Pitch Night 2024
110 Chauncy, Boston, MA
Sasaki Foundation
Grants Process
In 2024, we launched a call for proposals for our sixth annual Design Grants competition. We received 14 applications representing 30+ organizations and institutions, 5 Boston communities, 2 Greater Boston cities, 4 Gateway Cities, and multiple proposals focusing on Greater Boston.
Explore the 2024 winners and finalists below. Learn more about our 2024 call for proposals here.
Thank you to our 2024 jurors for all of your time and effort supporting the Design Grants program this year: Timothy Gale, Jury Chair, of Sasaki, Susan Chu of Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation, Mai Nguyen of International Finance Corporation (IFC), Melissa Q. Teng of Design Studio for Social Intervention, and Giovanny Valencia of Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation.
Charting a Course for Community Action
The Sasaki Foundation recognizes the need for interdisciplinary approaches, diverse community voices, and regional cooperation as key drivers to find shared solutions and create shared impact.
Gardens for All (Jardines Para Todos)
Proactive Approaches to Climate Adaptation
Alexandra Oliver-Davila, Angelica Rodriguez, Stephanie Aguayo, Veronica Taylor
Sociedad Latina’s Jardines Para Todos design initiative will be led by 15 high school Youth Leaders who are part of their Environmental and Food Justice Program (EJ). Their EJ youth focus on addressing the impacts of climate change in their Mission Hill and Roxbury community and receive training and career mentorship to become the next generation of leaders in sustainability and environmental STEM. For the Gardens For All design initiative, the youth will create a design guide and workshops for community members that cover different strategies for low-cost gardening setups, accounting for spatial constraints, portability for rental housing, and limited light and irrigation requirements.
A few of Sociedad Latina’s Environmental and Food Justice Youth Leaders revitalize the community garden at the Tobin Community Center.
Photo courtesy Sociedad Latina
Four Corners Main Streets community project
Photo courtesy Four Corners Main Streets
Marcos Beleche, Shanita Clarke, Marilyn Forman, Azia Gittens-Carle, Sara Kudra, Estarlyn Rosa
Most recently, the City of Boston has been promoting an initiative known as Squares and Streets (S&S) that seeks to rezone key neighborhood areas to allow for more housing density and business development. This team from Four Corners Main Streets seeks to explore the details of S&S as a way to better understand the planning process and identify mitigation strategies for potential negative impacts and to create sustainable long-term benefits in return. Their goal is to have this process be inclusive of their neighborhood’s diversity.
Creative Community Building
Innovation in Health and Wellbeing
Proactive Approaches to Climate Adaptation
Angela Chan, Jenny Lau, Angela Soo Hoo, Valerie Wong, Vivian WuWong, Anita Yip
With a permanent Chinatown branch of the Boston Public Library planned to break ground this year, Friends of the Chinatown Library, residents, and other community groups share a vision of creating a small park or community garden next to the library. Because the land is privately owned and the landowner, a small community church, is not interested in selling at this time, they are unfolding a gradual and multilayered community campaign to convince key stakeholders and mobilize support. Support from Sasaki designers will help them to involve community members in developing and promoting this vision.
Chinatown rallies for a new branch library
Image courtesy Friends of the Chinatown Library
Innovation in Health and Wellbeing
Proactive Approaches to Climate Adaptation
Innovation in Health and Wellbeing
Proactive Approaches to Climate Adaptation
New Models for Housing
Innovation in Health and Wellbeing
Proactive Approaches to Climate Adaptation