“Self Compass,” for example, will use AI to place viewers in the Yard — and throughout Harvard’s history — from its site by the John Harvard Statue. Using an app (downloadable as “Self Compass” or via a QR code on-site) this pavilion uses mathematics and augmented reality to allow users to see the Yard as it was 100 years ago, while the translucent fabric stretched on the structure’s arching timber ribs also gives framed views of the Yard today. As the app places users in these scenes, viewers can examine their roles “within the Harvard community and the wider community,” said George Guida, a ’22 master’s student at GSD, co-lead artist with Ana Gabriela Loayza, a ’21 alumna of GSD.

“It’s a way of engaging with history today and history and Harvard’s past,” said Guida, who shares credit with Jeff Stevens, Thomas Kuei, Taeyong Kim, all of whom will graduate from GSD this year, and Garvin Goepel, who is a Ph.D. student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “What was Harvard a hundred years ago? How did that look?”

“Self Compass” also takes into consideration our changing contemporary reality, says Guida, asking, “How can the digital space make us think differently about our physical space?” Ultimately, as viewers across the Harvard community see themselves interacting with the Yard past and present, the piece’s scope takes on a more philosophical tone. “How can we move forward in a positive way through inclusion and equity?” Guida asks.