Hinterlands & The Academy THE ARCHITECTURE FRINGE AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF DESIGN
Hosted by the Loeb Fellowship, Scotland’s Architecture Fringe presents events at the Harvard Graduate School of Design exploring their current thematic provocation Reciprocity: Architectures of Exchange.
Speakers
- Sarah M. Whiting, Dean, Harvard Graduate School of Design
- Karen Nelson, Dean, Boston Architectural College
- Bree Edwards, Director, Harvard University ArtLab
- Joseph Zeal-Henry, Director of Cultural Planning, City of Boston
- Jha D Amazi, Principal, MASS Design Group
A collective reimagining for how a school of architecture might radically rethink its reciprocal relationship with its hinterland in context to the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. What kind of relationship does a place have with a school of architecture that sits within its midst? Likewise, what pedagogical approach does a school of architecture have towards the city, town, or landscape that surrounds it?
Reciprocity is the practice of exchanging things with others for mutual benefit, to aid one another in self-interest or in solidarity, to give as well as to receive, and to invest in and improve conditions, situations and relationships.
The term hinterland is a provocation, where we might rethink the dynamic between what is thought of as the subservient periphery and more dominant center towards ideas of the hinterland being much closer to where we stand, drawing us into an underlying topography that the academy is very much part of and not apart from.
When thinking of reciprocity, how might our public programs better include the public? How might our design studios build relationships with local people, to aid community thinking? How might we learn from and collaborate with non-profit organizations situated deep in the field? And how might our research help inform public discourse in an accessible way, on pressing topics such as the provision of housing, the stewardship of natural resources, and the integrated, sustainable future of the designed environment?
This collective discussion provokes us to radically rethink the relationship the academy has with its hinterland, anchored firmly in the challenges and opportunities of the 21st Century, reimagining its role as a civic actor through acts of reciprocity and architectures of exchange.
About The Architecture Fringe
The Architecture Fringe is an activist non-profit organization based in Glasgow that seeks to critically transform architecture for the public common good by bridging public, academic and professional audiences through the curation and delivery of festivals, exhibitions, and public programs.
The seventh edition of the biennial Architecture Fringe Festival took place across Scotland in June 2025, and the organization represented Scotland at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale with the exhibition A Fragile Correspondence, co-curated by the Architecture Fringe, -ism magazine, and /other.
The events hosted by the Loeb Fellowship and presented by the Architecture Fringe at the GSD have been curated and organized by 2026 Loeb Fellow Andy Summers, co-founder and co-director of the organization.
Harvard University welcomes individuals with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you would like to request accommodations or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact the Public Programs Office at (617) 496-2414 or [email protected] in advance of your participation or visit. Requests for American Sign Language interpreters and/or CART providers should be made at least two weeks in advance. Please note that the University will make every effort to secure services, but that services are subject to availability.
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