Urban Design & Planning

The Architectural Imagination

About this course:

Architecture engages a culture’s deepest social values and expresses them in material, aesthetic form. In this course, you will learn how to “read” architecture as a cultural expression as well as a technical achievement. Vivid analyses of exemplary buildings from a wide range of historical contexts, coupled with hands-on exercises in drawing and modeling, bring you close to the work of an actual architect or historian.

Digital Buildings

Program Description

Learn about the digital technology and innovation that will change the way we look at buildings forever. Create dynamic, responsive, and efficient spaces in which future generations will thrive. Everything in our buildings is, or soon will be, connected to the Internet. Explore how to build a networked intelligent building and how to take advantage of advanced analytics to increase its performance.

The Resilient City: New Discoveries at the Intersection of Planning and Urban Design

Program Description

Today, cities across the world are shaped by new forms of urbanism, a growing awareness of environmental challenges, and evolving cultural identities. The focus of this two-day program is on developing a broader understanding of how the master planner or designer’s skills contribute to more resilient cities and futures. Panel discussions, field work and interactive activities will explore environmental, economic, and social issues.

Urban Retail: Essential Planning, Design, and Management Practices

Program Description

Retailing—the exchange of goods, services and experiences—is in the midst of change unprecedented in modern times. In a time when the internet globally democratizes shopping, and social media exercises an outsized and immediate influence upon consumer behavior, the demand by people around the world for public places where both commerce and socialization thrive has never been greater.

NCI Charrettes + Design Thinking

Program Description

The key to solving complex problems is collaboration. This program merges the NCI Charrette System with Design Thinking to offer an advanced collaborative innovation process. You will learn to activate the unique creative potential of all stakeholders as they engage in creating a transformative plan.

The Walkable City

Program Description

What makes a place walkable? What do design professionals, engineers, developers, and public officials need to know if they are to make, streets, landscapes, and communities more attractive to pedestrians? Join Jeff Speck for a comprehensive 2-day course on the most effective arguments, techniques, and tools for reshaping places in support of walking, biking, and transit.

Advanced Management Development Program in Real Estate

Innovation in Action

At Harvard GSD Executive Education, industry and academia's foremost leaders join with accomplished design and real estate professionals from around the world. In this setting, complex challenges are addressed and innovative solutions are created. In our dynamic learning environment, you emerge with practical insights and valuable lessons that can be put into action, right away.

*All schedules, dates, faculty, and tuition are subject to change.