Registration Eligibility
Anyone
Start Date
02/05/2025
End Date
04/30/2025
Description
Join Dean Sarah M. Whiting, Harvard Design Magazine guest editors and GSD professors Elizabeth Christoforetti MArch ’09 and Jacob Reidel, and GSD Lecturer and Faculty Building Committee Chair David Fixler in a discussion about designers' evolving role and influence in modern society. Harvard Design Magazine, no. 52, “Instruments of Service,” investigates the changing nature of design practice, examining how the things we make and how we make them are transforming to create positive change and meet the imperatives of our time, such as the global environmental crisis and the rise of artificial intelligence. The Gund Hall façade renewal project exemplifies the crucial role designers play in achieving impactful outcomes. This ambitious project, driven by focused, collaborative, and interdisciplinary efforts, successfully met exacting performance and aesthetic goals while honoring the original architectural vision. The process, which featured deep collaboration between the design and construction teams to produce a project that exceeded initial expectations for aesthetics and performance, yielded valuable insights that will inform future initiatives at the school, offering significant pedagogical and practical implications.
Distance Learning
Yes
Course Equivalency
No
Subjects
Design-Build
Energy Conservation / Renewable Energy
Sustainable Development & Design
Technology / CADD / GIS
Health, Safety and Welfare
Yes
Hours
1.50
Learning Outcomes
Learning Objective 1:
Evolving Design Practice: Understanding of how design practices are currently evolving in response to global challenges, such as the environmental crisis and the rise of artificial intelligence. This includes recognizing new methodologies and tools that designers are using to adapt to these changes.
Learning Objective 2:
Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Insight into the importance of interdisciplinary approaches in design and construction. Attendees will learn about effective collaboration strategies between designers and construction teams that lead to successful project outcomes.
Learning Objective 3:
Sustainable Design and Ethics: Knowledge of how designers can contribute to positive global change through sustainable practices and ethical considerations in their work. This includes aligning design goals with sustainability imperatives and societal needs.
Learning Objective 4:
Case Study Analysis: An understanding of the Gund Hall façade renewal project as a case study for achieving aesthetic and performance goals while respecting the architectural vision. Attendees will gain insights into practical and pedagogical implications drawn from real-world projects.
Learning Objective 5:
Role of Designers in Society: A broadened perspective on the role and influence of designers in shaping modern society, especially concerning social, environmental, and technological change.
Instructors
Sarah M. Whiting, Elizabeth Christoforetti, Jacob Reidel, and David Fixler
Course Codes
Provider
Harvard Graduate School of Design, Development and Alumni Relations