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Il faut cultiver notre jardin… -Voltaire
For more information about this project, please contact Christina Cho at gsdmobilegarden@gmail.com.
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Thanks for coming by the Mobile, Ethnic Garden at the Harvard Graduate School of Design backyard! My name is Christina Cho, and I am finishing up my thesis semester for my Masters Degree in Architecture at the GSD. This was a project conceived for an MIT course I took in Public Art: Issues in Spatial Cultural Identity taught by Prof. Muntadas. It is based on the premise that food is often the easiest means of beginning to understand a person’s culture, at times far more accessible than learning the basics of their language or traveling to that country, and capitalizes on art or architecture as an agent of culture. This year the country of focus for the class was Korea so all the fruits & vegetables planted right now are Korean. However, in subsequent years, a different country will be of focus. Hopefully, this can be an ongoing tradition at Harvard that highlights our community’s diverse population. The garden is mobile such that after this summer it may travel to other parts of campus and be reconfigured according to formal preferences, solar exposure needs, plant affinities, etc. Though I had to plant some Korean vegetable seedlings in there already in time for commencement, this SUNDAY AFTERNOON @ 3 pm (May 30) we’ll be planting some seeds such that others may become part of this project. You can then check up on your plant(s) throughout the summer and join us in eating what we have grown together at a Korean BBQ in the backyard come September. Let me know if you’re interested in participating!Many thanks to the Harvard Office for Sustainability for sponsoring the project and GSD Building Services for their support. Thank you Yuhka Miura, Lauren McClure, Nelis Parts, Dave Choi, Phil Sung, Kyung Won, Theodore Hoerr, Douglas Jack, Seong Seok Ko, Iva Kremsa, and Hyun Ji Ryu for your help & willingness to get your hands dirty with me. Thanks to Jinju Lee, Mais Al Azab, Lauren McClure, and Trevor O’Brien for taking care of the plants while I’m away. Jonathan Scelsa, Erin Kelly, and Ilana Cohen, thanks for your “consultation services!” Thanks to Wayne Carbone of GSD Landscape Services and Dan Borelli of Exhibitions for your donations and support. Rob Gogan of Facilities Management, you were brilliant to suggest the salvaged fir fencing – saved me money and made for some creative reuse. Also, thanks to all the GSD Shop TAs for your advice along the way and putting up with me as I took up way too much space in the shop.
