The Case of Cape Ann
Agricultural Modernization and Collective Memory
Bioproductive Models for
Tranversing the Han
The Case of Barrio 31
The Case of Miami’s Metrorail South
The Case of Miami Beach
Chicago Architecture Biennal
The Case of Mendoza Aeroparque
Field Guide to the Transformation of
Abandoned Airports
Solar Orientation and Social Order
The Harvard Graduate School of Design’s Office for Urbanization draws upon the School’s history of design innovation to address societal and cultural conditions associated with contemporary urbanization. It develops speculative and projective urban scenarios through sponsored design research projects.
The work of the office can be described under the general rubric of design research. Design research is synthetic, incorporating information relative to a particular project from a diverse array of sources. Often characterized by its capacity to organize and visually represent complex arrays of information, design research deploys simulations and scenario-based projections to reveal latent potentials for future conditions. Design research is most often propositional, rather than simply empirical or descriptive. Design research projects stand simultaneously as propositions for intervention in the world, and as a form of knowledge about the world.