unstudio — Harvard GSD

The problem

Gund Hall is full.
A third of the students don't have a seat.

2.5×

over capacity

Gund was designed for 400 students.
It currently holds 994.

370+

students without a desk

Over a third of GSD — excluded from a creative home base every semester.

89%

of desks empty at any given time

Research sampling every 4 hours found peak usage at just 11%.

624

private desks in the public space

Cultural belief: desks are for studio. The unstudio tests a different idea.

The solution

A collision space for those students.

The unstudio is a pilot for a collaborative solution to Gund's spatial constraints It's a place where students can spontaneously meet, share ideas, increase interdisciplinary connections, and design collaboratively — regardless of whether they're enrolled in a studio course.

It costs nothing. It uses furniture that already exists. It turns underutilized collaborative space into a resource for everyone.

Bring anything. Share everything.

Give up space. Don't hoard space.

Work with, not against.

Evidence it works

Eight days of data.

Usage was sampled every 4 hours across the full run. Here's what the space actually looked like in practice.

Visitors by time of day

10:00 am

2:00 pm

6:00 pm

10:00 pm

people at once — peak occupancy on Tuesday evening, with computer work, drawing, modeling, and conversation all happening simultaneously.

Events hosted

Total

What people did here

60%

Computer
work

21%

Conversation
& collaboration

12%

Drawing
& sketching

Modeling &
prototyping

Total observed visits by day

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

Mon (close)

Voices

Reactions from the GSD community — what worked, what didn't, and how the unstudio made you feel.

Reactions with written quotes are shown below. The total count above includes everyone who added their name — including those who signed without leaving a comment, and those who signed on paper in the space.

"Finally!! I feel like I belong at the school. It feels very welcoming to have a place among other GSD students :)"

Jae Yoon Myung

MDes Narratives

"It seemed really nice for people-- nicely done"

Benjamin Good

MArch I

"part of GUND and GSD community"

Natalia garcia

mup

"Great idea and enlivening collaboration space. Please make it a rotating thing throughout Gund Hall."

Zachary Hicks

M Arch II

"The MDES are design superstars and they should also get to design their own communal space!"

Sam

MUP

"the school needs more of this !"

Lucas Holter

MUP

"Love this!!!!"

Chiun Lee

MDes Mediums

"LOVE THIS SPACE"

MaxWang

Mdes Ecologies

"gund is a place to get inspired, learn what others are doing, get feedback on what im doing, meet new people, ask questions, feel like a part of the larger gsd community — the unstudio supports that experience for everyone."

Ceci Portillo

MDes Publics

"home sweet home"

rongying lin

Mdes ecologies

"COZIEST SPACE EVER"

AUGUSTINE

MArch I

"We all deserve space!"

Anuk De Silva

MUP

"The singular warm + peaceful + cozy + heartful place in gund. This needs to live on!"

Malvika Dwivedi

MDes Publics

"Fantastic use of the space!"

Yvette Emberson

MUP

"Bring back MDesk!"

Yuhan Wang

MDes mediums

"For a while, on the floor sitting on a bean bag, I forgot about the pressures of "getting it done, is it good enough, taking too long" and simply enjoyed learning and got to take fun breaks with friends. Met at least 3 persons I have NEVER seen before at the GSD, that also study here. I also met an HKS student that thought the place was nice to work in."

Sofia Aguirre

MDes Publics

"A place to go in Gund Hall that I feel welcome in (instead of 485 Broadway, unfortunately)"

Phil Smith

MRE

"Good use of space in Gund in service of GSD school mission"

Pranav Subramanian

MDes

"When unstudio launched, I woke up at 7am and ran to the GSD. I was that eager to finally have space to work. In just one week, it transformed my process. I could pin drawings on the wall, let them sit, and begin to untangle ideas that had been stuck. I finally felt like I had a space where I could experiment, let ideas grow, and share with others. unstudio gave my project more clarity and confidence."

Jisu Yang

MDES NARRATIVES

"Great meeting space & place to work"

Angela Lim

MDes

"Feels so homey & welcoming"

Mariam Fitaihi

MDes Ecologies

"I am so thankful to see a community spot!"

Eva Gilden

MLA

"I had such an incredible time prototyping a workshop for my research this semester, because I got to be at Gund with the unstudio space, so many people dropped in just by walking by and seeing it. I got incredible spontaneous interactions and unplanned feedback that has been beyond valuable and more than what I could have gotten if I didn't have access to this space."

Cyan D'Anjou

MDes Mediums

"The collaborative spaces in Gund are too dry and drab and not motivating enough (personally) to work. We absolutely need more of these spaces within this brutalist building"

Niharika Yenamandra

MAUD

"finally, a sense of belonging and recognition"

Yushuo Ding

MDes Ecology

"I really want a space where i can focus on my work without self worrying or being self conscious "Am I allowed to work here?" I strongly believe constantly struggling to find a secure workspace should not be an issue when enrolled as a fulltime student. -Mdes House is not inviting its a poorly maintained, poor lighting, rundown furniture, sad looking house. -Other buildings other than gund, dont feel invited, too far, not comfortable. -Loeb library closes early. -Mdes lounge = storage"

Rick Yoon

Mdes Mediums

"In the past few days I've had conversations with at least half a dozen people who I've seen in classes or around the school but never talked to. The unstudio has finally created the space to make these collisions happen and I've been learning so much!"

Xavaar Quaranto

MDes Ecologies

Also supporting

Supported with their name

These community members added their name and voice to the count without leaving a written reaction.

MDes Architecture M Arch I M Arch II M.Arch I M.Arch II MArch I MArch II MARCH 1 MLA MLA 1 MLA I AP MLA II MAUD MRE MUP mup

Cindy CoffeeMDes

Laiqa GitosuputroMArch I

LiviaM Arch I

Hannah LinMDes Mediums

Lauren KimMLA I AP

Saumya ShrutiMUP

Shelly CaoMArch I

JessieArchitecture

IsaMARCH 1

Juan VijandeMDes Ecologies

Elizabeth JonesMUP

Anya SheldonMLA 1

Bansi ShahMAUD

Mariana SaldarriagaMArch II

Ines BiciM.Arch I

Ariel AdhidevaraMdes Mediums

Miriam Hernandez MedinaMLA

Tony LauMArch I

AISHA IYENGARMLA II

Ben LeeMDes Mediums

Annie XingMDes Mediums

Horacio CherniavskyM.Arch II

Nisha SinghMUP

Alyssa KawanoMUP

Mariana Ferreira SilvaMDes Publics

Eden OlayiwoleMDes Publics

EmilyMdes

Sophia SuMUP

Aum GohilMAUD

Serah YatinMAUD

Noah JohnsonMUP

Micah WeeseMUP

Toby ArmentMUP

Jessica RuetterMDes Narratives

Ami MehtaMdes publics

Gund Hall is full.A third of the students don't have a seat.

A collision space for those students.

Eight days of data.

Supported with their name

Gund Hall is full.
A third of the students don't have a seat.