Architecture & Design

Explore Harvard’s role in shaping architecture and design—on campus and around the globe.

A graphic depiction of a stone wall, reimagining the stone wall set in Harvard Square near Winthrop Street

One of Harvard’s Oldest Structures Is Hiding Behind a Beer Garden

A crumbling wall in Harvard Square holds centuries of the city’s story, if you know how to read it.

by Olivia Farrar

The red fist from “The 1969 Protest T-shirt” dispatch, originally designed by Harvey Hacker ’63, filled a “graphic gap” for students protesting the “Bust,” a violent eviction of occupying students from University Hall by police officers and state troopers on April 10, 1969.

Graduate School of Design exhibition celebrates 75 years of rich history

A Graduate School of Design exhibition celebrates 75 years of rich history.

From a vantage point south of Western Avenue in Allston, looking northeast toward Harvard Square, the unfinished science complex dominates the foreground. Beyond it lie athletic fields that may yield to expansion by the School of Public Health, the Graduate School of Education, or other academic enterprises. A business “enterprise research campus” is envisioned south of Western Avenue, across from the high-rise graduate-student housing at One Western Avenue.

Allston work team recommendations endorsed by Harvard Corporation

A multiyear process of planning, community engagement, and prospective development is outlined.

The Saratoga Avenue Community Center in Brooklyn

Brooklyn's Saratoga community center

A much admired community center in Brooklyn, designed by George Ranalli.

by Tom Vinciguerra

The winning wildlife-crossing design distills multiple habitat types from the surrounding landscape into parallel bands that act as corridors for various animal species. Wide bands provide an open field of view, while narrow forest and shrub bands provide enclosed corridors.

Designing throughways for wildlife

A winning proposal to keep cars and critters apart

Illustration by Nicole Wong

Green alternatives to the "perfect" lawn

Alternatives to the "perfect" lawn, at home and at Harvard

by Nell Porter-Brown

The homes offer views of rural vistas from every room.

Cohousing at Nubanusit Neighborhood and Farm models sustainability.

A New Hampshire cohousing community models sustainability. View an image gallery.

by Nell Porter-Brown

Kitchens in older homes—unlit, utilitarian, and at the rear of the house—reflect a role for women that we no longer tolerate, says remodeler Charlie Allen. This restoration aimed to connect the kitchen to the outdoors and the rest of the house.

Charlie Allen's art of home restoration

Charlie Allen makes period homes work for their owners. View images of his work.

by Jonathan Shaw

A warm entrance to the new Kripalu residential dorm

Green architecture for a Kripalu addition.

The newest addition to a Berkshires yoga retreat melds with the landscape. View an image gallery.

by Nell Porter-Brown

Denise Scott Brown addressed degree candidates at the Graduate School of Design.

Denise Scott Brown speaks at the Harvard Graduate School of Design

Architect Denise Scott Brown recommends hitchhiking and the brave results that can emerge from tackling hard problems.

Burj Khalifa, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, at 2,717 feet, is the world’s tallest tower.

Skyscrapers as symbols

In Tall Building: Imagining the Skyscraper, Scott Johnson explores the semiotics of these urban giants.

by Jonathan Shaw