Design Now

Designers and architects spend their time thinking about how to fit the form of a building to its function. So what happens when that function changes? In this episode of Design Now, we discuss designing libraries for a world in which books are often accessed remotely and knowledge sought via search engines rather than librarians. Francine Houben, John Ronan, and Joshua Ramus have all built acclaimed libraries—including the New York Public Library, the Independence Library and Apartments in Chicago, and the Seattle Central Library, respectively. Listen as they share their expertise on topics including the function of a library as a public space, the role of grandeur in their design, and the perennial question of how to plan for a space whose function will almost certainly evolve in ways we can’t yet imagine.

Featuring: Francine Houben, Joshua Ramus (March ’96), John Ronan (MArch ’91)

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The show is produced by Maggie Janik and hosted by Harriet Fitch Little. For inquiries or to be featured on an upcoming episode, email [email protected].

Does America need a new vision of the ideal home? In episode four of “Design Now” podcast, we discuss the limitations of the single-family home as a model for the future of housing, and meet people who recognize the fundamental role of residential design in creating a more equitable and climate-resilient future.

Among the issues on the table are the legacy of urban zoning, historic disparities in homeownership, and the financial systems that shaped residential neighborhoods. Looking to the future, we discuss multigenerational living and the changing shape of the family unit, and look to Singapore for inspiration.

Featuring: Alexander von Hoffman, Marc Norman, John Rahaim, Jennifer Molinsky

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DISCLAIMER: This episode was recorded in May, 2022. The guests’ titles and their affiliation to the school were accurate at the time of recording.

The show is produced by Maggie Janik and hosted by Harriet Fitch Little. For inquiries or to be featured on an upcoming episode, email [email protected].

What does a just society look like? Often, it’s not about the things you notice first. A housing project might be built with every care paid to the needs of its future residents, but its impact will be limited if it doesn’t also have good transportation links, or if it is sited downwind of a wastewater treatment facility and with no access to green space.

In this episode of Design Now, we speak to people in and around Harvard’s Graduate School of Design who are thinking about social justice at all scales. At one end, there are the huge structural factors that designers must contend with: government policy, the climate crisis, ingrained prejudice and discrimination within both practice and pedagogy. At the more personal end of the scale, we hear about the conversations that designers are having with private clients every day, encouraging them to consider interests other than their own and to “soften the threshold” between private and community spaces.

Everyone featured in this episode has their own entry points and specialties, but they are united by a common thought: Designing for social justice is the work of a society, not any one individual.

Featuring: Rahul Mehrotra, Daniel D’Oca, Mariam Kamara, Anita Berrizbeitia, Esesua Ikpefan

Transcript

DISCLAIMER: This episode was recorded in February, 2022. The guests’ titles and their affiliation to the school were accurate at the time of recording.

The show is produced by Maggie Janik and hosted by Harriet Fitch Little. For inquiries or to be featured on an upcoming episode, email [email protected].

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are all thinking more actively about the hygiene of the buildings we spend time in. At the Harvard Graduate School of Design, health has always been a mainstay of research, but the lines of enquiry may surprise those whose minds jump immediately to hand sanitizer and face masks. In this episode we’ll hear from researchers who are making discoveries in fields including: the impact of design on epidemics of noncommunicable diseases, such as heart disease, how the social nature of buildings contributes to health outcomes, and how not all green spaces in cities are created equal. The picture that emerges is of a fascinating, fast-evolving field in which notions of what makes a place “healthy” are deeply complex and layered—and sometimes even contradictory.

Featuring: Elvis Garcia, Ann Forsyth, Jill Desimini, Emi Kiyota

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DISCLAIMER: This episode was recorded in August, 2021. The guests’ titles and their affiliation to the school were accurate at the time of recording.

The show is produced by Maggie Janik and hosted by Harriet Fitch Little. For inquiries or to be featured on an upcoming episode, email [email protected].

In the inaugural episode of this Harvard GSD podcast we hear from people working in and around the school about the existential threat posed by climate change. Discover the surprising potential of irrigating agricultural land with sewage, and hear alternating perspectives on critical next steps: the imperative of food sovereignty, the need for self-sufficient cities, and “restoration ecology” schemes that begin right on Harvard’s doorstep. 

Featuring: Seth Denizen, Martha Schwartz, Adriana David, David Moreno Mateos, Montserrat Bonvehi Rosich

Transcript

DISCLAIMER: This episode was recorded in April, 2021. The guests’ titles and their affiliation to the school were accurate at the time of recording.

The show is produced by Maggie Janik and hosted by Harriet Fitch Little. For inquiries or to be featured on an upcoming episode, email [email protected].