Marshall is of the school that believes that Harvard could do even better by taking the plunge and experimenting with more new styles. "I do think Harvard should take every opportunity to improve its building stock," he says.

But others say the University has a responsibility to maintain its traditional style.

"I don't think the priority should be necessarily to make the campus a showcase of the latest architectural trends," says John Jackson, a third-year student of architecture at the GSD.

Whatever the prevailing thought, GSD professors say, Harvard's design school will be at the cutting edge--using the Harvard campus as a classroom to study the trends of architecture over history.

"At the GSD we have a way of turning every building into a lesson, either way," Sarkis says.