Join the Harvard Office for Sustainability and Harvard Common Spaces for an Earth Day Festival on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 from 12 to 2 pm at the Science Center Plaza!
How do we design spaces that evolve with us—shaping, shifting, and adapting to the conditions, behaviors, and needs of those who inhabit them? Adaptive Environments explores how architecture can move beyond the static, making adaptability a core principle in creating resilient, future-ready environments that respond dynamically to their users and surroundings. This symposium, brings together leading voices in architecture and design—including keynote speaker Kjetil Thorsen, Founding Partner of Snøhetta—delves into the dynamic interplay between people, nature, and built environments. We will examine how architectural concepts rooted in an understanding of spatial and material knowledge from the past, combined with emerging technologies, can enable environments that enhance inhabitants’ well-being, extend longevity, and support sustainability by responding intelligently to their surroundings. Discussions will focus on design principles that engage with outdoor conditions, prioritize environmental responsibility, and foster spaces that adapt intuitively to changing needs. We will explore how emerging technologies—IoT, AI, and automation—can enhance scalability and real-time adaptability, creating more efficient, responsive, and human-centered spaces across diverse contexts.
The Green AI Summit, hosted by Harvard Undergraduate AI and Sustainability Group, co-sponsored by Boston University Center for Information and Systems Engineering (CISE), brings together global leaders, researchers, and innovators to explore the intersection of artificial intelligence and sustainability. As AI technology continues to shape the world, the Green AI Summit serves as a critical platform to address the environmental and social impacts of these advancements and to champion responsible development practices.
Attend this talk in which Laura A. Schifter and Jonathan Klein highlight the many ways in which K-12 schools and students have tremendous potential to advance solutions on environmental issues, and they provide frameworks for enacting change, in Students, Schools, and Our Climate Moment. Schifter and Klein demonstrate how the effects of climate change intersect with US public schools on multiple levels—for example, schools must prepare students to face the challenges of an uncertain future, accommodate disruptions brought about by extreme weather conditions, and evaluate their systems’ energy consumption and carbon emissions.
Learn about Harvard’s “Museum of Trees” and what it takes to keep North America’s first public arboretum open to all. Presented by Danny Schissler, Head of Operations and Project Management at the Harvard University Arnold Arboretum. Join us on Wednesday, April 20, from 2-3 pm at the Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Building 2, Room 102 (Harvard ID required), or join via Zoom at hsph.me/arnoldarboretumsustainability.
Join us at our Freecycle in the Smith Campus Center! Drop off reusable goods you no longer need, and browse a fantastic selection of items brought by others.
Building a climate venture? Harvard-affiliated? The Harvard Climate Entrepreneur’s Circle is a selective, year-long incubator program for high-potential ventures addressing climate change. We offer tailored support, including expert office hours, pro-bono legal assistance, and media support. Prior ventures range across a range of technology and business solutions, including XCharge, Subject2Climate, EarthAcre. Eligible ventures must demonstrate one or more key milestones: active users, written partnerships, funding/donations, or established intellectual property. Apply now by May 21. Questions? Please mail i-labclimate@harvard.edu
