Category: Stories

How do we protect vulnerable populations from the negative health impacts of high heat in buildings? How can architectural design save energy at times when it is difficult to produce clean energy? How can an expanded cost-benefit analysis better inform sustainable building design decisions? These are just a few of the research questions that Holly Samuelson, Associate Professor of Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, strives to understand. […]

Xiaoshi Wang’s first impression of the United States was the bustle of the John F. Kennedy (JFK) Airport in New York City. As he rode through the “city that never sleeps,” he observed that the city was the perfect home for architects. “Architects never sleep, either,” Xiaoshi said. “There is always chance to polish designs further, so we work endlessly until the last minute.” Xiaoshi grew up in northeast China, […]

Though there are many people that contribute to HouseZero™, the Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities (CGBC) net-zero carbon emissions building and living laboratory, Pete Howard is the building’s primary caretaker. As Building Automation, Technology, and Data Manager, Pete ensures that the building’s day-to-day operations, as well as its integrated systems and applications, are functioning as efficiently as possible. On any given day, Pete can be found sorting out […]

For Ellie Jungmin Han, the most interesting research findings lie at the intersection between architectural design, building physics, and computer and data science. As a fellow at the Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities and lecturer in architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Han uses her own building simulation software to support architects with building performance analysis and early design decision-making. Her students also engage with this […]

Researchers at the Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities (CGBC) share insights from their work Inside the walls of CGBC headquarters HouseZero™, a team of researchers are conducting a number of experiments related to improved building design and sustainability. The core research team, made up of postdoctoral fellows, research associates, and DDes and PhD candidates from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, strives to produce research outcomes that inform […]

Among the Harvard community – or what he calls Harvard’s research “ecosystem” – Saurabh Mhatre is an accomplished collaborator, translating his architectural research into applications in design, engineering, and medicine. Mhatre, Senior Research Associate at the Material Processes and Systems Group (MaP+S) and Center for Green Buildings and Cities (CGBC) at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD), has most recently been in collaboration with researchers at Kiel University, Germany, […]