In the late 1960s he returned to America to work as a Research Assistant (1967–1968) at the Harvard Graduate School of Design where he worked with Peter Hornbeck and Peter Jacobs co-producing Highway Esthetics: functional criteria for planning and design (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1968).
In the 1980s he was responsible for the major repair, strengthening and restoration of the Katherine Mansfield Birthplace in Thorndon, including substantial conservation research (this material and documentation is deposited at the Alexander Turnbull Library), and was extensively involved in the New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects.
He is recognised for his residential work (especially the Beard House, Hauraki Street, Karori (1955), and apartment design in the 1960s), and two well-known inner city Wellington buildings: the Hannah Playhouse (1973) for Downstage Theatre, and P.S.I.S.
Beard also made a significant contribution to concrete apartment design in Wellington in the late 1950s and early 1960s, examples of which exist in Hamilton Road, Hataitai, Tapiri Street/William Street, Hataitai, Brougham Street, Mount Victoria, and Wellington Road, Kilbirnie.
These were exercises in providing both liveable modern homes and efficient planning, at a time when single unit detached dwellings were the norm.
His work on the Katherine Mansfield Birthplace is also significant as a contribution to New Zealand's national cultural heritage.
He gave service to organisations such as the Wellington Architectural Centre, the New Zealand Institute of Architects, the New Zealand Institute of Landscape Designers, and founded the Wellington Heritage and Conservation Trust as part of his efforts to lobby for a better built environment.
As Michael Jones has noted, "Beard has exerted a sustained influence on late 1960s attitudes to the landscape – as a regular commentator on national and civic policy and action."