In the 2024 George Baird Lecture, Elizabeth Whittaker will focus on how the work of her firm MERGE has evolved from small-scale material explorations to transforming housing typologies in Boston, Detroit, and throughout the US. The presentation will explore contemporary interpretations of varying contexts, as MERGE reimagines the vernacular of each unique site and region at the missing middle scale of housing. The need for more modest scale housing, in particular, offers immense opportunity for experimentation and the revitalization of many neighborhoods throughout the country. As the housing crisis in the US has reached a fever pitch, we cannot rely on big development to satisfy our collective housing needs and changing lifestyles. Whittaker will discuss how MERGE is translating known residential building types in both form, function, and material to address this demand for tectonic and social diversity through their research and built work on the flat, maisonette, duplex, triple-decker, and Chicago 6-flat, among others.

Elizabeth Whittaker is an Associate Professor in Practice of Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, where she has been teaching Core Architecture Studios since 2009. Elizabeth is also the founding principal of MERGE architects, a practice that aims at developing contemporary craft, transforming typologies, and addressing social ecologies throughout the US. Her practice operates at multiple scales through commercial, institutional, retail, private residential, multi-family housing, graphic and furniture design. The work combines both digital fabrication and the hand made by working through a cross-disciplinary as well a cross-production process.

The George Baird Lecture honours the legacy of Professor Emeritus George Baird, alumnus (BArch 1962), former dean, and beloved friend of the Faculty. Professor Baird was a preeminent figure in the history and evolution of both the Faculty and the architectural profession. As an architect, scholar, educator and mentor, his contribution to the discourse and practice of architecture was profound, progressive and international in its reach. Established by colleagues, family, and friends, the annual George Baird lecture brings scholars and practitioners from around the world.