we invest in

the most promising drivers of change

Sea Level Rise and Resilient Coasts

Boston, Massachusetts

Read about our philosophy and approach to our work in our Strategic Plan, see what we’ve accomplished this past year in our 2022 Annual Report, and explore our 2020-2021 Design Grants research.

Research & Experimentation

Large-scale, complex challenges require cross-disciplinary thinking. That’s why the Sasaki Foundation convenes experts and innovators from all backgrounds. The Sasaki Foundation’s research and programs are focused on bringing issues of inequity in design to the forefront. In many cases, this means a focus on helping communities of color and low-income communities, who have historically been removed from the design process.

Featured Project

The Sasaki Foundation champions interdisciplinary approaches, testing new design concepts and projects that address complex issues. The Sasaki Foundation’s Design Grants support and drive innovation within interdisciplinary teams from various sectors, while rooting these ideas in communities. Each year, the Sasaki Foundation announces new research topics that address the current trends in design and address inequities in those areas. Teams apply for cash grants and access to designers at Sasaki. For more information, see our 2022 Grant winners.

Pitch Night 2019

Watertown, Massachusetts

Design drives equity. But is design
Driven by equity?
2019 Architecture & Design Thinking Day
Watertown, Massachusetts
do you have to go to design school to
design your community?
2019 Architecture & Design Thinking Day
Watertown, Massachusetts
Where do street wisdom and
expert knowledge meet?
2019 Architecture & Design Thinking Day
Watertown, Massachusetts
Can community design conquer the
limitations of geography?
2019 Architecture & Design Thinking Day
Watertown, Massachusetts
Places have heart. Can big data
sense its pulse?
2019 Architecture & Design Thinking Day
Watertown, Massachusetts

MIT Solve: Coastal Communities Workshop

Watertown, Massachusetts

Community Learning & Engagement

Informed and engaged residents are the central ingredients of a successful community. The Sasaki Foundation invests in ideas and strategies that engage community members in the design process — and contribute meaningfully to its outcomes. To that end, we work with civic leaders, educators, economists, and technologists to connect design and community-driven action.

Featured Project

The Sasaki Foundation partnered with MIT Solve on their Coastal Communities challenge. The challenge asked the provocative question: how can coastal communities mitigate and adapt to climate change while developing and prospering? Solvers presented their winning solutions, which included mobilizing communities to share microdata about climate impacts to better inform adaptation and infrastructure design, modular and scalable reef restoration to protect coast communities and ecosystems, and more.

Sasaki designers and industry professionals had the opportunity to provide feedback to teams, where feedback played an integral role as solutions were in their early stages of development.

Best ideas happen outside of office hours.
How do we get past the clock?
Team at Incubator at Sasaki
Watertown, Massachusetts
Are the best materials of tomorrow languishing in
the landfills of today?
Team at Incubator at Sasaki
Watertown, Massachusetts
At what point does interdisciplinary
transcend disciplines?
Team at Incubator at Sasaki
Watertown, Massachusetts
Can artificial intelligence
make us better humans?
Team at Incubator at Sasaki
Watertown, Massachusetts
Can a stormwater system double
as a community space?
Team at Incubator at Sasaki
Watertown, Massachusetts

Professional Practice & Growth

A thriving design industry relies on a pipeline of diverse, talented, and passionate practitioners who infuse new ideas and disrupt established patterns. The Sasaki Foundation supports professional organizations and initiatives that prepare such future leaders. The Foundation also advocates for innovative design practice, seeking ways to cross discipline boundaries and amplify impact. Of special interest are programs that advance diversity and inclusivity in the next generation of design professionals.

Featured Project

The Sasaki Foundation runs a six-week paid internship program for students from Greater Boston high schools, called Summer Exploratory Experience in Design (SEED), which is structured holistically around introducing young students to the world of design. The program is an intensive deep-dive into collaborative project work, working alongside Sasaki designers who serve as teachers and mentors to students throughout the program. Students participate in design charrettes, work with computer and VR programs, practice hand-sketching techniques, and more. Our goal is to collectively build a culture of equity in the design field by showing young students alternative career paths to industries they may never have known.

SEED Students

Watertown, Massachusetts

How can design shed
its luxury label?
2019 SEED Internship
Watertown, Massachusetts
Who decides who
a designer is?
2019 SEED Internship
Watertown, Massachusetts
What does a designer
look like?
2019 SEED Internship
Watertown, Massachusetts
Can designers move from
representation to construction?
2019 SEED Internship
Watertown, Massachusetts
If we are designing for democracy, why aren’t we
designing in a democracy?
2019 SEED Internship
Watertown, Massachusetts

Want to get involved?