Word: gsd
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...arrival of Walter Gropius, founder of the Bauhaus and undisputed holder of the "Mr. Modernism" title, reinvigorated the department, remembers Len Currie (GSD '38). Though "Harvard has always been tops" in the field, Currie says, "in '36 architecture was at a low ebb." Squabbles in the faculty, the departure of the old dean of architecture, and the sad state of American design during the Depression had shaken the school's confidence. Gropius's arrival boosted morale, and Harvard soon rocketed to the to the forefront of international design...
...GSD's course stabilized, however, in 1953 with the appointment of Spanish architect Josep Lluis Sert as both dean of the GSD and of the architecture school. Not only did Sert design Peabody Terrace, Holyoke Center, and the Science Center, but the world-renown architect forged strong links between the GSD and the universal church of Modernism, the Congres Internationaux d' Architecture Moderne (CIAM...
Following Sert's departure amidst campus protests in 1969, the GSD entered a period of relative quiet, marked only by the move from Robinson to Gund Hall. Ironically, in later years Gund would gain the reputation as "the worst designed building on campus," after a series of leakage problems caused by inadequate maintenance and, yes, poor design...
Though the GSD only occupies one building, its spirit might be said to extend to many others on campus and in the area. In addition to Sert's work, the Countway Medical Library, Loeb Drama Center, and Pusey Library were all designed by Hugh Stubbins, Jr. (MAR '35). Even the controversial $52,000 Johnson Gatehouse was farmed out to a GSD grad, Graham Gund (MAR '68). In Boston, GSD buildings include the Federal Reserve Bank (Stubbins), Boston City Hall (Professors of Architecture Gerhard M. Kallmann and Noel M. McKinnell), and the John Hancock Tower (Professor of Architecture Harry N. Cobb...
Perhaps the GSD's most significant contribution has been by way of example. When the GSD was founded, American buildings were primarily done in the Beaux Arts style, a mish-mash of the architectural conventions of the past. Working architects were well aware of the International Style, thanks largely to the efforts of the Museum of Modern Art. Nevertheless, there was considerable resistance to it, both by clients and architects unfamiliar with the style, and unimpressed by what they had seen...