Bas Smets Teaches How to Hack Urban Landscapes for a Changing Climate
In the Attica region of Greece this August, says Bas Smets, wildfires ripped through forests…
In Fall 2023, an option studio led by Olayinka Dosekun-Adjei focused on the historic Fort Kongenstein and included a trip to Ghana to visit the site.
Option Studios are intensive courses for advanced research and practice in the design disciplines. Under the guidance of faculty members, small groups of students study real-world conditions at sites around the globe and produce final projects that have the potential to inform how designers and members of the public shape the built environment. Because students in Option Studios can engage with the challenges of particular sites, whether in New England or across the world, a period of on-site study is sometimes required. Students should review the option studio information on this page carefully prior to enrolling in option studios.
In the Attica region of Greece this August, says Bas Smets, wildfires ripped through forests…
The village of Ada Foah sits on the coast of Ghana where the Volta River…
In 2022 and 2023, Monterrey, Mexico’s second largest city, experienced a critical shortage of water…
Bounded by the Blackstone River, a vital artery for industry since the late eighteenth century,…
Even before the last flight had taken off from Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport, in 2008,…
Students in the project-based seminar “Rockaway’s Housing Superstorm: Between Rising Waters and Climate Gentrification,” led…
Fall 2025 Option Studio offerings will be available soon. While wide-ranging in scope, the Spring 2025 semester was driven by a collective effort to address the climate crisis, build more equitable cities, and bring contemporary design languages into dialogue with historical precedents. From a close analysis of urban development in Mumbai to the study of vernacular architecture in Connecticut, and from a rethinking of the Panama Canal Zone to the development of a sustainable future for Boston’s aquarium, the Spring 2025 Option Studios represented the leading edge of interdisciplinary research at the GSD. The offerings of each department are listed below.
Students should review the Fall 2025 Option Studio Offerings spreadsheet, view studio presentation videos, and review studio descriptions and syllabi to learn more about the prerequisites, travel destinations, dates, and visa requirements once available.
This information is subject to change until the lottery closes.
Anita Berrizbeitia, Ignacio Bunster-Ossa
Lottery opens at 9am
Lottery closes at 9am
Lottery results posted in my.Harvard around 6pm
Petition deadline at 9:30am
First day of classes
Please see below other relevant links and sites. For all other important studio dates, including Final Reviews, please consult the Academic Calendar. Visit Canvas to find studio syllabi and visit my.Harvard to find the lottery results.