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 & Grants
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 through projects that address complex issues. Our Design Grants fund community experts to create design solutions for challenges in their neighborhoods. Each year, we issue a call for proposals that address the current trends in design and address inequities in those areas. Teams apply for cash grants and access to design experts. For more information, see our 2023 Grant winners.
2023 Pitch Night Finalists
Boston, Massachusetts
Erasure of Indigenous Culture by Design, July 26, 2023
Boston, Massachusetts
Community Learning
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 hosted a panel discussion with Indigenous community leaders on the historical erasure of Indigenous peoples through planning and design. We welcomed Jean-Luc Pierite, of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana and President of North American Indian Center 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. Panelists talked 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. Attendees reflected on how actions to decolonize architecture and planning processes can restore the landscape of Boston.
Design Education
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 initiatives that prepare such future leaders. The Sasaki 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. By connecting young students with design practitioners through deep and meaningful experiences, the Sasaki Foundation is investing in a more equitable design industry, to the benefit of all.
Featured Project
SEED is an annual six-week paid internship structured holistically around introducing young high school students to the world of design. The program, which began in 2018, is an intensive deep dive into collaborative project work, office culture, and design fundamentals. The SEED program works closely with Sasaki to provide the students with access to world-class projects and the people who design them. Over the course of the summer, students work on their own group project, spend time with Sasaki professionals in design charrettes, learn valuable hand sketching and computer drawing skills, and so much 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.
2023 SEED students
Boston, Massachusetts