Harvard Graduate School of Design

Option studios at the Graduate School of Design are intensive courses for advanced research and practice in the design disciplines. Because students in option studios can engage with the challenges of particular sites, whether in New England or across the world, a period of on-site study is sometimes required. Check out highlights from recent option studio trips to locations around the world.

Fall 2026 option studios reflect a collective effort to explore sustainable ways to reuse existing structures, investigate equitable solutions to the housing crisis, and design resilient landscapes for a changing climate. From reimagining the Ellinikon Airport in Athens to studying housing in Helsinki, and from a rethinking clean energy in Ireland to analyzing water infrastructure in Hong Kong, the Fall 2026 option studios represent the leading edge of interdisciplinary research at the GSD.

Image 1: Afterlives: Transforming Saarinen’s Ellinikon Terminal, Museum of Design Athens, Eric Höweler & Hanif Kara. Photo: Ralph Lin
Image 2: From Rust to Must: Reimagining McKeesport, Ignacio Bunster-Ossa, Mckeestport, PA
Image 3: Architecture Before Form, Douglas Harsevoort & Juan Sala, Xilitla, Mexico
Image 4: Shared City: Subverting Positive / Negative Space, Johanna Hurme and Sasa Radulovic, Helsinki
Image 5: Aqua Incognito VI: Resilience Under New Climate Regimes in Valencia, Spain, Lorena Bello Gómez
Image 6: Wind and Water Infrastructures for the Wild Atlantic Way, Roisin Heneghan, Shih-Fu Peng & Hanif Kara, Western Ireland

🔗 Check out our link in bio to read an overview of the Fall 2026 option studios!