Designers of Mountain and Water

February 5–6, 2026

This conference is open to the public. Visit the conference website for more information. The corresponding exhibit, on display through May 15, 2026 in the Drucker Design Gallery (GSD), features fifty-eight works of landscape architecture by twenty-three practices in Asia.  

Organized by the Korea Institute and the Graduate School of Design, this project gathers world-leading practitioners of landscape architecture from Northeast and Southeast Asia to explore the future of sustainable design in the face of climate change. 

The event brings together practitioners and scholars from multiple regions throughout Asia to advance scholarly knowledge and propose practical solutions to a core question facing the world: how to design inhabitable, sustainable landscapes in the face of a changing climate. The dialogue draws from multiple social science perspectives to consider the key political, economic, social, cultural, as well as environmental issues that are affecting different nation states and bioregions throughout Asia. Social scientists and environmental scientists from around Harvard and the Boston area join the conversation. Ultimately, we aim for the knowledge produced and the ideas generated through this project to offer insights for regions beyond Asia.

Cosponsored by the Korea Institute, Harvard University and the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University.

Contact

Dongchan “Chan” Son
Office and Events Coordinator
Korea Institute, Harvard University
dongchanson@fas.harvard.edu

Conveners

Nicholas Harkness
Faculty Associate; Harvard Academy Senior Scholar.
Modern Korean Economy and Society Professor of Anthropology, Department of Anthropology; Director, Korea Institute, Harvard University.

Research interests: Language, music, and semiotics; urban anthropology; anthropology of religion; and South Korea.

Headshot of Nicholas Harkness.

Jungyoon Kim

Associate Professor in Practice of Landscape Architecture, Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Valuing Accessibility

The Weatherhead Center for International Affairs welcomes individuals with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you would like to request accommodations or have questions about the access provided, please get in touch with the person listed as the contact on the individual event listing in advance of your participation or visit. Requests for Sign Language interpreters and/or CART providers should be made at least two weeks in advance, if possible. Please note that the Weatherhead Center will make every effort to secure services, but that services are subject to availability.

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