2020 SEED internship project site visit
Mattapan, Massachusetts
Applications for our 2023 SEED program are now closed. Stay tuned for more opportunities this fall!
About SEED
Do you question the things around you and wonder how you can make them better?
At Sasaki, we do this all the time. We’re big thinkers and creative problem solvers. We take dreams and make them realities. And we want to teach you how to do the same. Design can be your opportunity to change the world!
You are…
- a current high school student.
- always setting goals and finding ways to achieve them.
- never taking anything for granted.
- constantly wondering and imagining.
- interested in a job where you get to think creatively every day.
- looking for a challenge.
- excited about learning.
- not afraid to ask questions or share your ideas.
- someone who wants to know how to make a difference in the community around you.
Want to see what past SEED interns have done? Read our blog posts recapping past summers: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.
2019 SEED internship
Watertown, Massachusetts
What You’ll Learn
Through these online courses, you’ll explore the fields of architecture, interior design, planning and urban design, and landscape architecture. You’ll learn about the questions designers ask and the tools they use. You’ll watch interviews with design professionals. And you’ll practice common design techniques and tools.
And if you want even more, stay tuned. Each spring the Sasaki Foundation opens applications for our Summer Exploratory Experience in Design (SEED). Spend your summer collaborating on a project while learning directly from Sasaki designers!
This online curriculum is a partnership between the Sasaki Foundation, Sasaki, and American Student Assistance and is based on the 2020 Summer Exploratory Experience in Design (SEED) internship for Greater Boston high school students, hosted by the Sasaki Foundation.
What is design?
Do you look at the world around you and wonder: how can I make things better? Do you notice details of buildings that your friends don’t? Do you doodle in class? If this sounds like you, you might be interested in design. There are a lot of different types of design: designers design chairs, and designers design neighborhoods. But even at these different scales, designers ask similar types of questions and use the same types of tools. In these courses, you’ll learn about a few different types of design practiced at Sasaki, including planning and urban design, landscape architecture and ecology, and architecture and interior design.
Want to learn more? Create a login to access the courses below. (Download the syllabus to see what’s covered in each course.)
You’ll need to complete the short welcome survey before you dive in. Each course offers content and activities (the activities build on each other from courses 1 to 3). You can save your progress, allowing you to go at your own pace. At the end, please take the short closing survey to see how the courses have changed your perspective on design. You’ll also receive a completion certificate and be entered into a quarterly drawing for cool prizes!
NOTE: These courses are best viewed on a larger screen, like a laptop or tablet.
Welcome Survey
Complete this short welcome survey to access all the courses.
Course 1: Planning and Urban Design
Learn what planning and urban design is, what questions planners ask, and what tools they use. Research and analyze your neighborhood. And hear from a planner and an urban designer.
Course 2: Landscape Architecture
Learn what landscape architecture is, what questions these designers ask, and what tools they use. Observe and document your neighborhood and how people move through it. And hear from two landscape architects. (BONUS: learn about urban agriculture!)
Course 3: Architecture and Interior Design
Learn what architecture and interior design is, what questions these designers ask, and what tools they use. Examine building materials in your neighborhood and choose your project and it's location. And hear from an architect and an interior designer. (BONUS: learn about making 3D models with the latest technology!)
Course 4: Other Design Disciplines
Learn about graphic design, marketing and communications, industrial design, and storytelling and presenting as part of the design process.
Course 5: Design Techniques and Tools
Work through drawing exercises to get comfortable sketching, and practice several common methods for illustrating designs.
Post-curriculum Survey
Complete this short post-curriculum survey after taking all the courses to receive your completion certificate and enter in our quarterly drawing for cool prizes!
