Meet Caroline Dignes

Caroline Dignes (MDE ’23)’s path to the GSD included the theatre, circus arts, and rock climbing – all of which, she says, have some surprising things in common with the GSD and with the Master in Design Engineering, a two-year collaborative degree program between the GSD and the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences that combines aspects of both design and engineering.

Meet Junainah Ahmed

Junainah Ahmed (MArch I ’23) talks about the GSD classes that had a lasting impact on her thinking, including Core II with Michelle Chang and “Reflective Nostalgia: Alternative Futures for Shanghai’s Shikumen Heritage,” an option studio taught by Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu. The MArch I program leads to an accredited professional degree intended for individuals who have completed a bachelor’s degree with a major other than one of the design professions or with a pre-professional undergraduate major in one of the design professions.

Shigeru Ban in Conversation with Mohsen Mostafavi about Designing for Refugee Relief

In the early weeks of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Pritzker-winning architect Shigeru Ban  flew to Chełm, Poland, to aid in the development of refugee shelter infrastructure. In a conversation with Mohsen Mostafavi, he discusses his experiences designing and producing partitions for large shelters after the 1995 Kobe and 2004 Niigata earthquakes in Japan, and how designers can apply his techniques to emerging crises in Ukraine and across the world.

This interview was conducted for the In Conversation series on japanstory.org , a multifaceted research project at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. Japanstory.org conducts its work through academic activities, as well as design research, while inviting people from a variety of fields to share their voices, viewpoints, and ideas as we think together about the future of the city.

Work in Progress: Sijia Zhong’s heritage site in Lima, Peru

Sijia Zhong (MLA I AP ’23) describes her final project for the option studio “Transversal Grounds: Engaging Infrastructure, Landscape and Heritage for Lima’s New Urban Commons” led by Sandra Barclay and Jean Pierre Crousse, spring 2022.

Work in Progress: Rayshad Dorsey’s Domestic Grounds

Rayshad Dorsey (MArch I ’23) describes his final project for the option studio “Tall, Lean, In-between” led by Christopher C.M. Lee, spring 2022.

Work in Progress: Justin Hailey’s Tar Creek Superfund Site

Justin Hailey (MLA II ’23) describes his final project for the option studio “OTTAWA COUNTY REMADE: Toxic Transformations in the Tri-State Lead and Zinc District, Oklahoma” led by Niall Kirkwood, spring 2022.

Musical Performances from the 2020 and 2021 Virtual Commencement Celebrations

The 2020 and 2021 Harvard Graduate School of Design Virtual Commencements included original musical compositions and performances from a range of artists who joined the GSD’s festivities from across the country. As we welcome back our 2020 and 2021 graduates for a Special Commencement Ceremony on May 29, 2022, we invite you to again enjoy these musical highlights.

Mikel Patrick Avery and the Trendsetter Brass Band

Title of the full work (including all songs): “Tin Can”

Performed at the 2020 GSD Commencement Ceremony.

Brandee Younger

Set List:

• “Shelter in Place” by Brandee Younger
• “Unrest I” by Brandee Younger
• “Softly as in a Morning Sunrise” by Sigmund Romberg and Roger Hammerstein
• “Essence of Ruby” by Brandee Younger

Performed at the 2021 GSD Commencement Ceremony.

Tomeka Reid Quartet

Set List:

• “Woodlawn”
• “Old New”

Performed at the 2021 GSD Commencement Ceremony.

Natural Information Society

Song title: “Remarks on Soil, Clouds, & Hope.” Composition by Joshua Abrams. Paintings by Lisa Alvarado. Musicians: Joshua Abrams (guimbri), Lisa Alvarado (harmonium), Kara Bershad (harp), Hamid Drake (tar), Nick Mazzarella (alto saxophone), Mai Sugimoto (flute)

Performed at the 2021 GSD Commencement Ceremony.

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Interrogative Design: Selected Works of Krzysztof Wodiczko, through Seven Candid Conversations

Listen to Krzysztof Wodiczko and the curator Dan Borelli discussing six of the seventeen projects featured in the exhibition Interrogative Design: Selected Works of Krzysztof Wodiczko.

Spanning five decades, the artistic practice of Krzysztof Wodiczko is well known for public projections that offer marginalized people an opportunity to inscribe their lived experiences onto public squares, institutional buildings, wartime monuments, and other pieces of civic architecture. Interrogative Design: Selected Works of Krzysztof Wodiczko, on view through April 8th in the Druker Design Gallery, presents one of the most vital artistic practices of the 21st century. Here, the artist offers insights into some of his most iconic works through conversations with curator Dan Borelli.

 

Learn more about Krzysztof Wodiczko’s project Homeless Vehicle:

 

Learn more about Krzysztof Wodiczko’s project Poliscar:

 

Learn more about Krzysztof Wodiczko’s project The Real Estate Projection:

 

Learn more about Krzysztof Wodiczko’s project Alien Staff:

 

Learn more about Krzysztof Wodiczko’s project El Centro Cultural Projection, Part II:

 

Learn more about two of Krzysztof Wodiczko’s projects: Personal Instrument and Dis-Armor

Meet the Loeb Fellowship Class of 2022

Last fall, the Harvard Graduate School of Design welcomed the Loeb Fellowship Class of 2022, marking the program’s 51st year. The 2022 cohort of fellows includes ten exceptional mid-career practitioners and innovators who work across activism, urbanism, public art, film and media, technology, real estate development, and other fields that engage the built environment and social outcomes. This year, the ten Loeb Fellows were selected from among 134 candidates through a highly competitive and global application process.

Loeb Fellowship Curator John Peterson observes that “the Class of 2022 exemplifies our commitment to some of the most urgent social issues of both the current moment and our collective history, among them racial justice, environmental and spatial equity, the societal impacts of technology, inclusive cultural preservation, and activism.”

Learn more about the 2022 Loeb Fellows in the videos below:

Veyom Bahl, New York, NY; Managing Director, Robin Hood Foundation

Karen Blondel, New York, NY; Founder, Public Housing Civic Association

Andy Bolnick, Cape Town, South Africa; Managing Director, Ikhayalami

Stephanie Hankey, Berlin, Germany; Executive Director, Tactical Tech

Will Hunter, London, United Kingdom; Founder, The London School of Architecture

Mpho Matsipa, Johannesburg, South Africa; Founder and Chief Curator, African Mobilities and Chancellor’s Fellow (FALF), University of the Witwatersrand

Monica Rhodes, Baltimore, MD; Director of Resource Management, National Park Foundation and Director of Partnerships, Center for the Preservation of Civil Rights Sites at the Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania

Moddie Turay, Detroit, MI; Founder and CEO, City Growth Partners

Michael Uwemedimo, Port Harcourt, Nigeria; Co-founder and Director, Collaborative Media Advocacy Platform and Senior Visiting Research Fellow, King’s College London

Jordan Weber, Des Moines, IA; regenerative land sculptor and environmental activist; Artist-in-Residence, Walker Art Center and Pulitzer Arts Foundation

Land for a City on a Hill: Alex Krieger’s iconic tour of Boston

 

Watch as Alex Krieger, professor and former chair of the Department of Urban Planning and Design, takes viewers on his iconic tour of Boston. Stopping at locations key to the growth of the city—from East Boston, which was once five islands that were consolidated in the late 18th to 19th century, to the Shawmut and South Boston Peninsulas—Krieger speaks of the historic and contemporary geographical, infrastructural, and racial conditions of Boston, a city in “constant need to create land.”