Harvard Graduate School of Design Materials Collection(Cambridge, MA)The Harvard Graduate School of Design Materials Collection is a physical and digital collection of materials, ranging from innovative, new materials to those found everyday in the constructed environment. The collection allows for both intuitive, tactile browsing, and non-linear searching of various database categories.
The Materials Collection is a collection of over 800 materials ranging from innovative, new materials to those found everyday in the constructed environment. The physical collection, organized into five material families—Biocomposite, Polymer, Metal, Mineral, and Ceramic—allows for tactile browsing, while Material Order SEARCH provides multiple points of access to meet research needs. By foregrounding material composition and functional traits, the collection allows users to rethink conventional applications and promote material experimentation in design practice. Explorations in material research find expression through publications, exhibitions, colloquia, and course offerings that examine the research interests of the GSD.