GSD Scholarly Articles

The purpose of this brief narrative is twofold: first, to capture the history of the Harvard Graduate School of Design student publications within the context of the school, both in terms of their general description and in relation to their affiliation to the GSD academic programs and people involved; and second, of their possible interpretation in terms of their thrust, purpose, and impact. Intentionally more descriptive than interpretive, this inventory of sorts may provide a foundation for a renewed critical view into student publications at GSD, and inspire future generations to discover, through their own GSD student publications, their potential contribution to the history of the School, to the disciplines they are immersing themselves in, and to society in general.

This paper tackles the challenge of algorithmically generating 3D architectural designs. Traditional rule-based methods and GAN-based 3D generative models struggle with extrapolation, control, and resolution. We propose a novel approach using fine-tuned latent diffusion models, specifically Stable Diffusion, to generate high-resolution architectural sections. Our pipeline synthesizes 3D models through latent interpolation, employing Low-Rank Adaptation (LoRA) for model finetuning and ControlNet for consistent outlines. The process includes creating sectional poché datasets for various building types, fine-tuning models with LoRA, generating new poché images conditioned on section boundaries via ControlNet, and using latent interpolation for smooth transitions between sections. The resulting sections are reconstructed into 3D models using the Marching Cubes algorithm in the Grasshopper environment. Our method generates 3D designs with resolution up to 1024x768x300 voxels and consistent continuity on sectional axis, achieving state-of-the-art results in 3D architectural design generation.

Set in Alaska in 2051, Insurgent Geology is a post-oil speculative fiction about hydrocarbons, fossils, power and people. The story blows up pipelines and takes care of the soil and, shifting from deep time to a speculative near future, it calls for Arctic insurrection, environmental geopoetics and social justice. The project critiques geology as an extractive and neocolonial discipline and activity through alternative geosocial practices, mineral kinships, and geoaesthetics in a series of design interventions along the infamous Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.

How do older people’s living environments influence their vulnerabilities to climate change? Much has been written about the physiological consequences of climate change for older individuals, particularly the dangers of increased incidence of severe heat. Less is known about how older people’s residential settings moderate their exposure to climate stressors, their particular sensitivities to the effects of climate change, or their capacities to respond to extreme events or adapt to long-term environmental changes. Drawing on literature in English, with a focus on work relevant to the United States, we examine how the housing, neighborhood, and urban or rural contexts in which older people live shape their experiences of climate change, moderating their exposure to risks related to climate change, sensitivity to those events and trends, and their capacities to adapt and recover. Older people face multiple life changes, making prioritizing climate readiness more challenging. They are also diverse, with different vulnerabilities and perceptions of risks and the ability to manage them. This paper lays out an agenda where additional research can inform policy and planning efforts aimed at reducing older individuals’ risk and building the capacity to adapt to climate change. The agenda includes understanding specific vulnerabilities and how older people and their housing providers are already responding.

Abstract Climate change will cause substantial numbers of people to relocate, whether in a planned or more ad hoc manner. In receiving communities this could lead to substantial problems supplying physical infrastructure, preserving affordability, conserving wild and productive lands, maintaining social connections, and providing community services in new areas. Moving to comprehensively planned new settlements could be a solution to climate sprawl (fragmented and dispersed development) and climate gentrification (increased demand in existing areas). This may involve moving an entire settlement as a whole to a comprehensively planned neighborhood or town. We call this “whole community” retreat as it keeps social ties intact. An alternative involves creating a comprehensively planned new town or new neighborhood for people from a variety of locations. We refer to this as “new community” retreat as it provides a new environment, but social ties need to be developed. The paper examines lessons from two sets of experiences with large scale resettlement or community-building. One group of examples involves whole community resettlements after disasters or related to economic development and a second set of precedents come from the broader history of new towns. Challenges from both resettlement experience and new town history include land and infrastructure availability and cost, planning and development coordination, financing, and attracting a large enough proportion of people to keep social ties intact. A more comprehensive approach has benefits, but is easier to pull off at a neighborhood rather than a larger scale and for shorter rather than longer moves.

Aging in place is a policy goal for many governments and a personal goal for numerous older people. But what does it mean? Drawing on both scholarly and gray literature, this article outlines seven themes underlying definitions of aging in place. Some are descriptive: never moving, staying put for as long as possible, or remaining in the same vicinity. Two are related to care: staying out of a nursing home or receiving progressively higher levels of care in the same residential care facility without moving. Others are more normative approaches: aging in place as a policy ideal or as an exercise of choice. Definitions have implications for policy debates, urban planning activities, development approaches, and personal decisions. Recognizing that the term has many different definitions and nuances will help clarify policy, planning, and development options.

During the pandemic, many older adults faced social isolation and disruptions in access to food, medical care, and supportive services. In response, organizations that support older people improvised solutions to address these challenges. This report, co-authored with The Hastings Center, examines how these responses, most of which were intended to be temporary, might improve housing and supports for older adults and address longstanding inequities.

Sparked by pandemic-induced changes in household routines and use of living space, home improvement and repair spending soared to new heights in 2022, reaching an estimated $567 billion. Despite this enormous investment, the nation’s homes need more investment to prepare against disasters, improve energy efficiency, and meet the needs of an aging population.

Many of the early leading ecologists, especially Americans, were surveyed (primarily between 1952 and 1959) to learn what (1) initially inspired an ecological interest, (2) stimulated a major career direction in ecology, and (3) was one’s major career accomplishment. Patterns of responses from 73 ecologists, primarily in their own words using their own typewriters, are summarized. Yale, Duke, Illinois, Michigan, Oxford, and Wisconsin are the most frequent primary institutions of respondents, who were initially not only concentrated in the U.S. Midwest, but also working in the Northeast, South, West, and abroad. The initial ecological stimulus of survey respondents was most reported as plants, between ages 9 and 11, and a parent. Victor Shelford, Henry Cowles, Edgar Transeau, and Stanley Cain were most mentioned as catalysts of a career direction. Also, the opportunity to teach or work in a new place, or reading a key publication(s), often inspired a career direction. The many early ecologists most frequently knew or interacted with H. Cowles, M. Buell, F. Clements, V. Shelford, S. Cain, and H. Oosting. The most frequent major accomplishments or contributions reported by a leading ecologist were analysis of the ecology, vegetation, or flora of a particular area; elucidated ecosystem, productivity, and nutrients; produced a book(s); furthered understanding of natural communities or vegetation; analyzed succession or vegetation dynamics; and established or ran an administrative unit or natural reserve. These survey response patterns are complemented by a wide range of specific responses by individuals. Selected unusual observations and experiences provide insight into the leading ecologists as people. A perspective provides key insights into the survey, the earliest phase of ecology and its later maturation, and environmental/social conditions affecting early ecologists and ecology.