Harvard Graduate School of Design

A Chicago native, Valentine Geze (MDE ’26) earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering with a minor in studio art from Loyola University Chicago. Before arriving at the GSD, she worked as an environmental engineer at Partner Engineering & Science and later as an environmental, social, and governance consultant at Ernst & Young, experiences that sharpened her interest in how ecological systems, policy, and design intersect.

At Harvard, Valentine looked to further bridge science and art, intent on uniting “the technical rigor of an engineering degree with the creativity and human-centered focus of a design program. Her research has focused on the relationship between ecology, technology, and material systems, driven by a commitment to making climate futures both legible and actionable.

During her time in the MDE program, Valentine served as class representative, presented her research at the Circular Materials Conference in Copenhagen, and received the GSD-Courances Design Residency, where she studied sediment and hydrology in a traditional French garden. Her thesis, a project she plans to develop alongside future professional endeavors examines landscape-scale comparison in ecological restoration.

The Harvard Graduate School of Design Class of 2026 represents the range of departments and disciplines that shape the school’s distinctive approach to design education. In this series, students share perspectives on their work, research, and experiences, reflecting a commitment to advancing a more resilient, just, and beautiful world. Together, these videos offer a cross-section of the GSD’s intellectual and creative community. Check out the earlier posts in this series, and stay tuned for more features of the 2026 grads over the next few days!

📹: Maggie Janik

Andrew Schwartz (MLA '26) is a multidisciplinary designer whose work investigates how landscape can shape—and be shaped by—built and post-industrial environments. “I'm interested in landscape architecture because it's a young field still actively being defined,” he notes, “and has a lot of opportunity specifically within the post-industrial environment.”

Drawing closely on site history and materiality, Andrew approaches design as an iterative process grounded in observation, making, and experimentation. His practice moves fluidly across scales and mediums, integrating photography, graphic design systems, and landscape thinking into a deeply process-driven approach. Central to his work is model making, which he uses as both a design tool and a way of understanding spatial and material relationships.

The Harvard Graduate School of Design Class of 2026 represents the range of departments and disciplines that shape the school’s distinctive approach to design education. In this series, students share perspectives on their work, research, and experiences, reflecting a commitment to advancing a more resilient, just, and beautiful world. Stay tuned for more videos of our 2026 grads!

Ann Tanaka (MArch '26) is a designer and researcher whose work examines climate adaptation and collective infrastructure for resilience at the wildland-urban interface. She is completing a MArch I from Harvard GSD, where her thesis (advised by Toshiko Mori) reframed wildfire resilience as a collective civic challenge, drawing on Japanese models of disaster preparedness. Prior to studying at the GSD, she earned a BS in architectural design from Stanford University, with minors in art history and East Asian studies. She has worked in practices across New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Tokyo, and is currently applying her thesis research to a project in her hometown of Los Angeles.

Ann’s time at the GSD spanned design, research, and teaching across core studios, structures, and the “Japan Story” seminar. “I came into the GSD wanting to become a better designer,” she says. “I'm also leaving as a stronger researcher with the ability to connect design and research in my own work.”

The Harvard Graduate School of Design Class of 2026 represents the range of departments and disciplines that shape the School’s distinctive approach to design education. In this video series, students share perspectives on their work, research, and experiences, reflecting a commitment to advancing a more resilient, just, and beautiful world. We'll be sharing more about the 2026 graduates over the next few weeks!

As the academic year comes to a close, we’re looking back on some of our Spring 2026 public programs!

When architect Chatpong Chuenrudeemol spoke at the GSD this semester, he detailed his longstanding fascination with “Bangkok Bastards.” These improvised architectural forms, including improvised canal crossings made of long-tail boats to ad hoc structures of corrugated metal, define his home city’s urban landscape. Such “homegrown concoctions, created by everyday people to solve everyday problems in everyday life,” also inspire Chuenrudeemol’s practice.

Please watch Chuenrudeemol’s full lecture (link in bio) to hear him discuss his projects in Thailand including Angsila Oyster Pavilion, Na-Eh Bamboo Market for the Indigenous Karen Pwo Community, Indigo Loom House, and Samsen STREET Hotel.

Chuenrudeemol has been teaching an option studio at the GSD, “Shophouse Metropolis,” focused on re-imagining one of the most ubiquitous building types in Bangkok. Introducing Chat’s lecture, Department of Architecture Chair Grace La noted his “ingenuity in creating a living tradition of bottom-up architecture, shaped by necessity and culture.” These overlooked conditions reveal an alternative architectural intelligence rooted in necessity and adaptation. What might it mean to see these informal practices as central to how cities are made? For Chuenrudeemol, “this beautiful underbelly of Bangkok and Thailand” offer a new way to think about—and design—our physical environment.

Watch more recordings of GSD public programs on our YouTube Channel.