinary research lab architecting materials for human welfare. He is a TED Global Fellow; member, Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE); and received A.B. in Engineering Design and M.Arch degrees from Harvard University, with a focus on kinetic architecture and network power.

With “Bucky in Africa: Remembering the Chemistry of Architecture,” Osseo-Asare seeks to decolonize the practice of architecture using a mixed methods approach of action research to investigate the African roots of “design science” from an architectural perspective. The proposal’s focus starts with the decade-long itinerary of the American design scientist R. Buckminster Fuller’s transdisciplinary teaching and research in Africa. By studying the links between indigenous African technologies of design and established conventions of architectural production, Osseo-Asares incorporates linguistics, archival research, fieldwork, and community-based making with academic and community partners across Africa, the Middle East and Europe. The collected research constitutes a sequence of temporary outputs that will also contribute to the development of the next generation of African architects and designers, considered in the context of the global African diaspora.

Osseo-Asare’s Wheelwright proposal research stems from his finalist proposal for the 2019 MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program, “Bambot: Fufuzela,” which reconceived architecture as living structure with independent agency, understood from an African perspective, in which all material is alive and “spiritually active.” The Wheelwright Prize will support Osseo-Asare’s fieldwork throughout North Africa and Middle East, East Africa, West, Central and Southern Africa, and result in a publication, public lectures, and exhibition content as well as a series of workshops in various African communities.

     

Sean Canty Receives Architectural League of New York’s 2023 Prize for Young Architects + Designers

The Architectural League of New York  (ALNY) has awarded Sean Canty (MArch ’14), Assistant Professor of Architecture at Harvard GSD, with the Prize for Young Architects + Designers , a competition open to architects and designers less than ten years out of a bachelor’s or master’s degree program. The 2023 Prize applicants were asked to consider the theme of “Uncomfortable,” engaging architects to consider the distressing aspects of the contemporary design world by “dismantling architectural legacies, challenging traditional paradigms, grappling with the costs of comfort, responding to ecological concerns.”

Sean Canty is the founder of Studio Sean Canty (SSC), an architecture practice based in Cambridge, MA. The work of the studio engages formal combination and juxtaposition at a variety of scales, from objects to interiors, and explores a range of programmatic types, from domestic environments to cultural spaces. Canty is also one of the founding principals of Office III (OIII), an experimental architectural collective that spans New York, San Francisco, and Cambridge.

The jury for the 2023 Prize for Young Architects + Designers, now in its 42^nd cycle, includes José Amozurrutia, Germane Barnes, Jennifer Bonner, Barbara Bestor, FAIA, Wonne Ickx, Int. Assoc. AIA, Kyle Miller, Tya Winn, and the Young Architects + Designers Committee.

Winners will create installations of their work onsite in a location of their choice or in an entirely digital format. Projects will be presented in an online exhibition on the ALNY website opening June 13.

In March, Canty was among the recipients of the American Academy of Arts and Letters 2023 Architecture Award , for work being characterized by a strong personal direction. This year’s winners were chosen from a group of 36 individuals and practices nominated by the members of the Academy. The jurors were Toshiko Mori (chair), Deborah Berke, Marlon Blackwell, Steven Holl, Annabelle Selldorf, Nader Tehrani, Billie Tsien, Tod Williams, and Meejin Yoon.

Ajay Manthripragada and Miranda Mote Among the Recipients of the American Academy in Rome’s 2023–2024 Rome Prize

Ajay Manthripragada, Design Critic in Architecture at GSD, and Miranda Mote (MDes HPD ’15) have received a 2023–2024 Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome (AAR). These highly competitive fellowships support advanced independent work and research in the arts and humanities. This year, the gift of “time and space to think and work” was awarded to 36 American artists and scholars. The fellows will each receive a stipend, workspace, and room and board at the academy’s 11-acre campus on the Janiculum Hill in Rome, starting in September 2023.

Ajay Manthripragada is principal of an eponymous design practice, based in Los Angeles. He has taught at several schools, including Rice University School of Architecture, where he was a Wortham Fellow. His writing has appeared in Log, Cite, and Domus, among other publications. In 2018, Manthripragada was nominated for a Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize as an emerging practitioner. Current work includes private and public projects in California and India.

Manthripragada is the recipient of the Lily Auchincloss Rome Prize in Architecture. His project Imbrex and Tegula, which takes its name from the ubiquitous roof tiles of Rome, will forge a dialogue between ancient and new applications of architectural terra cotta. The imbrex (a hollow half-cylinder) and the tegula (flat with raised edges) work together in overlap to create an impervious roofing assembly, versions of which are seen the world over. Manthripragada’s proposal views the imbrex and tegula technology as a means for understanding and leveraging the interplay of environment, craft, and geopolitics in building materials.

Miranda Mote is currently Visiting Assistant Professor in the School of Architecture at Pratt Institute and Lecturer, Program in Architecture, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania. Mote received the Garden Club of America/Prince Charitable Trusts Rome Prize in Landscape Architecture for her project Botanography and Botanic Gardens: The Italian Art of Nature Printing and Its Influence on Early American Gardens and Botanical Language. She will be focused on archival work related to the history of nature printing in Italy as it was brought to Philadelphia before 1720, making a narrative series of botanical prints about the gardens of the Academy in Rome, and working with children of the Academy and local schools teaching nature printing as a part of literacy and botany lessons.

Rome Prize winners are selected annually by independent juries of distinguished artists and scholars through a national competition. The 11 disciplines supported by the Academy are: ancient studies, architecture, design, historic preservation and conservation, landscape architecture, literature, medieval studies, modern Italian studies, music composition, Renaissance and early modern studies, and visual arts.

Established in 1894, the American Academy in Rome is America’s oldest overseas center for independent studies and advanced research in the arts and humanities. It has since evolved to become a more global and diverse base for artists and scholars to live and work in Rome. The residential community includes a wide range of scholarly and artistic disciplines, which is representative of the United States and is fully engaged with Italy and contemporary international exchange. The support provided by the academy to Rome Prize winners, Italian fellows, and invited residents helps strengthen the arts and humanities.

For information on this year’s winners, please visit 2023 Rome Prize Fellowship Winners and Jurors.

 

 

The American Museum of Natural History Reveals Gilder Center Designed by Studio Gang with Landscape Architecture by Reed Hilderbrand

The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City has revealed its Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation. The center is designed by Studio Gang, the international architecture and urban design practice led by Jeanne Gang (MArch ’93), Professor in Practice of Architecture at GSD. Scheduled to open May 4, the Gilder Center is the latest in a series of major projects over the last three decades that have transformed the Museum’s campus. The 230,000-square-foot $465 million Gilder Center project was announced in 2014 and includes six floors above ground, four of which are open to the public, and one below. It creates 33 connections among 10 Museum buildings to link the entire campus and establishes a new entrance on the Museum’s west side, at Columbus Avenue and 79th Street, in Theodore Roosevelt Park.

In a press release, Gang said, “The Gilder Center is designed to invite exploration and discovery that is not only emblematic of science, but also such a big part of being human. It aims to draw everyone in—all ages, backgrounds, and abilities—to share the excitement of learning about the natural world. Stepping inside the large daylit atrium, you are offered glimpses of the different exhibits on multiple levels. You can let your curiosity lead you. And with the many new connections that the architecture creates between buildings, it also improves your ability to navigate the Museum’s campus as a whole.”

Upon entering the Gilder Center, visitors are surrounded by the grand five-story Kenneth C. Griffin Exploration Atrium, a space illuminated with natural light admitted through large-scale skylights. The center houses more than 4 million scientific specimens and visitors will be able to explore three levels of spectacular displays featuring more than 3,000 objects and representing every area of the Museum’s collections in vertebrate and invertebrate zoology, paleontology, geology, anthropology, and archaeology.

The five-level facility includes three floors of floor-to-ceiling exhibits that showcase the breadth of the Museum’s collections. Located along the south side of the Griffin Atrium, the Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Collections Core establishes the central role of scientific collections as evidence from which knowledge is derived. Along the north side of the building, on the Gilder Center’s first floor, visitors will find the 5,000-square-foot Susan and Peter J. Solomon Family Insectarium. Directly above the Solomon Family Insectarium, on the second floor is the 2,500-square-foot Davis Family Butterfly Vivarium, housing 1,000 free-flying butterflies. On the third floor of the Gilder Center is Invisible Worlds, a 360-degree immersive science-and-art installation designed by the Berlin-based Tamschick Media+Space with the Seville-based Boris Micka Associates.

In addition to the Gilder Center project, NYC Parks has worked alongside the Museum to make significant improvements to sections of Theodore Roosevelt Park, creating new gathering areas, expanding circulation, adding seating and plantings, and enhancing park infrastructure. The design of the renovated portions of the park was developed by landscape architecture firm Reed Hilderbrand with input from community organizations, elected officials, and government agencies including NYC Parks and Community Board 7. Gary Hilderbrand (MLA ’85) is the founding principal of Reed Hilderbrand and the Peter Louis Hornbeck Professor in Practice of Landscape Architecture at GSD.

In a review of the Center for the New York Times, architecture critic Michael Kimmelman writes, “…Gilder is spectacular: a poetic, joyful, theatrical work of public architecture and a highly sophisticated flight of sculptural fantasy.”

Hannah Teicher awarded MURI research grant to study climate resilience

Hannah Teicher, Assistant Professor of Urban Planning, will be part of a research team receiving a $5.6 million grant through the Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program, funded by the United States Department of Defense (DoD). Teicher will act as co-principal investigator for Sea-Level Rise in the Indo-Pacific Region: Building a Framework for Interdependent Resilience, a five-year project that will develop adaptation pathways for military island communities vulnerable to sea-level rise.

In case studies in Hawaii and Guam, the team will develop a decision-making framework that integrates social and organizational factors with awareness of sea-level rise risks to utilities, transportation, and infrastructure. Considering a long history of military engagement in these urban communities, the team will investigate previous joint decision-making efforts, barriers and enablers to adaptation planning, and how the disproportionate impacts on vulnerable communities can be addressed in this context. The project will have implications for the broader region and small island nations facing dramatic sea-level rise impacts.

Teicher will join Christine Kirchhoff, Associate Professor in the School of Engineering Design and Innovation at Penn State University; Peter Ruggiero, Associate Professor in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University; and Mark Merrifield, Principal Investigator, Director of the Center for Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation at the University of California San Diego.

In March, the DoD announced $220 million in awards for basic research projects as part of the MURI program. At an average award amount of $7.1 million over five years, these competitive grants will support 31 teams located at 61 U.S. academic institutions.

Diane Davis Named Co-director of the Humanity’s Urban Future Program at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research

Diane Davis, Charles Dyer Norton Professor of Regional Planning and Urbanism, has been named program co-director of the Humanity’s Urban Future program, part of the Global Call for Ideas initiative at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR). For this third cycle, CIFAR invited proposals for new research programs to address the theme Future of Being Human, a call to confront the dynamic problems facing the world and develop potential solutions to transform the planet for the better.

Davis, also a CIFAR fellow, will lead the Humanity’s Urban Future program and share directorship responsibilities with Simon Goldhill, A. G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture at the University of Cambridge. The research initiative is created to drive dialogue and envision a more just and unified city of tomorrow. The program will consider many important factors, including infrastructure (both material and institutional), political divisions, questions of scale, climate change, and other crises. In seeking answers to these pressing general questions, the program will take six cities as test cases: Calcutta, Toronto, Shanghai, Naples, Mexico City, and Kinshasa. By studying what constitutes a good city of the future, the researchers aim to make a transformative impact on urban policy and planning, regulation and infrastructure, inspiring collective deliberation and learning around how one should work towards a better urban future. Through engagement with policy makers, political advisors, and civic actors, the Humanity’s Urban Future program will also establish a platform to publish research that will lead to changing the discourse of planning and the understanding of cities.

“I am thrilled to be working with a global team of historians, planners, anthropologists, geographers, and architects to interrogate how a ‘good urban life’ is conceptualized and produced,” says Davis. “We frame our deliberations around two main questions. The first is not merely ‘what is a good city?’—a question that has motivated city builders and philosopher’s since at least Plato’s Republic—but more specifically, ‘How do you plan for an urban future when you know that the city is a palimpsest of the past? The second question follows from the first: ‘How do cities inhabit time, and how can the future be planned with urban pasts in mind?”

CIFAR bring together international, interdisciplinary researchers who work together for five-year terms. Programs are led by a director or two co-directors, engage approximately 20-40 fellows and advisors from around the world, and include two or three CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars for two-year terms. Target areas for impact emerge from the program’s core research agenda, and the strategy is informed by long-term, iterative exchanges of ideas and perspectives between program members and non-academic stakeholders. Programmatic commitments support funding of approximately 10 million (Canadian) dollars for the five-year project, with the possibility of renewal.