To advance our understanding of how design technologies can improve the human condition, the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) has established the Laboratory for Design Technologies (LDT). The LDT encompasses the GSD’s technology research units and affiliated faculty, who produce leading work in the areas of responsive technologies and sensing, adaptive and smart material systems, robotics and additive manufacturing, computational design and modeling, urban data analytics, and transport systems design. LDT research captures diversity in both content and scale, from the territorial to nanoscopic, using numerous lenses to examine and reimagine the world.

Our Mission

Leverage design research to understand the architecture of complex contemporary challenges, and develop prototypes for a more resilient, responsive, and productive future.

Designing Change

The LDT is a collaborative platform that brings together the Harvard University Graduate School of Design’s (GSD) technology research units with a select group of industry advisors to engage in forward-looking, speculative, and imaginative research. LDT projects into the future, yet remains grounded in a deep knowledge of science, construction, engineering, and industry practice. The platform is closely aligned with the Master in Design Engineering Program (MDE), a collaborative degree between the Harvard GSD and the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS).