Design School Establishes Aga Khan Islamic Landscape Architecture Professorship

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December 02, 1999

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The Aga Khan Professorship of Landscape Architecture and Urbanism in Islamic Societies was recently established by the Graduate School of Design (GSD).

A gift from His Highness The Aga Khan will provide $2.5 million to the endowment to fund the professorship, with additional program funding for a five-year period. At a time of increased interest in historic and contemporary design issues of built and open-space environments in Muslim societies, the professorship will enable the GSD to expand its global interests and leadership role in these areas.

The new chair will complement existing initiatives in Islamic architecture, landscape architecture and urban design at the GSD. With a previous gift of $1.5 million in 1979, The Aga Khan established the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at the GSD and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and also provided major funding in 1987 to establish the Center for Urban Development Studies at the Harvard Design School. The Center for Urban Development Studies promotes sustainable urban development and revitalization through projects such as the physical and economic rehabilitation of the historic Medina of Fez in Morocco, as well as fostering greater understanding of urban development issues through professional educational programs and seminars.

"The Aga Khan’s most recent gift to establish the Aga Khan professorship, together with our ongoing work in design issues in Islamic societies, will enable us to enhance the breadth and depth of education available to our students as well as to cultivate worldwide academic leadership and problem-solving expertise in these fields," said Peter Rowe, Dean of the GSD. "We are truly fortunate to have an enlightened and generous benefactor who appreciates the mission of the Harvard Design School in connection with Islamic ideals and societies."

Over the past 20 years, faculty and students at the GSD have been engaged in design-oriented, physical planning and technical support activities in the Islamic world. The Center for Urban Development Studies, in particular, has undertaken successful projects in Islamic regions to provide open-space areas in dense urban environments, to preserve and revitalize historic city centers, and to study a variety of housing needs.