Harvard Graduate School of Design

Assembled in honor of Eduard F. Sekler, Form, Modernism, and History is a fitting tribute to a man who has been instrumental in restoring history to a prominent place in contemporary architecture. In twenty-two essays, distinguished scholars and designers combine the insights of history, theory, and practice in order to reveal the evolution of design thought and methods.

Two Squares examines the changing role of public space in the cities of Beirut and Istanbul as they undergo major redevelopment. The study of Beirut looks at the redesign of Martyrs’ Square, and in Istanbul, the focus is on Sirkeci Square. This book examines the nature of public space in the 21st-century city, the history and evolution of public life in Beirut and Istanbul, and the possibilities of using these vital transportation nodes as opportunities for new design strategies.

Focusing on six recent projects, this publication presents the architecture of renowned Turkish architect Han Tumertekin to the English-speaking world. The book examines in detail his ability to engage in some of the more difficult issues confronting architects throughout the world today, such as suburban tract development, landscape and environment, and the challenges of practicing in different countries throughout the world. It is the first of a new series of occasional monographs on contemporary designers in the Middle East and Muslim world.

"My proximity to this path’s every turn puts me much too close for objective appraisal, yet this position offers an auspicious vantage point from which to reflect on the implications of architecture in one’s life. I now gather some observations, memories, and moments, all of which emerge through one biographical detail or another--an inevitable outcome when writing on such a personal work, a work that by its evolving nature is both my first and my most recent project."--from an essay by Carlos Jimenez.

From an interview with Enrique Norten by Brigitte Shim: "What I was looking for with this house was probably a return to the main principles of modernism. I was trying to look for the very basics of architecture: a simple structure, simple construction methods, and straightforward spatial conditions that would satisfy the needs of our family. The house was a laboratory where I was looking back to where the tradition of modernity started, and I tried to recapture that."

Two essays and a set of original diagrams consider the parameters of the “something beyond” in James Carpenter’s projects. Photographs and extended captions from Carpenter complete this book’s documentation of key projects.

In Aleppo: Rehabilitation of the Old City, Busquets describes the value of successful urban rehabilitation in this historic setting. The Syrian city of Aleppo won the prestigious Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design for its urban renewal efforts and Busquets offers an innovative take on how these rehabilitation projects are accomplished effectively.

Design disciplines are challenged by the condition of the zero point. “Zero-context,” “cities from scratch,” and “zero-carbon” developments all force designers to tackle fundamental questions regarding the strategic relevance and impact of a design intervention. Along with the challenges inherent in the zero point, perhaps more meaningful are the provocations of the “after the zero” condition, which clearly marks the need to seriously explore fundamental inquiries regarding form and context (physical, social, political). After Zero is an opportunity to imagine alternative futures and a revitalized project for the city.

New Geographies journal aims to examine the emergence of the “geographic,” a new but for the most part latent paradigm in design today—to articulate it and to bring it to bear effectively on the social role of design. Through essays and design projects, the journal aims to identify the relationship between the very small and the very large, and intends to open up discussions on the expanded role of the designer, with an emphasis on disciplinary reframings, repositionings, and attitudes.

Envisioned as a new urban model for sculpture parks, the Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park is located on the city’s last undeveloped waterfront property—a nine-acre industrial site sliced by train tracks and an arterial road. The park not only brings art outside the museum walls but also brings the park itself into the landscape of the city. This study offers an opportunity to take a fresh look at the city and explore some hypotheses about the wider meaning of an urban design project.

Volume 2 of New Geographies proposes to historicize and materialize the relations of energy and space, and map some of the physical, social, and representational geographies of oil, in particular. By making visible this infrastructure, Landscapes of Energy is an invitation to articulate design’s environmental agency and its appropriate scales of intervention.

The favelas of Rio de Janeiro are shantytowns that lack even the most basic infrastructure and services. The Favela-Bairro Project, featuring the work of Jorge Mario Jauregui Architects, seeks to turn these blighted areas into functioning neighborhoods, or bairros.

"When one reads or hears about the vicissitudes of the project’s evolution--about the long approval processes and the large cast of characters--it all seems like an excellent piece of narrative, a great plot replete with subplots leading us to intense episodes of dramatic action. There is something for everyone in the story of these peninsulas"--from the Introduction

The restoration of the Cheonggyecheon River that runs through Seoul, Korea, merits recognition as a seminal project in contemporary urban design. In this well-illustrated volume, contributors consider the ecological, infrastructural, and urban impacts of this exceptional project at the heart of the city.

Through a series of essays by urban historians, economists, and designers, Makina/Medina examines the potential impact of cultural events on the revitalization of historic cities. The aim of this volume is to explore how the urban design set up for a cultural event could help improve access and legibility in this medieval city and to positively affect its economic and social development. The book also includes a series of hypothetical design projects for the Makina Square by Harvard Graduate School of Design students.

In the last few years, the Persian Gulf city of Dubai has exploded from the Arabian sands onto the world stage. In The Superlative City, contributors from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and colleagues offer the most serious analyses of the city to appear to date, situating remarkable developments such as the size of real estate projects and the speed of urbanization in their local and global architectural, political, and economic contexts.

Deserts are becoming increasingly popular tourist destinations. However, the growth of this tourism niche raises particular challenges, jeopardizing their fragile ecosystems and straining scarce resources. This book seeks to analyze the relationship between tourism and the sustainable development of those territories, addressing issues raised by architecture, landscape design, and planning.

A collaborative work among historians, literary specialists, and architects, this collection is directed at filling the gap in our knowledge about minority neighborhoods in the southern Mediterranean.

This book examines the impact of development policies and politics on the physical environment of the Eastern Mediterranean, a region defined here not as a rigid geographical area but as a larger cultural context. Nine essays examine formal manifestations of development, placing the spotlight on urban and rural schemes, housing projects, and agro-landscapes and dams from Israel to Turkey, and from Greece to Syria.

Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir have been the major poles of growth and development in Turkey since the Republic was formed, although these three cities have followed very different paths. Through a series of three case studies and an introduction by Turkey’s most renowned urban historian and theorist, Ilhan Tekeli, the book studies the rise of these three main urban centers in Turkey and their roles in organizing the territory and its future reorganization.

Studio Works 11 features outstanding Harvard Graduate School of Design student work from the school years 2003-2004 and 2004-2005, along with material documenting exhibitions, research seminars, and thesis projects. The dramatic tiered, open student work spaces in Gund Hall are vibrant with the talent and energy of future architects, landscape architects, and urban designers and planners.

Studio Works 11 features outstanding Harvard Graduate School of Design student work from the school years 2003-2004 and 2004-2005, along with material documenting exhibitions, research seminars, and thesis projects. The dramatic tiered, open student work spaces in Gund Hall are vibrant with the talent and energy of future architects, landscape architects, and urban designers and planners.

At the intersection of three continents, the Mediterranean is one of the most important areas on earth. In New Geographies, 5, contributors from a variety of disciplines recast “the Mediterranean” as a twenty-first-century geographic entity, challenging conventional boundaries and dismantling prevailing political, spatial, and cultural meanings.