For 40 years Gund Hall has reigned as an architectural icon of the 20th century: great bones, proudly displayed. But changes in contemporary architectural practice and education, along with the need for increased energy efficiency have argued for updating. The GSD is rising to the challenge.
Dean Mohsen Mostafavi has published 5 books in the past two years. In his writing as well as his leadership of the GSD, he is tireless in fostering engagement: between mentors and students, people in communities, the design professions with each other, and the GSD with the world. He’ll sleep later. Read Spencer Bailey’s interview with the dean for Surface.
Jenny French (MArch ’11) visited 15 unbuilt visionary architecture projects around the world for the Julia A. Appleton Traveling Fellowship. The exhibit based on her inquiry, “Representation’s Ghost,” is on display in Gund through January 28. In other exciting news, French was shortlisted for the 2013 MOMA PS1 Young Architects Program. Results of the competition are expected early next year.
The 2012 RIBA Stirling prize went to a dark horse this year: the Sainsbury Lab designed by Stanton Williams. Hanif Kara’s (lecturer in creative engineering) structural and civil engineering firm AKT II shared the accolades.
Architectural Record looks at 6 schools that represent exemplary 20th century design for architectural education and reports on how they are faring for the 21st century. Foremost among the gorgeous structures is Gund Hall, which beginning in 2010 has undergone a redesign of its studio spaces overseen by Lee Cott (MArch ’70). More on that to come. In the meantime, read “The Architecture of Architecture Schools.”
Architectural Record just published the annual review by DesignIntelligence, “America’s Top Architecture Schools 2013,” and Harvard once again appears in first place for graduate architectural education, as it has for 12 of the 14 years of the ranking. Not only that, it is number 1 in graduate landscape architecture education as well. What keeps the GSD at the top? “Not only does it have a strong reputation overall, but it scores very well in design, analysis, planning, and the communication skills that graduates need in professional practice.” Read James P. Cramer’s Architectural Record and DesignIntelligence articles or download the entire DI survey.
Belinda Tato and Jose Luis Vallejo (design critics in urban planning and design and founding members of Ecosistema Urbano of Madrid) just won a competition for the construction of the Reggio Children Foundation’s new experimental education center in Italy.
Lucas Correa Sevilla (MAUD '12) and Pablo Pérez Ramos (MLA '12, DDesS candidate) recently presented their research "Sustainability Through New Methodologies of Urban and Landscape Design" in the "Ecuador Será Sustentable" congress. The congress, organized by Grupo FARO, pursues a multidisciplinary approach to a long-term debate on the interactions among environment, economy and society in Ecuador.
Chris Reed (adjunct associate professor of landscape architecture) has envisioned the transformation of a heavily used but uninviting space at Harvard – the Science Center plaza – into a new social hub and destination. It’s a fitting task for Reed and his firm Stoss Landscape Urbanism, whose hybridized approach rooted in infrastructure, functionality and ecology was recognized with a prestigious 2012 Smithsonian / Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award. Read "A 'Common Space' at Harvard’s Crossroads" in the current issue of Harvard Magazine.
Chris Reed (adjunct associate professor of landscape architecture) just returned from Asia, where he was a keynote speaker at the 2012 Forum on Resilient Cities, hosted by Kongjian Yu (design critic in landscape architecture and DDesS 95) at the Peking University College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture in Beijing.