Platform 8: An Index of Design & Research

Description

Platform 8 catalogs a curated selection of work generated in the past year at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Alongside final products of design education, Platform 8 places particular emphasis on collecting and documenting the people and artifacts that shape research-driven design practices. Here, design is presented both as process and as a final product. The book's indexical structure, punctuated with a collection of portraits, presents a comprehensive picture of the school. Platform 8 shows the intention, direction, and passion seen and experienced every day at the GSD. Design consultants: Zak Jensen, Laura Grey Student editors: Alexander Cassini, Mikhail Grinwald, Vi Vu

Zaneta Hong is a Lecturer in Landscape Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Prior to her appointment at Harvard, Zaneta was a Lecturer in Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the University of Virginia, and the Materials Lab Curator at the University of Texas, Austin School of Architecture. During her time at UT Austin, she initiated, designed, and developed the online materials website and database along with the Advanced Materials Research Lab and Gallery. In addition, Zaneta has worked for the Harvard GSD Materials Collection, beginning the initial research of landscape architecture-related material systems and technologies. Her research has appeared in numerous publications includingLiving Systems: Innovative Materials and Technologies for Landscape Architecture, Material Design: Information Architecture by Materiality, and Landscape Architecture Magazine. Her experience includes work at Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates and Landworks Studio. Currently, Zaneta is a principal designer at the design-research office, Beta-field and a partner for a design-oriented non-profit organization, GA Collaborative. Zaneta attended Cornell University before completing her Bachelor's of Fine Arts in Industrial Design from the Rhode Island School of Design and a Master's of Landscape Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

"Richly illustrated and structured as an encyclopedic survey in which entries are presented alphabetically, from academia to zoo, this book exposes a particular moment of design culture at the Harvard Graduate School and documents both scholarly discourse and material production as concomitant artifacts of contemporary practice, design, education, and academic research. Each edition of Platform -- the annual publication of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design -- aims to present the diversity of design and research projects produced at the school. Collaborating in its production are well-known architects, landscape architects, and designers, and theorists. This volume uses the concept of the index as a means to navigate the multiple layers of concepts incorporated within the work. Both text and image appear as pictures of processes, pedagogies, and products of design." --Eithne O'Leyne, ProtoView "Not to be confused with GSD 08 Platform, which came out in 2008 and should have been Platform 1 since it started the school's ongoing Platform publications, the latest annual collection of design and research projects uses the encyclopedia as its format. The various classes, lectures, projects, publications, and other output are discovered in the A-to-Z (Academia-to-Zoo) listing of terms. A gimmick to be sure, but one that is surprisingly effective if a bit dry, with only a few splashes of color with photos of faculty, students and some student projects. What could have been an arbitrary and confusing way of structuring things is aided by cross-referencing and an index for those looking for particular students, faculty and guest lecturers. Not all terms are related to the GSD's output, so these would appear to indicate what are important (ha-ha and high-rise, apparently) to the students and professors at the school." --John Hill, A Daily Dose of Architecture One of the 50 Best Books for 2016 -- The American Institute of Graphic Designers