Harvard scholars, at least for a day

Submitted by John Take, Practice Leader (Tucson, AZ) and John Malueg, Principal (Louisville, KY)

John Malueg (left) and John Take, sheltered
from the rain at a gate into Harvard Yard

Two months ago, we were asked to deliver a lecture at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Had we been to the Harvard campus before? No. Was the opportunity inspiring, intimidating, or exciting? All of the above, actually. Obviously Harvard’s name has a certain aura associated with it, such that until you go “live” with an audience there, you really don’t know what you’ve volunteered for and how your message will be received… but it was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up.

The request was to contribute to the school’s weekly “Sustainable Infrastructure” course seminars. Designed to showcase public and private sector viewpoints—as well as the urban planning, energy, and transportation aspects of green design—the series had reached the topic of water, and it was our task to lead a three-hour presentation and discussion.

So, we planned a “formal” presentation for a portion of the time with the hope that students would engage in an interactive Q&A session. In addition to communicating our expertise and fostering interest in the topics, we were hoping to learn their perspective as well. What do they see as the challenges and opportunities relative to the role of water resources towards creating a sustainable urban environment?

Outside of Gund Hall, the Graduate School of Design's
main building

After arriving on the Cambridge campus, we entered the Gund Hall classroom and met the relatively small audience. We were struck by the group dynamic, as the students represented a wide range of educational and professional backgrounds—graduate students in architecture, urban planning, transportation, and other disciplines.

We got things underway, sharing retrospective insights on the Clean Water Act, its impact since the 1970s, the evolution of sustainable design, and case studies where we had directly addressed the issues most relevant to the industry. We watched the audience closely and… they were interested! More than that, they were engaged, inquisitive, and incredibly knowledgeable about the sustainability landscape. With a certain amount of relief, we filled the time easily and energetically in facilitating a lively conversation seeking to answer the question “How do you comprehensively and consistently assess and measure infrastructure projects for sustainability?” By day’s end, we hoped and truly felt that everyone had fun—we certainly did.

Later that night, we reflected over cold glasses of beer and noted how encouraging it was to have been able to talk about Stantec’s active role—at Harvard, mind you—in infrastructure sustainability on nearly every project we plan and design. Thinking again about the audience, one response we kind of hoped for but didn’t happen was to be recognized with honorary doctorates… maybe next time.