News

December 2019 and January 2020 News Roundup

Rendering of the University's Enterprise Research Campus

Conceptual rendering of a portion of the University's Enterprise Research Campus. Courtesy of Tishman Speyer

Located in Allston, the first phase of Harvard’s new Enterprise Research Campus is to be led by Tishman Speyer, Studio Gang, and Henning Larsen. Plans for the campus include a mix of research-focused companies, green space, residences, a hotel, and a conference center. The first phase of the 36-acre project will involve a 14-acre portion that has received initial regulatory approval for 900,000 square feet from the Boston Planning and Development Agency. “Capturing the spirit of innovation of the Enterprise Research Campus, our design will transform a former industrial site into a fertile new ground for the exchange of ideas and creative expression,” said Professor in Practice of Architecture Jeanne Gang, founder of Studio Gang.

Rendering of the Lake Pit at La Brea Tar Pits.
WEISS/MANFREDI conceptual approach features a bridge across the Lake Pit at La Brea Tar Pits. Rendering courtesy of WEISS/MANFREDI.

WEISS/MANFREDI, co-founded by Design Critic in Urban Planning and Design and Expert-in-Residence Michael Manfredi, has been selected by the the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHMLAC) to lead a master planning team in reimagining the La Brea Tar Pits. The Tar Pits’ 13-acre campus includes the world’s only active paleontological research site in a major urban area, as well as its asphalt seeps, surrounding parkland, and the George C. Page Museum building. WEISS/MANFREDI’s ‘Loops and Lenses’ concept forms a triple mobius that links all existing elements of the park to redefine Hancock Park as a continuously unfolding experience.

Professor in Residence of Art, Design and the Public Domain Krzysztof Wodiczko’s Monument opened at Madison Square Park as part of the park’s public art program, Mad. Sq. Park. On view January 16 through May 10, 2020, and running from 5 to 8 PM Monday to Saturday, the installation will be complemented by a series of public programs, lectures, and events that expand upon the concepts explored within the work. The project, as well as other recent and upcoming work by Wodiczko, was featured in the New York Times article “A Monument Man Gives Memorials New Stories to Tell.”

Aleksandr Bierig’s (PhD ’20) essay entitled “Visits to the London Coal Exchange, circa 1849.” won the Bowdoin Prize for Graduate Essay in the English Language. The Bowdoin Prizes, some of Harvard’s oldest and most prestigious student awards, are designed to recognize essays of originality and high literary merit, written in a way that engages both specialists and non-specialists.

Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture Pablo Pérez-Ramos was recently awarded a 2019-2020 Faculty Research Grants from the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Islamic Studies Program at Harvard University. He plans to use the funds for travel and research in Algeria and Tunisia to investigate oases and agricultural landscapes in conditions of extreme aridity.

Khoa Vu's hand drawing
Drawing by Khoa Vu for his GSD thesis, “Grayscale.”

Drawings of Khoa Vu’s (MArch I ’19) thesis “Grayscale,” advised by Gerald M. McCue Professor in Architecture Preston Scott Cohen, won the Ken Robert Memorial Delineation Competition 2019 (KRob), the most senior architectural drawing competition in the world. Organized by AIA Dallas since 1975, Vu’s drawing received Excellence in Hand Delineation in the Professional Category. “This prize is awarded to the best student and professional entries that embodies and celebrates the art of architecture as a tool for communication through hand delineations, sketches and renderings,” states the awards committee.

Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture Danielle Choi was awarded a 2019-2020 William F. Milton Fund grant from the Office of the Vice Provost for Research. This funding supports research on landscape design, region, and infrastructural breaches of continental divides in North America. A related essay, “Where Were We? Phoenix is a Colorado River City” will be published in the forthcoming issue of the Journal of Architectural Education.

Professor in Practice of Urban Design Alex Krieger’s new book City on a Hill: Urban Idealism in America from the Puritans to the Present was the topic of a number of recent literary reviews, including one by Professor Lizabeth Cohen of Harvard’s Department of History on the GSD website, as well as from Norman Weinstein in Architectural Record.

The Bronx Museum of the Arts is honoring Diana Al-Hadid and Assistant Professor of Architecture Jon Lott with the Trailblazer Award at the Museum’s Visionary Duos Gala on March 2, 2020. The Bronx Museum of the Arts is the only free admission visual arts museum in New York City and it serves underserved children, students, and families and a growing international audience. The Gala is the Museum’s single most important fundraiser. Proceeds help keep the Museum free to the public, making its acclaimed exhibitions and programs accessible to all.