Join us to hear Sasaki Foundation Design Grants finalists pitch their ideas for projects that address creative community building, new models for housing, innovation in transit and access to mobility choices, innovation in health and wellbeing, and proactive approaches to climate adaptation.

How do we amplify all voices in the world of design and better represent the communities we serve? One approach is increasing access to the profession for young people. Meaningful internships can create a safe space to learn and enjoy the industry. Join the Sasaki Foundation to learn from organizations in Greater Boston working towards building a more equitable design industry, starting with high school and college students. Experts from Acentech, the Boston Private Industry Council, the Boston Society for Architecture, and PowerCorps Boston will join a panel discussion moderated by the Hideo Sasaki Foundation. We will then move into small groups to answer your questions about creating meaningful internships at your firm or organization.

Join the Sasaki Foundation for a youth-led panel discussion to gain a deeper understanding of the impact of immersive design education programs on high school students. SEED alumni and student panelists Evie Tran from Boston Latin School, Mohammed Arham from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, and Aubrielle Lyons from Brooke High School will share their experiences and reflect on how these programs have influenced their educational pathways and prospective career choices. Through this conversation, moderated by SEED alum and Sasaki designer Emely Fernandez, students will also touch on the power of representation in the workforce and how the presence of diversity influenced their view of the design industry as a possible career path.

Join the Sasaki Foundation for a plant propagation party in partnership with Sasaki and the Cambridge Science Festival! Bring yourself, and plant clippings if you have them. Meet some new friends, learn about the science of propagation, have a drink, and celebrate the Cambridge Science Festival. Never propagated plants before? No worries. Here is a useful guide for propagating common houseplants in water. Don’t have any houseplants? That’s okay, too! You can still participate, hang out, and go home with a new plant.

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Join the Sasaki Foundation for a panel discussion with Indigenous community leaders on the historical erasure of Indigenous peoples through planning and design. We are honored to welcome Jean-Luc Pierite, of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana and President of North American Indian Center of Boston; Erin Genia, of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribe and Artist-in-Residence at the City of Boston; Claudia Fox Tree of the Arawak (Yurumein) Nation and board member of Massachusetts Center for Native American Awareness; and Amira Madison, of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head Aquinnah and the Supporting Indigenous Communities Fellow at the City of Boston to talk about the effects of urban planning and architecture on the natural environment and how design has helped to shape society’s awareness and understanding of Indigenous people in our city. Come reflect on how actions to decolonize architecture and planning processes can restore the landscape of Boston.

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Sign up for our virtual office hours to learn more about the Sasaki Foundation Design Grants and our 2023 call for proposals.  Sasaki Foundation staff will be available to answer questions.

Join us for our in-person Design Grants Mixer. This event will foster connections between prospective applicants seeking team members to apply for the Sasaki Foundation Design Grants in response to our 2023 call for proposals.

Join us for a virtual Open House to learn more about the Sasaki Foundation Design Grants and our 2023 call for proposals.

Join the Sasaki Foundation for the first in-person event in our new downtown Boston home: a panel discussion on cultural planning, community building, and neighborhood stabilization in Chinatown on January 26, 2023. Hear from our neighboring local organizations Asian Community Development Corporation, Chinatown Community Land Trust, and Pao Arts Center as we reflect on the last 20 years of planning in Chinatown, the importance of the current cultural planning process, and the possibilities for the future of the neighborhood.

Join the Sasaki Foundation to celebrate Earth Day under the 2022 theme, Invest in our Planet. At the Sasaki Foundation, we believe that one of the most powerful ways to invest in our planet is to invest in the future — our young people. Attend this engaging panel discussion to learn from youth leaders and adult facilitators about the importance of ensuring that young people have a voice in design, meaningful jobs in sustainability fields, and leadership in the environmental movement.

In honor of Women’s History Month, the Sasaki Foundation invites you to join us for a panel discussion with women in municipal leadership in Massachusetts. Leaders from Greater Boston and Gateway Cities will speak to the importance of representation in municipal leadership, and their work in community building, climate adaptation, housing strategies, transit and mobility, and health and well-being.

MIT’s Mobility Vision Day will convene leaders and thinkers representing the public, private, and non-profit sectors from across the globe, showcasing the latest research and innovation in the realm of transportation and catalyzing cross-sector collaboration in setting a research agenda for the future of transportation to help build a system that is more sustainable, equitable, and efficient. In partnership with the Sasaki Foundation and with funding by the Barr Foundation, the day includes a panel discussion entitled Mobility Equity Vision: Exploring Universal Basic Mobility, featuring Seleta Reynolds, Los Angeles Department of Transportation; Ben Bear, Spin; Robin Chase, New Urban Mobility Alliance (NUMO); and moderator Annie Hudson, MIT Mobility Initiative. Panelists will explore the concept of Universal Basic Mobility, offering best practices and highlighting the importance of access to quality transportation for all.

As part of the Cambridge Science Festival and to honor Earth Day, the Sasaki Foundation is hosting a panel discussion about the Charles River. The conversation will highlight stewardship of the river, activation of public parks along its banks, and the ecology of the river. Get an update on the Charles River Floating Wetland and the water quality data that has been collected, a look at ways to enliven the river banks, and how we can all contribute to preserving this special asset.

In celebration of the 20-year anniversary of the founding of the Sasaki Foundation, please join us for a virtual conversation with Dr. Karilyn Crockett, Chief of Equity for the City of Boston, and Mary Anne Ocampo, Sasaki Foundation board chair and principal at Sasaki, as they discuss important issues on city making, civic dialogue and engagement, and building a more equitable Boston.

Hear from our 2019 Design Grants research teams as they wrap up their residency in the Incubator at Sasaki. Their projects focused on proactive approaches to climate change, innovation in transit and access to mobility choices, new models for housing and creative community building.

Climate resilience can be generally defined as the capacity for a socio-ecological system to absorb stresses and simultaneously maintain function and prosperity in the face of (and wake of) climate change. Moving forward from any stresses, communities ideally would adapt, reorganize and evolve to be as prepared as possible for future impacts of climate change. Join us virtually for a lively panel discussion and networking event.

This presentation is a reflection of Girl UNinterrupted‘s research on design equity in five cities. The presentation will highlight gaps in the design profession when it comes to young designers and negotiation, career growth, and work-life balance as well as resolutions on what can be done to minimize that gap. A panel discussion will follow.

What are the most integral parts of a public space? Does the functionality of a public space need to be explained or should users experience the space in their own ways? Join us for a lively panel discussion and networking event in the Incubator at Sasaki about activating the public realm.

On October 17th, we will celebrate what would have been Hideo Sasaki’s 100th birthday with a special fundraising event to benefit the Sasaki Foundation. The event will consist of a panel discussion, a silent auction, a pop-up shop, music, refreshments and more, and will be a wonderful evening celebrating the world of design.

Want to meet innovators, civic leaders, entrepreneurs and thought-leaders in Greater Boston? Continue to build and strengthen your networks? Come to Tuesday Brew, and enjoy coffee or tea on us! These monthly events take place on the fourth Tuesday of every month from 8:30-9:30am. Tuesday Brew is designed to be format-free with the simple goal of fostering new and strengthening existing connections.

Join us to hear the Sasaki Foundation Design Grants finalists pitch their ideas for projects that address proactive approaches to climate adaptation, new models for housing, innovation in transit and access to mobility choices, and creative community building. You will learn how the teams’ proposed innovations will leverage design to address issues of resiliency and equity in communities.

This event is an opportunity to network with startups, designers and planners, community groups, artists, civic leaders, and entrepreneurs who are interested in exploring collaborative ways to strengthen and empower communities.

The Sasaki Foundation Design Grants is an annual grant program presented to teams of two to four people from Greater Boston communities who propose projects in the Foundation’s four focus areas that work to promote equity in design. Teams will work in the Incubator at Sasaki in proximity to Sasaki designers as well as entrepreneurs, innovators and industry leaders.

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MIT Solve is a marketplace connecting innovators with resources to solve Global Challenges. MIT Solve’s Coastal Communities challenge asks the provocative question: how can coastal communities mitigate and adapt to climate change while developing and prospering?

We invite you to the Incubator at Sasaki to hear from folks from the challenge’s selected solutions and provide feedback. Spots are limited!

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Join us for an Open House at the Incubator at Sasaki to learn more about the Sasaki Foundation Design Grants.

We are looking for interdisciplinary, creative approaches to test new design concepts that address complex challenges in our communities: proactive approaches to climate adaptation, new models for housing, innovation in transit and access to mobility, and creative community building.

The reception will bring together members of the Greater Boston community, artists and designers, civic leaders and non-profits to learn about the work of the Foundation and the 2019 Call for Proposals.

Z+T Studio was founded by Mr. Dong Zhang and Ms. Ziying Tang in Shanghai in 2009. In less than a decade, the studio has gained a critical international reputation for its unique design and prolific portfolio. Z+T Studio’s diverse landscape practice ranges from parks, urban public spaces, playgrounds, and art installations to outdoor furniture. Z+T Studio has received numerous national and international awards, including ASLA Honor Awards in General Design in 2014 and 2017.

In an increasingly urbanized environment, Z+T believes that landscape architecture has evolved beyond the conventional focus of aesthetics, and is increasingly becoming a driving force for urban diversity and identity. Z+T harnesses the power of simple elements in nature to strengthen landscape resilience and socioecological well-being through design.

Hello city champions! Housing and Economic Development Secretary Jay Ash, MassDevelopment’s Transformative Development Initiative (TDI) team, Sasaki, and members of the Sasaki Foundation are hosting a discussion on community-led urban revitalization in Massachusetts Gateway Cities.

The Sasaki Foundation works with civic leaders, educators, economists, and technologists to connect design and community-driven action. This informal Gateway City Meetup is an opportunity to learn more about the foundation’s research and grant programs, share lessons learned from TDI Districts, and speak with a diverse group of stakeholders (designers and public sector practitioners) about specific ongoing efforts in your communities.

Join us for an Open House in the Incubator at Sasaki to learn about the Sasaki Foundation Design Grants. This program aspires to use design to strengthen and empower local communities.

The reception will bring together members of the Greater Boston community, artists and designers, civic leaders and non-profits to learn about the work of the Foundation and the Call for Proposals that is now open.

Sponsored by:

LAF’s New Landscape Declaration calls on landscape architects to work to strengthen and diversify our global capacity as a profession. With a line-up of panelists who prioritize equity and inclusion in their work , these individuals demonstrate how landscape architects can play an instrumental role in reshaping society.

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