Herzog & de Meuron to Expand the GSD

The expansion is predicated on the school's cross-disciplinary work both within the GSD and among other schools at Harvard. The expansion will need to deal with one of architectural education's most distinctive spaces: the five-story "Trays" at Gund Hall, the 1972 building designed by Australian architect John Andrews. A GSD statement on the expansion addresses the new collaborative spaces interacting with the Trays:

The proposed space will encourage new forms of cross-disciplinary collaboration by creating an anchored point of intersection among the School’s current studio workspace (known as “the trays”), faculty and departmental offices, seminar rooms and classrooms, research library, production and fabrication facilities, and new interior spaces designed for informal meetings, social gatherings, and public programs. The addition is expected to add only a minimal amount to Gund Hall’s physical footprint, eliminating the need for additional land...

Herzog & de Meuron were selected through a two-stage process organized by Harvard University. Although Rem Koolhaas, who has worked with Harvard GSD students for decades on such projects as Elements of Architecture at the 2014 Venice Biennale and the forthcoming "Countryside" exhibition at the Guggenheim, would seem to be the most logical choice for Gund Hall's expansion, Herzog & de Meuron's roots with GSD also run deep. The firm said in the statement:

Since the 1980s we have been in close contact with Harvard GSD for teaching and research projects. We’ve met several generations of professors, staff, and students. We learned from the talent and excellence of many of those people from across the world. Also, we have always admired the intellectual spirit and free-thinking atmosphere of the School, with its mythic Gund Hall building. We envision transforming this building by excavating, adding, and connecting spaces that will support communication and exchange within the GSD community. We are very excited to be awarded this project, and look forward to working with all our friends and dear colleagues in the years ahead.

Although their words give just a hint of what to expect, the firm is already underway with concept and schematic design and is expected to wrap up SD this fall. The announcement does not include a timeline on when to expect images of the design or completion of the expansion.