Sasaki Stream

Maggy Godfroy Joins Sasaki as Director of Professional Resources

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000

This month, Sasaki welcomes Maggy Godfroy as our director of professional resources!

At Sasaki, the collective knowledge, skills, and creativity of our people are our primary asset. Maggy brings with her over a decade of experience reimagining the role of human resources in a design environment. She will provide a renewed focus on mentoring, professional development, training, and staffing across all levels of the firm within the context of our mission: Diverse. Curious. Strategic. Inspired. Planning and design for a better world.

Here, Maggy shares her approach—and a bit about herself!

Q: Why do you do what you do?

A: I enjoy people! I am intrigued by how people behave, what motivates them, what they are passionate about, work styles, communication styles, etc. I especially like the design profession. I respect the work done by Sasaki. I love the creativity and the culture that it creates.

Q: What are you most excited about in regards to your new role at Sasaki?

A: I am thrilled to be part of an exciting time for Sasaki. Human resources is about people and professional services can't be done without people. Creating a structure to blend people and projects is where the fun is for me.

Q: Hideo Sasaki once said, "Contribution is the only value." What do you contribute?

A: I bring with me experience in staffing teams, building community, cultivating a culture of respect, and a passion for creating opportunities to see individuals develop and grow.

Q: Where is your favorite place in the world?

A: I haven't traveled the world much so I think this may change in time. For now, I find Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty fascinating. It's amazing the amount of connection many people have to that one place.

Q: Whom do you admire?

A: I admire my son, Eric. Eric is seven years old and has Trisomy 21 (Downs Syndrome). He fights every day to do the things that come easily to many of us. His determination, curiosity, and genuine sense of wonder bring me back to reality every day. Eric has taught my family to celebrate many things that normally are just ordinary. He wakes up happy every day and isn't afraid to say what's on his mind. We could all stand to be more like that.

Q: What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

A: I married my high school sweetheart!

Q: What's on your iPod?

A: Merengue, salsa, country, R&B, hip hop, reggae, alternative rock—anything that has a beat to it!

UNE Harold Alfond Forum Honored by MEREDA

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki is delighted to announce that University of New England's Harold Alfond Forum has been honored by the Maine Real Estate and Development Association (MEREDA) as a notable project of the year. The project was selected because of its environmental sustainability, economic impact, energy efficiency, social impact, and job creation.

Sasaki provided architectural and site design for the project. "The Harold Alfond Forum is a fantastic addition to UNE," says Sasaki principal in charge of the project, Bill Massey. "We were able to create much needed and exemplary athletic and academic spaces within a welcoming environment that relates seamlessly to the rest of campus. We are very proud that it has been recognized."

The Harold Alfond Forum will be recognized at MEREDA's 2013 Spring Conference on May 22.

Integrating Site and Structure in Norway

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

by David Hirzel, principal emeritus

I was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study architecture in Norway in 1963. As a native of Washington State, I was particularly interested in wood construction, and was intrigued about Norway's rich history with this type of building. The focus of my study was from 1000, the end of the Viking era, to the mid-19th century, when the growth of the cities and the advent of more modern building techniques ended over 800 years of log and stave construction. Because the center of culture in Norway was in the valleys and along the coast until the 19th century, it was these rural areas where the finest art and craft of construction are to be found.

What first struck me when I visited the stave churches and farm buildings was their dramatic setting in the many valleys throughout Norway and how the individual church buildings and the groupings of farm buildings related to the unique environmental characteristics and functional requirements for the location and each building. Prior to this experience, my education as an architect had focused on the building design with little consideration of the site.

My travels as a student took me through many of the valleys and to a significant number of building sites. The principal building types are the stave church, constructed of vertical logs (staves) and considered Norway's most important contribution to the history of world architecture, the stue or the dwelling house, which exhibits the highest level of horizontal log construction in the world, and lofts or storage buildings which are built with a combination of logs and staves to create amazing and beautiful structures.

The buildings are thoughtfully sited and the clusters of farm buildings—with each building serving a specific function—are incredible places. However, it is the level of art and craft that each building and each piece of each building exhibits that completes the experience of studying these buildings.

50 years after my visit, I have pulled the slides from the back of a closet and added detail drawings collected from books published since my visit. I have created a presentation that illustrates the skillful melding of planning, site design, and architecture. I took great pleasure in being able to work with this same range of considerations for over 40 years at Sasaki!

Post Occupancy: The Good, The Bad, and The Truth Part I

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Above: University of Massachusetts Amherst Recreation Center

by Nancy Freedman

In our practice, we continually seek to better understand our clients' needs and contexts to inform our design vision. To do this, we must look at the life-cycle of a building, examining how the design vision panned out. What worked best for our clients? What fell short? Post-occupancy information—the good, the bad, and the truth—enables us to create better processes and outcomes in the future.

Within our sports practice, we recently conducted detailed post-occupancy studies on three Sasaki recreation centers: The David A. Beckerman Recreation Center at University of New Haven, Grumbacher Sport and Fitness Center at York College of Pennsylvania, and University of Massachusetts Amherst Recreation Center.

These three schools and their facilities have some significant differences: UNH is a small private school; UMass is a large public school; York's facility combines both recreation and athletics while the other two accommodate solely recreation. However, among all three projects we found common themes, both positive and negative, that are valuable in understanding the recreation needs of today's schools and the contemporary student—and how we can better meet these needs through design and programming.

Rock climbing wall at York College of Pennsylvania

Our Survey Process

Our survey process generates a thorough analysis of both objective data and subjective opinions.

We first developed 95 detailed questions that enable us to understand the project's impact on campus life and recruitment, which activity spaces have been most popular, and the durability of systems and materials. We worked with each school to solicit input from their administration, department of recreation, instructors, facilities and maintenance staff, member services, intramural teams, club sports, student employees, and students at large.

After collecting the initial survey feedback, we followed up with telephone interviews and personal meetings coupled with tours of the buildings.

The Findings

Impacts

Student Life: The surveys revealed that the recreation centers have had a significant positive impact on student life. They are a source of pride, and a venue for social interaction and experiential education. The centers have increased awareness of health and wellness, and also increased student employment opportunities on campus.

Recruitment: At all three schools, the recreation centers are a highlight of admissions tours. At UMass, the recreation center building is considered a tipping point by parents and prospective students for the decision to attend.

Retention: Recreation center participants at UNH have a 7–8% higher retention level than non-participants.

David A. Beckerman Recreation Center at University of New Haven

Design Considerations

Location: All three schools noted that the location was critical to the success of the facility with proximity to parking, residential life, fields, and the campus core as significant factors. Two out of the three schools felt that lack of parking near facility negatively impacted the use of the recreation center.

Flexibility: Surveys revealed that flexibility must be considered in the design process. Group exercise rooms are used for classroom space and infrastructure (such as smart boards, lighting, and acoustics) needs to support this use. Gym space is used for a range of campus functions, some of which are unforeseen during design. Storage space is also impacted by non-recreation activities.

Process: The survey respondents emphasized that departmental leadership and operators should be involved during design.

In Part II, I will share our findings about specific program elements of the recreation centers. Stay tuned!

This article is adapted from my presentation with Sasaki sports principal Bill Massey and University of New Haven director of recreation Michael Schneider at the 2013 NIRSA: Leaders in Collegiate Recreation Annual Conference in Las Vegas.

Back to the River: A Post-Flood Study of the Missouri River

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

by Gina Ford

In 2011, the Missouri River flooded to unprecedented levels in the Omaha region, submerging the floodplain for nearly four months, creating significant damage in both Iowa and Nebraska, and forever altering the local landscape. As floodwaters receded, communities began a process of rebuilding—but with limited understanding of this new post-flood context.

Recognizing new post-flood ecologies, infrastructure, and economies will continue to be a challenge for communities across the nation. More than half the population of North America lives on coasts and estuaries, and climate change is making catastrophic flooding a reality for more and more of us.

Sasaki's design for River's Edge Park in Council Bluffs, Iowa

Two of the country's best landscape architecture programs exist within a two-hour drive of the Omaha region on either side of the river—at Iowa State University (ISU) in Ames, Iowa, and at University of Nebraska (UNL) in Lincoln, Nebraska. ISU and UNL have joined have forces with Back to the River—an advocacy organization based in Omaha—to spearhead a year-long, studio-based exploration of the flood, its impacts, and future possibilities in the river valley. Sasaki is providing professional oversight to the overall process.

The spring ISU studio, taught by Carl Rogers, recently presented their mid-semester regional frameworks at Sasaki.

ISU students at Sasaki

From precedent post-flood contexts, the students first developed a classification system for post-flood activity and a tool that maps such projects on the Missouri River. This tool revealed areas of high activity as well as those that have been neglected in the Omaha region.

In-depth examination of post-flood conditions specific to Omaha revealed some surprising ways in which flood landscapes can in fact be generative. One team examined water flow and velocity, sand deposits, and driftwood—all of which became much more abundant post-flood. Team members speculated how each of these entities could benefit the region, such as wind and hydraulic power sources, new sand-driven open space landscapes, and the reuse of driftwood as biofuel.

From this body of research, the students created regional frameworks for the river. These frameworks propose ways to capitalize on the post-flood context, such as encouraging recreational river exploration through educational signage and the idea of "river labs," which use the landscape as a backdrop for more formal educational opportunities.

The work underscores that the key to discovering and embracing opportunities in the post-flood region is to engender greater understanding among local community members and leaders.

Stay tuned for the next iteration of the effort next fall, when UNL students will work with local communities on a series of projects informed by the frameworks.

High Fidelity: Q&A with Benjamin Kou

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

In this recurring Q&A series, Sasaki staff share what inspires them, what they are working on, and a bit about life outside the office. Today, say hello to Benjamin Kou, architect in Sasaki's Campus Studio!

Q: Why do you do what you do?

A: There is really nothing else I enjoy more than designing something. For me, it's all about the process of looking, of searching for the relationships among things and how best to elucidate them. In architecture, there is a responsibility to create environments that enhance the well-being of those who inhabit them. This belief drives my creative process.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: The main project I am currently working on is a carousel pavilion within the Phyllis W. Smale Riverfront Park in downtown Cincinnati. It's great to collaborate with team members from different fields at Sasaki and on different scales of projects.

Q: In which research topics or concepts are you most interested?

A: I'm interested in researching the ways that representation functions to communicate information throughout the development of a project. For the last two years I've been researching The Church of Saint-Pierre in Firminy by Le Corbusier and Jose Oubrerie. I've been looking at the evolution of the design and the geometric progression of the form from the early drawings to the building's completion.

Illustration from Benjamin's research

Q: Hideo Sasaki once said, "Contribution is the only value." What do you contribute?

A: I'm passionate about what I do and my contributions include an attention to process and always striving for fidelity to the essence of a concept. On a broader level, a couple weeks ago, I went to see Jane's Carousel in Brooklyn, and in experiencing it as a visitor, riding the carousel and taking the view of the river on a snowy day, it left me with a reminder about the impact each of our projects can have—on people passing by for an afternoon and on the whole surrounding community. It's a good feeling to be a part of something like that.

Q: Where is your favorite place in the world?

A: Some of my favorite places are in Italy. Rome—a city that never gets old! I went there to study as a grad student and I loved exploring the city, drawing the ruins, and walking along the streets of Trastevere in the evenings.

The Amalfi Coast is also an area I love. Whether it's the little town of Amalfi, hiking in Capri, or spending an afternoon above the clouds in Ravello, it's somewhere you can just take a moment and reflect.

Benjamin's campaign ad for Capri

Q: Whom do you admire?

A: As the son of an architect, I would have to say the one person I really admire is my father. I grew up playing with the models in the architects' offices at the National Gallery of Art. What kid wouldn't grow up to love architecture? My dad is a person who really stands up for his beliefs in life, and I admire everybody who does this, and all those people who are trying to make the world a little bit better every day.

The Roman Forum 30 years apart (funny thing is, Benjamin is in sepia and his dad is in color)

Q: What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

A: Here's three: I practice Reiki, I have more LPs than architecture books, and I occasionally quote Yoda.

Q: What's on your iPod?

A: What you would find on my ipod if I could find it: U2, The Smiths, Altern8, Orbital, Madness, INXS, Run DMC, and Guns N' Roses

Designing for Legacy at the 2015 Pan Am Games

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

by William Winkler

The Pan American Games are the world's third largest international multi-sports games. Competition is fierce, and the crowds are spirited; athletes often use it as an opportunity to qualify for the Olympics.

The 2015 Pan Am Games will be held in Toronto, kicking off on July 10 in Nathan Phillips Square. From there, competitors, spectators, and the media will disperse throughout the city to the various sports venues.

Like Olympic host cities, Toronto has undertaken an enormous honor—but also the challenge of determining how to physically configure the games. Some of these venues are existing, others are renovations, and several are high-profile new construction. Politically, the key issue is what entity or part of the city gets which venue. Financially, the parties involved with each venue must determine how to split costs. Programmatically, Toronto must provide world-class facilities for the games that will transition to legacy uses benefiting the local communities post-games. And this component is hugely instrumental in whether or not hosting an event of this size has a long-term positive impact on the host city.

Sasaki, along with local architects in Toronto, is playing a major part in designing five new major sports venues. A critical part of our role is helping determine and design legacy uses. Because the games are not until the summer of 2015, many buildings will operate in legacy mode before the games, then transition to games mode, and back to legacy mode.

One of the most challenging venues to site and program is the Velodrome, where the cycling events are held. The venue is enormous in size and scale—a 100,000-square-foot footprint and 85 feet high—and the owner's portion of the cost is significant. The Velodrome's size and steeply banked wood track limits the possibilities for other uses that would generate future cash flow.

The town of Milton, located 25 miles west of downtown Toronto, will be home to the Velodrome for the 2015 Pan Am Games. The track infield will accommodate recreational activities—either three basketball courts, three volleyball courts, nine badminton courts, or a combination thereof. The circular concourse will then become a 275-meter indoor jogging loop.

Plan of the 2015 Pan Am Games velodrome—click here for larger view

The largest venue, The Pan Am Aquatics Center, landed at the University of Toronto Scarborough campus outside the city. Swimming, diving and volleyball will be contested here during the games, and the legacy use will be for the university and the local community. A smaller aquatic facility situated in the affluent community of Markham will host water polo and synchronized swimming as well as badminton and table tennis. In Hamilton, one half of an existing stadium will be demolished for new construction to host the soccer competition. The legacy use will be home to the popular Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League. Pan Am track and field events will be hosted at a new stadium intricately inserted into the York University campus. The school will retain the legacy use of the facility.

In all these facilities, Sasaki also addressed support spaces for legacy use. A media room or drug testing room during the games, for example, can convert to a locker room.

[Read more about Sasaki's work on the 2015 Pan Am Games here.]

Designing legacy spaces can also apply to the design of outdoor spaces, which must accommodate immense crowds. Sasaki's plan for the Beijing Olympics, for example, provided for the Olympic Forest Park, which has become a transformational landscape for the city post-games.

[Read more about Sasaki's work on the 2008 Beijing Olympics here.]

Live Screen Printing Event!

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Join us next Thursday, March 21, as the Gallery at Sasaki celebrates spring's arrival with an artist reception like no other! Helen Popinchalk, creator of CMYK Animal Stories, will turn our art space into a live screen printing studio. Helen will demonstrate the printing process from 4–6PM, screening her original designs onto t-shirts. Sale of the shirts (available in adult and child sizes) benefits The Nature Connection, an organization that brings animals and nature programs to people with limited access to the natural world.

Rubylith & Silkscreen: Tools of this Printmaker's Trade
Watch this seven-minute time-lapse video to learn more about Helen's process.

CMYK Animal Stories
Artist Reception & Live Screen Printing: Thursday, March 21, 4–7PM
64 Pleasant Street, Watertown
617-926-3300

UWF College of Business Wins NW Florida AIA Honor Award

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki is delighted to announce that our design for the University of West Florida College of Business has been awarded an AIA Florida Northwest 2012 Award of Excellence Honor Award!

The Modern Workplace: Having Our Cake and Eating it Too

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Above: Innosight Innovation Center

by Elizabeth Meek

Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer's ban on telecommuting came as quite a shock. At least philosophically, business leaders have been embracing greater flexibility as the hallmark of tomorrow's workplace. But despite how you feel about the specifics of the Yahoo! situation, the subsequent media conversations are important. Because here is the reality: each organization needs to examine what degree of flexibility makes sense for them—now, and over time.

Fast Company offers a great compilation of the pros and cons of working from home. The debate essentially boils down to innovation (which tends to correlate with interaction) versus efficiency (which tends to correlate with privacy).

But can we have our cake and eat it too?

Education Development Center

By making the office a place people want to be, and enabling them to work in a variety of ways, there is a great opportunity to bridge the gap between innovation and efficiency. Short of creating a 24/7 Google-esque campus, here are some ways in which you can make your office inviting to facilitate collaboration, yet flexible enough to accommodate focus.

Brand your space. Make it beautiful and energizing—and unique to your organization. Showcase recent work, the people who created it, and the stories behind your history and culture.

Provide places for people to come together. Cafeterias are ideal places for informal interaction; coffee and natural light are essential ingredients. Desk areas should have good sightlines—if staff members only see rows and rows of cubes, and not who's in them, they can get the feeling that they are the only ones there. War rooms where teams can leave their stuff up on the walls support brainstorming. Low-tech workshops are great for tactile experimentation. Create a global water cooler: a way for staff in various locations (or telecommuters) to come together.

allen & gerritsen

Provide places for people to hide. Visual and acoustical privacy are essential for certain types of work—and certain types of workers. Some workers enjoy the buzz of a busy environment, but in places where they don't, sound masking allows for collaboration and independent work to coexist on the same floor. It is important to have private spaces available for confidential conversations, personal phone calls, even venting. Avoid the syndrome where staff can be unseen but overheard.

By creating a place where people want to be, we can not only help bridge the gap between innovation and efficiency, but also create a space that is attractive to new recruits and clients.

When it comes to policy, a similarly flexible model may prove to be best. Come, collaborate, and innovate. Then scatter and refine (while you wait for the cable guy).

A Bright Blue Future for Staten Island

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

by Hope Stege and Laura Marett

The Staten Island Ferry is an anomaly in this era of high-security, high-stress, and often high-cost travel. Anyone can walk right up to the Whitehall Terminal at the southern tip of Manhattan, climb the stairs to the second level (escalators are still out of order from Superstorm Sandy), and board the ferry to Staten Island every half-hour. Security to access the boarding zone is of the friendliest sort; canine sniffers check out any luggage larger than a handbag. And the price? Free.

But beyond the convenience of public transportation, the Staten Island Ferry offers an invaluable perspective: an opportunity to see one of the world's largest cities from the water.

Water is, in many ways, a driving factor of urbanism. It has determined the location of the world's largest and most successful cities, whether at natural harbors, critical points along major waterways, or sources of fresh water. But now, the same access to water that has been a locational advantage in the past makes cities increasingly vulnerable to a dangerous mix of storm impacts, man-made disasters, climate change, and rising sea levels.

These were some of the heavy issues on our minds as we recently made the journey by water to Staten Island. Looking for any small way to help in the wake of Superstorm Sandy's devastation, we had offered to share some of the disaster recovery experience we'd gained in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with the APA New York Metro Chapter and AIA Staten Island. They invited us to lead a workshop for group of local planners, architects, landscape architects, community activists, academics, and students involved in a grassroots public engagement Sandy recovery effort, dubbed SImagines.

As we approached Staten Island, the borough's vulnerability became clear. To the left of the ferry landing is a scattering of wood pilings, remnants of wharves destroyed by Sandy and previous storms. Chain link fences along Bay Street are still piled high with gravel, organic material, and trash that washed ashore and into the working waterfront. Here, just a foot or two above sea level, is a man-made edge that withstood Sandy.

Our hosts and leaders of the SImagines initiative toured us through neighborhoods along Staten Island's southern shore, similarly strewn with storm detritus. Homes are marred with a high-water marks ranging from about 4 to 10 feet, depending on the property's elevation; freshly flattened empty lots have replaced many of the damaged houses. Fingers of phragmites-filled marshland sneak up to property lines and occupy open space at the center of many blocks.

These marshes, more than anything, are a reminder of what this part of Staten Island once was—a physical explanation of why the damage from Sandy was so great in these tight, low-lying, oceanside neighborhoods.

Ian Frazier's evocative New Yorker article paints a more complete picture of the rising waters that killed 20 people in this part of the island. Yet despite the harrowing stories of struggle during and after the storm, there is evidence in these neighborhoods of resiliency: aid stations providing food, clothing and basic needs, houses being rebuilt, and strengthened community advocacy groups.

But the question of, what next? remains, and will be posed to the community in the series of the four regional, all-day SImagines workshops. This volunteer effort is designed to give the public a voice in envisioning the future of Staten Island—a voice that many feel has been underrepresented in Staten Island's governmental plans for Sandy recovery to date.

Staten Island already has some solid precedents for the positive impact of planning for resiliency. The island's Bluebelts—an award-winning system of natural drainage corridors that provides cost-effective stormwater management and a community amenity—unquestionably mitigated some storm damage in low lying areas. The Bluebelts indicate that Staten Islanders understand the need for open space that can do double duty as an "urban sponge" for flooding and storm surge.

Ideally the SImagines process will inspire similarly integrated systems that will enable Staten Island to reconcile with rising waters in the future.

The partnership between AIA Staten Island and APA New York Metro is a model of collaboration in disaster recovery. And we commend the design professionals, community members, and academics who are donating their time to lead the SImagines visioning workshops—committing their nights and weekends to usher their community forward. Their enthusiasm and commitment will hopefully elicit an equally committed public to envision and steward the island's recovery and bright blue future.

Event organizers, from left to right:
David Businelli (AIA Staten Island, Studio 16 Architecture)
Pablo Vengoechea (Hunter College, Zone Architecture, Vengoechea + Boyland Architecture/Urban Planning)
Timothy Boyland (AIA Staten Island/AIA NYS, Vengoechea + Boyland Architecture/Urban Planning)
Hope Stege (Sasaki)
Jim Schwab (APA)
James Rausse (APA New York Metro Chapter)
Laura Marett (Sasaki)
Gina Ford (Sasaki)
Jason Hellendrung (Sasaki)

Gauge the values, priorities, and preferences of the crowd

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

by Sarah Madden

Web-based technology can help planners promote literacy about planning issues and increase public engagement. We already deploy sophisticated data analysis and modeling tools, but many of these tools are more suitable for back-of-house number crunching than for interactive public engagement. This divide between tools for technicians and tools for engagement is significant: despite all of the public- and client-facing communication work we do, few of today's data modeling or scenario planning tools were built to be inviting to lay audiences. We need to apply our technological design prowess to facilitating interaction and better engaging the very people our work supports.

Faced with the challenge of engaging people across a spread-out region, Sasaki, PlaceMatters, and the Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (DMAMPO) partnered to build a new tool—called CrowdGauge—to help communities achieve better public participation and understanding of trade-offs. CrowdGauge is an open-source framework for creating educational online games. It first asks users to rank a set of priorities, then demonstrates how a series of actions and policies might impact those priorities. The third part of the sequence gives users a limited number of coins, asking them to put that money towards the actions they support most.

We first developed the platform in partnership with DMAMPO as part of The Tomorrow Plan, a regional plan for sustainable development in the Central Iowa region. The original game, named DesignMyDSM, can be played at designmydsm.thetomorrowplan.com. The study region included 480,000 residents, 17 cities, approximately 540 square miles, and parts of four counties—requiring an outreach strategy that went beyond in-person open houses and workshops. DesignMyDSM captured over 1,000 unique users in the region, and was especially effective in the under-40 demographics who typically would not have participated in a traditional community engagement process.

CrowdGauge is entirely open-source and available under the permissive MIT license. Currently, Sasaki is preparing to apply the CrowdGauge platform to the Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Consortium Initiative (NEOSCC) in spring 2013, and Denver-based PlaceMatters is beta testing the software for use on other HUD-funded regional planning projects.

As web-based technologies grow in both functionality and beauty, planners have the opportunity to create new places for people to enjoy expressing ideas, solving problems, and realizing goals. Most importantly for planners, web technologies offer the opportunity to help ask interesting questions and confront tradeoffs. Visual design, information architecture, and usability are increasingly important to match the strength of our technical muscle with the complexity of the human experience—which means designing with clarity and user experience in mind.

In the spirit of open source, we are pleased to share this tool with the planning community. We are excited to see the clever applications and brilliant new iterations we will all build next.

This article originally appeared in Planning & Technology Today.

Multitasking and Multifaceted: Q&A with Dou Zhang

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

In this recurring Q&A series, Sasaki staff share what inspires them, what they are working on, and a bit about life outside the office. Today, say hello to Dou Zhang, senior landscape architect in Sasaki's Urban Studio and director of our Shanghai office!

Q: Why do you do what you do?

A: I enjoy designing public landscape to serve ordinary people—the places that become a critical part of their lives. Despite the hard work and the bureaucracy I often have to go through, watching people using the space I designed in their daily life makes all my effort worth it.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: Always multi-tasking! On the project side, I am designing three park projects in China—Xuhui Yunjing Road and Open Space and Chongming International Forum Lake in Shanghai, and Guangyang Island Park in Chongqing. On the management side, I am refining the Shanghai office set-up and the coordination between the two offices. On the marketing side, I am working with the marketing team on pursuing new projects and establishing a quarterly newsletter.

Q: In which research topics or concepts are you most interested?

A: Both adapted reuse of existing infrastructures in urban redevelopment and urban agriculture have interested me the most in the recent years.

Instead of endless urban expansion which takes valuable farmland and wildlife habitats away, regeneration in existing urban areas shall be the focus of future development. Among the projects I've been intensively involved in over the past five years—Jiading Park, Suzhou SIP Streetscape, Chongming International Forum Lake, and Xuhui Yunjing Road Open Space (which has just started)—all involve reuse of infrastructure such as bridges, roads, existing buildings, elevated highways, existing levees, and airport runways. They are not only critical elements of the overall design concept and sustainable design strategy, but also carry the message of the local history.

Suzhou streetscape

The other one is about urban farming. It is not so much about growing agricultural plants in the city, but more about connecting people's daily life with farming. People growing up in the city these days know so little about farm life, about where the food they eat every day comes from. It is informative and a joy for them to visit farms, provided the farm is well designed for its function and aesthetics. I personally find that visiting a farm is a perfect way to wind down. A recent project I worked on, Xixian Eco Farm, was an effort trying to link urban life with the countryside.

Xixian Eco Farm

Q: Hideo Sasaki once said, "Contribution is the only value." What do you contribute?

A: Contribution is multi-faceted. At work, I contribute my creativity, my passion, my professional knowledge, and judgment to create the best outcome for each project. At home, I contribute my love and my care to make my loved ones happy. At a societal level, I contribute my vision and my knowledge to affect a larger group of people, so they can also contribute to make a better world.

Q: Where is your favorite place in the world?

A: Barcelona. It offers an amazing combination of culture, art, nature, and activity. It is historical. It is contemporary. It is always vibrant and it is filled with stories. There are endless things to explore. I find something new every time I go.

Q: Whom do you admire?

A: I admire people who enjoy their life.

Q: What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

A: Everybody has their own angle when looking at the same issue. Things which are surprising to some people may be the norm to others. It is really hard to tell.

Q: What's on your iPod?

A: I do not use an iPod.

Helen Popinchalk: CMYK Animal Stories

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The Gallery at Sasaki happily welcomes Helen Popinchalk's CMYK Animal Stories. With each print, Helen encourages us to awaken from our winter hibernation and reclaim our curiosity for creatures large and small. The gallery looks forward to celebrating this curiosity at Helen's artist reception on Thursday, March 21, from 5-7PM. To better understand this vibrant body of work, we asked Helen a few questions about her inspiration and process.

Q: What inspired you to create the work for CMYK Animal Stories?

A: I am a collector of many things, notably accumulating a collection of animal sightings and stories from around the world. I inherited this particular collecting habit from my parents. Animal stories—real and imagined—are an integral part of our family history.

After spending most of last summer with my family in the Adirondacks, I noticed something interesting: our day-to-day lives orbited around animals and animal sightings. They became a way to mark the passage of time and forecast the weather—a source of jokes, entertainment, speculation, and endless conversation. Animals even became geographical markers and a new way to distinguish people. Certain animals began to symbolize impossible goals. We used their calls in conversation and described objects in terms of their coats, feathers, patterns, and colors. Over the course of the summer, we had established a familial vernacular centered on animals!

In heraldry, animals play a comparable role—identifying family and kin—and their particular poses, positioning, colors, and groupings provide detailed and specific information. In these screen prints, I create my own heraldic symbols. The animals, inspired by 18th- and 19th-century engravings, have a graphic quality I recreate using stencils I make from hand-cut rubylith. Printing these images in just four colors—cyan, magenta, yellow and black—is a nod to more recent traditions of design and color printing, bringing these images from the past into the present to illustrate my collection of stories.

Q: What is your connection to the medium in which you work?

A: I have been screen printing for almost 15 years and I'm still learning new things every day! What I find most compelling about screen printing is that it is all about process and problem solving. I can't decide if I chose screen printing or screen printing chose me; it must be a little bit of both. The technique suits my personality and my personality has also been molded by the process. There's a lot of meticulous work involved, especially in cutting the rubylith positives, but I find it utterly satisfying. When my hands are busy, I feel relaxed; my mind is free to do its best thinking. This work becomes a kind of meditation for me.

Q: What do you hope to evoke in the viewer?

A: I laughed (quite a lot) while making these prints and I hope that sense of humor shines through. I want this work to help people connect to their own animal stories and, in turn, to the natural world. Even in the city you can experience amazing animal sightings...especially if you're looking! Recent encounters for me include a fox in Cambridgeport, a barred owl and snapping turtle in the Fenway, turkeys and a pair of muskrats in Brookline, and an epic battle between a hawk and pigeon on the way to Whole Foods.

Top honors for SRU Student Center

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

At the IIDA New England Interior Design Awards event last week, Sasaki took home top honors in the Education category for the Robert M. Smith Student Center at Slippery Rock University.

University president Robert Smith—for whom the student center is named—was emphatic that the building be about the students first. Within a modest budget, the design team strategically used pricier finishes for an overall upscale feel, and accommodated large-footprint program requests with an innovative, flexible theater space.

"The students have completely embraced the building since the doors have opened," says Tracy Dupont, interior designer for the project. "And that is so rewarding!"

View the full project here.

City in the Suburbs

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristic of the 1950s and '60s in which it was built, The Blairs development in Silver Spring, Maryland, features a distinctly suburban pattern of large buildings amid parking lots. But suburban sensibilities have drastically changed in recent years—and the The Blairs will soon follow suit.

Revealed last month by Tower Companies, the Sasaki/Bing Thom redevelopment plan creates a bold new vision for The Blairs. The plan defines a mixed-use, transit-oriented neighborhood that connects to the regional park system and downtown Silver Spring. The design is complex and varied, "bring[ing] the feel, scale, and overlap of uses that is more akin to an organically evolved city," explains Sasaki principal in charge Alan Ward, whose landscape and urban design in the DC area also includes The Avenue and the Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool.

The new Blairs will provide the vibrancy and convenience of urban life, as well as walkability and sustainable solutions to support the health of the area's growing population and the land itself.

Read more about the project:

"Bing in the Burbs," Architect's Newspaper, February 27

"Rebuild of the Blairs will Turn Silver Spring Parking into Parks," Greater Greater Washington, February 15

"Tower Companies Reveals New Blairs Master Plan," Gazette.net, February 14

"Tower Cos. to Launch Major Redevelopment of The Blairs in Silver Spring," Washington Business Journal, February 13

Steve Brittan on Natural Selection

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

In the most recent issue, ArchitectureBoston asked Sasaki principal Steve Brittan and four other local industry leaders to share what skills and qualities they look for in new recruits. Steve's unexpected and thought-provoking response champions the skeptical and innovative student—not only as the most attractive recruit, but as an essential component of the architecture profession as it struggles to remaining relevant in today's rapidly changing world.

Read the full article here.

Learning to Design for Justice

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The living conditions of many migrant workers in the US are uncomfortable at best, and heartbreaking at worst. The "Design for Justice" project at the Urban Science Academy in West Roxbury challenges students to explore this issue, and then write a grant proposal with design solutions for the cramped quarters of eight migrant workers on a fictional farm in Central Massachusetts. The project is interdisciplinary, enabling the students to look at the issues from a wide range of perspectives.

"Students are touched deeply from exploring the living conditions of migrant workers," says teacher Christine Sand. "They begin to ask about issues of morality and ethics. They also see themselves as part of the solution to a problem that is fixable."

Urban Science Academy students design for justice

On a recent Thursday, Sasaki architect Jeannie Pastrana joined the students to offer insight and assistance. Working with individuals and small groups throughout the day, Jeannie helped students lay out a logical floor plan, draw things to scale, and graphically represent elements such as windows and doors. "It was refreshing to be in that kind of atmosphere and connect with the students," says Jeannie. "They were so animated and enthusiastic!"

"We are so happy that Jeannie came to our school and offered so much to our students," says Christine. "I think they gained a lot of insight about their projects, but they also were interested to hear where she's from and how she got to where she is."

Fostering Leadership at Purdue

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

View this video featuring Sasaki's design for the Center for Student Excellence and Leadership at Purdue University. The structure will facilitate Purdue's mission to foster leadership in every student.

Read more about the project here.

Class Notes: Urban Waterfronts

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

In recent decades, cities have displayed a remarkable shift in focus back to their urban cores. Many cities with industrial waterfronts have worked to reconnect their communities to the water and re-imagine areas—once the production and portation life-blood for the city—as vibrant mixed-use centers for civic life.

Yet while the social and economic motivations for cities to reconnect to their waterfronts are great, many urban areas are experiencing the dramatic effects of global climate change in the form of hurricanes, floods, and rapid sea level rise. More than ever, these substantial ecological challenges highlight the need for thought leadership and innovation in planning, design, and ecology.

Exploring Urban Waterfronts in Academia and Practice

A strong connection to academia is deeply important to our practice. Our designers are able to guide and be inspired by creative solutions to urban and ecological challenges—mostly outside of the constraints of project work. At the same time, students are encouraged to explore environmental design issues with a deeper understanding of the social, economic, and environmental implications of their decisions. This mutually beneficial partnership between academia and practice often produces exciting new perspectives that are both grounded and innovative.

Last fall, Sasaki's Stephen Gray, Nina Chase, and Eamonn Hutton (pictured above, left to right) taught design studios at Northeastern, the Boston Architectural College, and RISD respectively. Each studio focused on an industrial waterfront site in Somerville (MA), Bridgeport (CT), and East Boston (MA). The three studios explored the ecological, infrastructural, architectural, and social opportunities inherent in post-industrial waterfront sites—an area in which Sasaki has deep expertise.

In Somerville, students developed framework concepts for Assembly Square. Once a tidal estuary and later a Ford assembly plant, the area is now designated for major redevelopment with an emphasis on mixed-use and transit. In Bridgeport students explored alternatives for the former site of the Remington Arms factory; designs integrated a community center and high school into a publicly accessible waterfront park. Working within a currently active shipyard in East Boston, the BAC students balanced the economic and circulation realities of a shipyard with the desire to make the landscape and harbor environmentally productive.

Although they focused on three different sites in three different cities, the studios shared two major themes: creating new connections to surrounding context and uncovering latent potential.

East Boston: Filter pier perspective by Jessi Flynn, BAC Landscape Architecture MLA

Creating New Connections to Surrounding Context

Through extensive research, mapping, and analysis the studios addressed issues of weak connectivity to the waterfront as well as deficiencies in publicly accessible open space.

Students worked to reconnect the Somerville community to their waterfront through both sensitively developed tactical improvements like pedestrian pathways under I-93, and more infrastructurally intensive approaches such as hyper-programmed constructed conduits.

In Bridgeport, students developed strategies for creating bike and pedestrian connections along the water, and, more importantly, creating connections from the creek to the surrounding neighborhoods.

In East Boston, students strived to establish stronger physical linkages between the shipyard and the city. They harnessed productive natural systems (such as wind energy, storm water filtration, and marsh reconstruction) and expressed the designed processes through tangible educational and community building opportunities within East Boston's neighborhoods.

Bridgeport: Wetland perspective by Myunggeun Song, RISD Architecture Undergraduate

Uncovering Latent Potential

As students explored the historical, ecological and economic aspects of their sites, they discovered underlying opportunities for future uses.

In East Boston's working waterfront, for example, invisible and suppressed natural systems provided opportunities for energy production, water filtration and public art. One student designed wind turbines that cycled electricity back into adjacent shipbuilding operations. Another student proposed a reconstructed marsh to help filter run-off from the site.

In Somerville, the city's approved design of a new Orange Line T station overlooked a significant opportunity to connect residents and riders to the waterfront side of the tracks. Student analyses highlighted the latent economic, social, and ecological importance of fully integrated design solutions that balanced architecture, urban design, and landscape.

In Bridgeport, students proposed reusing defunct train tracks on the site to create a light-rail corridor lined with a system of open spaces and mixed-use development. Other proposals recycled building materials from the razed factory in the landscape.

Somerville: Synthetic terrain as stormwater management, storm surge protection, parking accommodation, and public open space amenity by Katherine Ginn Ubben, Northeastern Architecture Undergraduate

Works Cited

"Urbanism"
Taught by Stephen Gray, urban designer at Sasaki with Dan Adams, Martha Foss, Anthony Piermarini, and Katrina Stoll
Northeastern University
Focus: Redevelopment balancing infrastructure, landscape, and architecture with an emphasis on mixed-use and transit at Assembly Square, Somerville, Massachusetts.

"Constructed Landscapes"
Taught by Eamonn Hutton, landscape architect at Sasaki, and Gina Ford, principal and landscape architect at Sasaki
Rhode Island School of Design
Focus: The redevelopment of a former arms manufacturing site in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

"Natural Systems Advanced Design Studio"
Taught by Nina Chase, landscape architect at Sasaki, and Shaun O'Rourke, director of sustainability at Boston Architectural College
Boston Architectural College, Landscape Architecture Department
Focus: Using public art as a lens into natural systems in the Boston Harbor Shipyard and Marina in East Boston, Massachusetts.

Putting the $ in Sustainability

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Rapper and architecture enthusiast Ice Cube had it right: If it don't make dollars, it don't make sense.

In order for sustainability to become business as usual—rather than an optional add-on—it has to contribute to the bottom line. Fortunately, sustainable design and construction does make dollars.

A sustainable approach reduces operating costs and life cycle costs. For example, by optimizing glass performance characteristics based on the solar orientation of each fa�ade, designers are able to leverage relatively small up-front costs into substantial energy savings over the life of the building.

Sustainable buildings can also contribute to the health of those who occupy them. The same design moves that enable solar harvesting, for instance, also create spaces saturated with natural light.

In turn, sustainable buildings have marketing value with the power to attract tenants and create a competitive advantage. There are also compelling incentives and tax rebates available for sustainable buildings.

[Read more about Sasaki's approach to sustainability here.]

In McGraw-Hill Construction's report Green Outlook 2011: Green Trends Driving Growth, building owners cited three business benefits as the main drivers for sustainable design and construction:

• Reduction in operating costs of 13.6% on average for new buildings and 8.5% for retrofits
• Increase in building values of 10.9% for new buildings and 6.8% for retrofits
• Increase in return on investment of 9.9% for new buildings and 19.2% for retrofits

The task at hand, then, is facilitating the dialogue between owners, designers, and contractors that will result in buildings that achieve all this.

Last week, Sasaki senior associate Justin Finnicum (pictured above) gave a talk on the value proposition of sustainable design to Babson College students as a part of the graduate course "Financing and Valuing Sustainability." Sasaki is currently designing a first-year residence hall on the Babson campus, and Justin reviewed the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) credits under consideration for the building.

Interior perspective of the Babson first-year residence hall

For example, Justin discussed EA Credit 1, Optimize Energy Performance, in terms of how an integrative design approach to building programming, massing orientation, MEP engineering, and envelope design result a positive impact on energy performance. By correlating several of these credits to an overview of the site plan and floor plans, Justin gave the students insight the building blocks of a high-quality, sustainable structure, enabling them to see exactly how these design moves save—and make—money.

Full Steam Ahead at Fort Monroe

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki's master plan for Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia, will create a striking transformation of a collection of former military buildings into what principal in charge Fred Merrill calls a "full-spectrum community"—a vibrant place where people can live, work, learn, and play on Chesapeake Bay.

Two recent Daily Press articles illuminate the opportunities and challenges of the project. Read:

"Sasaki Forging Future of City" (December 23)
"Army Wants State to Pay for Parts of Fort" (February 5)

Fort Monroe Authority Executive Director Glenn Oder says of Sasaki, "They've done projects like this before, so they know the important things to address, and they're bringing on the right teams of people to help them."

[Read more about opportunities in base reuse here.]

Articles reposted with permission, courtesy of The Daily Press. Please visit their website for more coverage.

Vote for The National Creative Cluster!

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

We are delighted that our project, The National Creative Cluster, has been selected as a finalist for the MIPIM 2013 People's Choice Award! Sasaki's master plan for the district—located on the outskirts of Beijing—focuses on five structuring principles that underscore and support the overarching philosophy of The National Creative Cluster: to bring industries with shared values and complementary skills and technologies together in order to spark new ideas.

Check more information on the project here and please vote for our work on the MIPIM website.

On Legos and Optimism: Q&A with Meredith McCarthy

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

In this recurring Q&A series, Sasaki staff share what inspires them, what they are working on, and a bit about life outside the office. Today, say hello to Meredith McCarthy, architectural designer in Sasaki's Campus Studio!

Q: Why do you do what you do?

A: I've always had a curious personality; I usually spend half my day asking questions. Sometimes they're relevant, but mostly they're completely unrelated and tend to lead down a long road of digression. Regardless, I'm relentless in my inquiries and am lucky to have grown up being surrounded by patient people who are kind enough to answer me.

Also, I LOVE Legos.

That being said, it was that intense passion for those little plastic building blocks that prompted me to apply to architecture school but it's the continual challenges that design provides that piqued my interest while in school and keeps me going today. I've never had a boring work day, and for someone who is constantly curious, that's saying something. And I get to spend my days drawing. I can't imagine a better way to make a living.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: Currently I'm spending all my time on the Dudley Square Municipal Office Facility in Roxbury. We just submitted our 100% construction documents. Now it's time to get out of the office and see those drawings come to life. This is my first construction project so everything is still new and exciting. And there's a nine-story concrete shear tower on site, which is quite possibly the coolest thing. Ever.

Meredith atop the tower crane at Dudley Square

Q: In which research topics or concepts are you most interested?

A: There are two ideas that really capture my attention surrounding architecture and design.

The first is the idea of post-occupancy. Put simply, we make a product. Our product happens to be buildings, landscapes, and planning interventions, but nonetheless, the end user is generally not us. I think, as architects and designers, our jobs aren't done at the ribbon cutting ceremony. I think the true work is just beginning. I believe we have a responsibility to continue to study our designs long after completion and we owe it to our future clients and users to learn from our past projects. It's important to know our successes but it's more imperative to know what didn't pan out like we were expecting, and to know how to better that in the next design. And it's filled with question-asking, which is kind of my forte.

The second idea is that of performance-based design. Our planet is warming at a drastic rate. It's actually quite frightening to see images of the shrinking polar ice caps. We need to start taking a bolder approach to sustainable design. Our buildings' emissions and energy use need to be radically decreased. There are a lot of advancements in technology recently to help push this idea forward in terms of building systems but I believe we need to look back at history and revisit the ideas of vernacular architecture. Every building should relate to its site in a meaningful and environmentally responsible way. Building envelopes should not only be beautiful, but highly tuned instruments that respond and adapt to the changing climatic conditions. Buildings can no longer be about a single occupancy but rather flexible, multi-use spaces. I think we're on the cusp of incredible design opportunities and we just need to be brave and bold in our attempt to capitalize on these ideas.

Q: Hideo Sasaki once said, "Contribution is the only value." What do you contribute?

A: All design—landscape, urban, building, product—affects everyone in their everyday lives, but most people don't realize it. I spent an entire year of grad school studying the concept of communicative architecture and how buildings can send a message or change a view or help form an opinion. I find that to be one of the most intriguing aspects of design. We're finally starting to see the built environment take a lead role in society. People, and not just designers, are planning trips to see built things. Dilapidated cities are reinventing themselves around a single, new piece of modern and contemporary architecture. Major historic events are being memorialized in concrete structures. It's absolutely incredible to think that we have the opportunity to help transform the way people view, use, and experience space. So to say that I've had a hand in helping someone enjoy the space they're in is easily the most rewarding part of my job. If I get to create even just one improvement to someone's perception of a place, I'd call that a major contribution.

Q: Where is your favorite place in the world?

A: I feel like this is a loaded question. I've travelled a lot in my short 26 years and have seen way more than is fair for someone my age. I've slept in a tent in the middle of the Sahara Desert, jumped out of a plane 15,000 feet over the Swiss Alps, and kayaked in a glacier lake in Alaska. All of these were incredible, life-changing experiences on their own. But there is one place that stands out above all others: San Miniato, Florence, Italy. It's a little church, just outside the city, up in the hills. You have to climb a seemingly endless array of stairs to get up there but the view will stop your heart. You can see all of Florence in one astonishing panoramic view. The Duomo sits proudly in a sea of terra cotta roofs and on a clear day the landscape extends for miles. I've never felt smaller or more humbled in my life. It was the moment I realized how far away I was from home and how big the world actually is. I think everyone should have a place like that. It keeps you grounded.

Q: Whom do you admire?

A: I admire the optimist. We are still living in hard times and it's very easy to be negative. It takes more heart and courage than anything to always see the brighter side of things, and I wish there was more of that in the world.

Then there is Raphael Moneo and his conglomerate of Spanish counterparts. There's just something so beautiful about the style, simplicity, and craft of Spanish architecture that inspires me to do better design.

Q: What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

A: There are three weeks in July that are my favorite three weeks of the entire year (this includes the monster December holiday season). Not because it's hot and it's beach weather. Not because it's summer and things are a bit more relaxed. No. It's because of a little thing called the Tour de France. I am CRAZY about cycling. I love to ride my bike. I love to watch other people ride their bikes. I love to talk about riding bikes. I just really love bikes. There's no better sense of accomplishment than battling up a steep hill, going over the top, and racing down the other side, powered only by the speed of your pedaling legs. I've never felt freer and the rush is exhilarating.

Q: What's on your iPod?

A: My musical selection tends to vary drastically depending on what mood I'm in (and how much drawing needs to get done). But most of the music streaming through my headphones comes from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Black Keys, Jay-Z, and the Civil Wars. I also have an unhealthy obsession with Beyonc�—it's a problem, I'm working through it, but she is amazing.

2013 Summer Internship Program

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Are you an enthusiastic student with big ideas for the built environment? Are you looking for a chance to work with a diverse, interdisciplinary team of designers and tackle some of the world's most interesting design and planning challenges?

Here's your opportunity! Apply now for Sasaki's paid 2013 summer internship program!

The program kicks off with an interdisciplinary design charrette—a unique two-week project that serves as an introduction to the firm and the summer's class of interns. Interns will then work on current Sasaki projects alongside our architects, landscape architects, planners, urban designers, strategists, civil engineers, and graphic designers. Sasaki's interns get hands on experience, develop valuable relationships, and gain a deep understanding of how a leading firm operates and innovates.

Interested? Here's what you need to know:

The program runs 10 weeks, from June 3 through August 9.
View application requirements and submit them though this portal.
Submissions must be received by March 3.
Interviews will take place the week of April 8.
Notifications will be made by April 26.

An internship at Sasaki is exciting, rewarding, and a practice catalyst for many. Below, current Sasaki staff members who started out as interns share their experiences:

By far one of the strongest aspects of Sasaki's internship program is their appreciation for young talent. From the first moment that I started my internship, I was treated as a designer and felt that my own individual background and voice was immediately welcomed. Since staying on with Sasaki, the breadth of experience and amount of personal growth as a designer that I've been given has been tremendous.

Leah Macaulay, IIDA, Sasaki Staff
University of Nebraska, '11

My internship experience at Sasaki was extremely fun and rewarding. It took some time to explore around the historical mill building, but the workspace is great with amazing river views and studio loft-like environment. The team work sessions were an opportunity to work across disciplines, learning from each other's profession. And the staff gave great feedback. For people who are looking for the chance get hands on experience with real projects, the Sasaki internship program offers just that.

Ming-Jen Hsueh, Sasaki Associate
Harvard Graduate School of Design, '09

The summer internship at Sasaki was an excellent way to immerse myself in the daily workings of a thriving interdisciplinary design firm. I was looking to challenge and test the design skills I was learning in school, as well as to gain a sense of how a large, multifaceted firm gets projects built, and the internship provided opportunity for me to achieve both. The charrette and project-related work were planned thoughtfully and thoroughly by Sasaki, ensuring that the overall experience provided a well-balanced, stimulating opportunity for design exploration. The collaborative relationships I developed with my fellow interns and with the professionals at Sasaki were key to my early career development, and I would highly recommend the program.

Susannah Ross, Sasaki Senior Associate
Harvard University Graduate School of Design, '03

Sasaki was my first exposure to interdisciplinary site design work. [During] the second week of the internship, I worked closely with two teams of interns who came from architectural or landscape architectural backgrounds. In many ways, this assignment mimicked the actual design process that occurs at Sasaki every day. Throughout the internship, I attended internal design meetings, made site construction visits, and attended meetings with the client. I worked on both local and international projects ranging from resorts to college athletic fields. This exposure to site civil engineering increased my confidence as an engineer. It was the most complete and educational of the four internships I attended before graduating and was an integral experience to furthering my professional career.

Zach Chrisco, PE, Sasaki Senior Associate
Tufts University, '04

Provocations Volume I: Mega Plans

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Provocations is a forum for sharing work that illustrates Sasaki's philosophy that thoughtful design solutions are not conceived in isolation, but rather from a collaborative and open conversation about issues and ideas. Our hope is that the sharing of the work in this series will result in an even more engaged discussion and cross-pollination of ideas that will help to continually cultivate our practice.

In this first issue of Provocations, "Mega Plans," we juxtapose Beijing's evolving urban environment and China's aspiration to transition from a "made in China" economy to a "designed in China" economy with the arid climate of the Dead Sea and the Jordanian government's desire to regenerate the local community and to improve tourism in the region.

Click the link above to flip through "Mega Plans" or download the PDF here.

Sasaki Honored with BSA Design Awards

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

We are delighted to announce that last week we were honored with the following Boston Society of Architects design awards:

Honor Award for Planning: Universidad del Istmo Master Plan
Citation for Planning: Mississippi State University Master Plan
Citation for Design Excellence: Lorain County Community College iLOFT

[Read more about the BSA awards and this year's winners here.]

Congratulations to the teams!

Beyond Boundaries: Linked-Up Thinking for Big Ideas at UNL

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

"Each of these students represents a story yet untold and each of these students will be the author of their own story. Wherever they locate, to be successful they will have to think big—to think beyond the restraints of their current imagination, beyond their current city limits, and beyond the boundaries of their current circumstances."

—UNL State of the University Address, delivered September 11, 2012 by Chancellor Harvey Perlman

Collaboration is one of today's biggest buzzwords—but at Sasaki, it's at the core of what we do. We see it as not just as a working style, but as one of the fundamentals of innovation. Collaboration means thinking and working beyond boundaries to make new discoveries.

In an age of diminishing resources, we must value partnerships over individual interests, and take action toward a greater, more sustainable collective future. For the last eight months, we've been working with the University of Lincoln-Nebraska (UNL) on a campus and landscape master plan that does just that. Called Plan Big, the plan hinges on layered, interconnected strategies that will enhance greater good. Sasaki principal and campus planner Greg Havens calls this approach "linked-up thinking."

The value of such integrated strategies is often discussed, but rarely implemented. Here are three examples of how we are achieving big ideas through collaboration in Plan Big:

Town-Gown

UNL is the third most urban of its Big Ten peers. The campus's southern boundary—affectionately known as the Zipper Zone—is an interlocking edge shared with downtown Lincoln. The draft master plan calls attention to a series of north-south corridors that programmatically connect the vibrancy of downtown with UNL's academic core. By heightening awareness of these overlaps, Plan Big creates a roadmap for future investments to strengthen the town-gown relationships that will benefit both the university and the city.

The Zipper Zone

Indoors and Outdoors

Thinking big about UNL's learning environments led to some unexpectedly modest strategic interventions that could be transformative for the core of campus.

One of the most enthusiastically received ideas in the master plan is the re-thinking of Love Library. Sited at the center of campus, the 1970 Love North addition sits as an impenetrable book repository. Concurrently addressing the building and its surroundings, the plan takes an integrated approach that will create both exceptional open space and a new indoor learning environment by opening up three of the Love North facades.

Love Library reimagined

Teaching and Learning

Implementation of a master plan requires a vision that will inspire community support and momentum for years to come. The plan has to transcend the boundaries of a typical master planning effort, seeping into the culture of the school and the consciousness of the community.

The Plan Big team has employed a wide array of means to engage the UNL community, from a website full of interactive tools to community open houses and focus groups. A recent public lecture and exhibition entitled "Plan Big: The Making of a Master Plan" opened in conjunction with the draft master plan open house process. Sponsored by UNL's College of Architecture, the event drew nearly 300 school community members and also offered an opportunity for the Sasaki team to connect with UNL's burgeoning architects, landscape architects and planners. Two recent UNL graduates, Bradley Howe and Leah MacCaulay, have even joined the Sasaki staff and both contribute to the planning effort.

Exhibition at UNL

Members of the Sasaki team—which includes Greg Havens, Gina Ford (UNL's 2012 Spring Hyde Chair of Excellence), Brie Hensold, Alexis Canter, Sarah Madden, Hsing-Chih Lee, Tracy Dupont, Bradley Howe, Taekyung Kim, and Leah MacCaulay—will be back on campus in March to present the final Plan Big plan.

Sasaki's also has a rich academic relationship with UNL. Currents, a Sasaki research project exploring recent shifts in the design and construction of the public realm, was inspired by academic explorations at the University of Nebraska.

We are excited about where this integrated approach will take UNL—and where it can take other schools, cities, and organizations.

Quiet and Noise: How design can enhance the way we work

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Above: The cafe at allen & gerritsen accommodates the increasing need for community space

by Elizabeth Meek

Susan Cain's book Quiet has inspired a cacophony of articles, blog posts, and water cooler conversation about the modern day work space. And for good reason—more than 60% of us work in office settings, and the design of the place affects our productivity, the quality of our work, and our wellbeing.

Cain says that our culture idealizes extroverts, that introverts are second class citizens. She questions American culture, in education and business, which she feels overvalues teamwork. Introverts thrive in environments that are not over-stimulating—surroundings in which they can think deeply before they speak. She rails against commercial offices' move away from private offices and into open, collaborative work spaces.

Indeed, some people need quiet to be productive. Some of our clients tell us that their big ideas people, writers, and researchers need quiet to do their work. One R&D client told us, "Just give them a closet and a computer and they'll be happy and productive." And research on a broader scale supports this claim. In Jonah Lehrer's New Yorker article "Groupthink," he quotes Keith Sawyer, a psychologist at Washington University as saying, "Decades of research have consistently shown that brainstorming groups think of far fewer ideas than the same number of people who work alone and later pool their ideas."

Above: Employees and teams at National Grid use cafes as alternative work spaces

In the open layouts that are rapidly gaining popularity in new offices and renovations, introverts often put on their headphones, don't answer their phones because they don't want to talk in front of others, and are heads down on their computers.

Yet other people are more effective as a result of open work space. For them, overhearing conversations leads to insight rather than annoyance, and they are fueled by collective energy. For example, we recently met with marketers in a creative company who prefer working in a buzzy space where they can bounce their ideas off others.

College campus centers are full of students who prefer to multitask in a social environment. Millennials who want to work anytime, anywhere are in the workplace now, and companies needs spaces that will attract young talent. Today's workplace design must account for the preferences of this new generation.

One thing is clear: old office spaces don't work for either extroverts or introverts. They neither allow for collaboration, nor do they afford workers' privacy. If you don't already work in one every day, try sitting in an office space with high furniture panels: the traditional cubicle. There may be a perception of solitude—you can't see the people around you—but you can hear them, and they can hear you. What kind of privacy is that?

Above: 95% of employees at National Grid have access to light and views

Furthermore, the design of office environments isn't solely informed by how workers do (or don't) interact. Real estate costs are typically second highest after salaries and benefits. An open layout allows companies to use less square footage, reducing costs considerably—and research shows that people are only at their desk 50% of the time anyway!

The bottom line is that there is no one-size-fits-all design solution for the office environment. In any given office, there are a range of personalities. How do we accommodate the introvert, the extrovert, and those who fall somewhere in between?

We must also design office environments that increase efficiency and space utilization. The ideal office enhances how people work together and drives down costs associated with space.

Giving office workers alternatives to their open desk is one way of addressing individual needs. In our design work, we use supplementary work settings like unassigned meeting areas, project rooms, phone rooms, lounges, cafes, and even quiet common work rooms in our projects to make sure that the environment supports a variety of work styles and personalities.

At National Grid, we implemented design that brought 95% of staff into the open and decreased square footage by more than 50%. Employees now have access to views to the outdoors as well as natural light. These open offices also allow for better air circulation. The acoustical design, which includes sound absorptive materials and sound masking, helps keep distraction to a minimum. And the result has been successful, but only because we provided lots of flexible meeting and work spaces away from the open workspace.

Effective design requires research, and listening to clients about how they work and how they want to work today and in the future. We spend a great deal of time observing the work of each client—individual and group, formal and informal—to inform our design and ultimately make it successful.

Technology advancements, generational differences, cultural changes, personal preferences, and economics continue to change how we work. Designers have to respond with functional, efficient spaces and state-of-the-art acoustical design. We have the responsibility to help clients understand the pitfalls of squeezing employees into a one-size-fits-all solution and guide them towards workplaces that not only house workers, but also support, delight, and inspire them.

Carey Walker shares design strategies for climate change

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

In a world full of increasingly destructive forces, should we simply rebuild—or adapt?

Sasaki designer Carey Walker, AIA, advocates the latter in her article "Climatecture," which appeared in the January issue of the AIA Young Architects Forum journal, Connection.

Read Carey's article here.

View the full January issue of Connection here.

Excerpted with permission. Copyright � The American Institute of Architects 2013. All rights reserved.

Design Solutions: Doing More with Less at SRU

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Innovation is often ignited by constraints—the challenge to do more with less. At Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania, we recently completed a new student union that exemplifies just that.

The budget was tight. But the program requests were plentiful: a tiered student senate room, a movie theater, a concert venue, banquet space, a ballroom, conference rooms, and associated pre-function space.

"Accommodating all these big foot-print, highly specialized items would typically result in something oversized and underutilized, not to mention costly," says Tracy Dupont, interior designer for the project.

So we did it all—in one room.

Here's how we created this exceptionally flexible space, called the theater:

• Retractable seats allow users to pull out all rows (totaling 250 seats) for large functions or fewer rows for more intimate events

• Polished concrete floors can be easily cleaned after movie showings or band concerts

• Acoustical wood paneled walls and ceiling minimize ambient noise and provide an upscale aesthetic

• Floor to ceiling double-height windows provide panoramic views of campus, making the space attractive for luncheons, weddings, and lectures

• Black-out shades darken the room for movies and other events with projection needs

Throughout the week, the theater undergoes myriad transformations. Complemented by the rest of the union—which includes dining, retail, student organizations and services, and administrative offices—the theater holistically and efficiently supports student life on campus.

[View the full project here.]

Innovation Then and Now on Boston's Waterfront

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The Boston waterfront today is an essential part of the city's past, present, and future. Today, the Innovation District/Seaport District grabs headlines, but the entire edge of the Boston Harbor offers delight and opportunity.

In the 1970s, Sasaki played a key role in defining the Boston community's relationship to the waterfront. Sasaki laid out a master plan underpinned by three concepts:

1.) The public realm is key to economic development
2.) Landscape architects should play a leading role in shaping urban realm
3.) Integrated, collaborative design will yield the best results

These approaches—innovative decades ago—remain today relevant, if not critical.

[Read more about Sasaki's work on the Boston Waterfront here]

The Economic Value of Public Realm Investment

The economic return on public realm investment varies place to place, but the numbers are significant in many instances. The Metropolitan Planning Council reports that Chicago's $500 million investment in Millennium Park "is projected to generate $2.6 billion in visitor spending and add $1.4 billion in value to the adjacent real estate by 2014, ten years after the park's completion." We've also tracked the economic return on our projects over time. In most instances—Indianapolis, Charleston, and Cincinnati, for example—there are four to five dollars of private investment for every public dollar spent on open space and public realm.

Our work on the Boston waterfront, though not quantified in dollars, surely would paint a similarly dramatic picture. Public realm improvements, such as Long Wharf and Boston Waterfront Park, were a critical first step in making the waterfront safe, accessible, and attractive to redevelopment—transforming derelict sheds into millions of square feet of new mid-to-high rise development.

Pergola

The Role of Landscape Architecture in Urban Design

"As cities grapple with climate change and the legacy of suburban sprawl, landscape architects need to assert themselves not only as designers of parks and gardens, but as designers of all public infrastructure." —Ben Wellington, Student ASLA, The Dirt

Landscape architecture is a critical, but often missing, element of urban design. Sasaki principal emeritus and renowned landscape architect Stu Dawson helped usher in the concept of landscape urbanism, in which landscape architecture addresses outdoors spaces in the context of the greater urban environment. Stu was the lead designer on the Boston Waterfront work nearly forty years ago, and his approach is why the plan—and concepts embodied therein—remain relevant today. Stu is the one who laid a piece of green yarn—now iconic in Sasaki history—on the BRA's city model to illustrate where the public realm on the waterfront should be: everywhere.

Green yarn defines open space everywhere

The Importance of Integrated, Collaborative Design

Integrated design and holistic collaboration is critical today, especially in the face of climate change and other sustainability issues that require multifaceted solutions.

Recently, principal emeritus Maurice (Mo) Freedman presented a lecture at Sasaki about the firm's work and history on the Boston Waterfront. Mo, an engineer, worked closely with Stu Dawson—a collaborative approach that enabled visionary design, and speaks volumes to the legacy of integrated design at Sasaki. Mo recounted multiple instances in which the integration of design and engineering were critical to Boston Waterfront Park being successfully brought to fruition.

For example, the project's pergola, engineered by Neil Mitchell, follows the alignment of the old Atlantic Avenue utility corridor and is economical and durable. The pergola is also an exemplar of elegant, modular construction, made of recurring pieces of identical 2x4 wood members and meal y-plates. The seawall is another engineering and design feat. Preserved in the process, the structure is reinforced and clad to make it both stable and attractive.

Boston Waterfront Park

Past, Present, and Future

Mo concluded his lecture by showing the new North Bank Pedestrian Bridge, which connects Paul Revere Park in Charlestown to North Point Park in Cambridge, providing a much-need pedestrian link along the water.

[Read more about connectivity along Boston waterfront and The Boston Harbor Association here.]

It will be fascinating to see the evolution along the waterfront in Boston, especially if we continue to embrace the importance of collaboration, the role of landscape architects, and the power of the public realm to have a significant economic impact on our city.

Special thanks to Mo Freedman for his lecture and inspiring insights.

Dudley Panorama

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Check out recent progress on the Dudley Square Municipal Office Facility—and gorgeous views from the site to the Boston skyline.

[Read more about the project here.]

Photos by Meredith McCarthy

Integrated Master Plans in University Business

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The January issue of University Business explores integrated master plans in "The Big(ger) Picture: Why Integrated Master Planning Works—And Who to Get Involved." The article features Sasaki's work on the One Ohio State University Framework Plan and Penn Connects: A Vision for the Future for University of Pennsylvania.

University of Pennsylvania executive vice president Craig Carnaroli says of Sasaki, "Having a good consultant who has worked around the world can bring a broader perspective."

Ohio State University senior director of physical planning Amanda Hoffsis says, "People talk about the framework plan as if it's a living thing; it doesn't have a date."

Read the full article here.

Energizing Emerging Professionals at the BSLA

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Networking is essential for young professionals in any field. But the thought of it makes many of us perspire or—worse—yawn.

Not so for the Boston Society of Landscape Architect's Emerging Professionals Committee, the BSLA EPs! Sasaki landscape architects David Borden and Nina Chase are leading the effort to re-energize the group, which has traditionally been tasked with professional networking nights and Landscape Architect Registration Examination review sessions. Nina, EP chair, and David, EP event producer, are re-imagining what a young professional group is and the role that social events can play in a larger professional context. With a fresh, event-based strategy, the EPs are attracting new landscape architects and local students, and gaining visibility within the broader Boston design community.

Nina and David are confident that events designed to facilitate one-on-one interaction will result in the meaningful shared experiences that are essential to building the EP community. "We envision less name tags, less bulleted PowerPoint slides, less clammy handshakes," says David. "We want to foreground the social component of the professional group, and to do it in a fresh, engaging fashion that is in line with the attitude of young designers. In essence, we want the Emerging Professional group to be relevant."

A series of local events will address and foster the broad interests of active young designers. Upcoming events include a post-lecture meet-up following the James Corner lecture at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in February, a design-themed Nerd Nite at Middlesex Lounge, and a Sasaki office tour on January 10th.

Long-term goals of the BSLA EPs include a mentoring program to match emerging mentees with established mentors. The EPs are also looking ahead to the 2013 ASLA Annual Meeting and EXPO, which will be held in Boston next November. The committee is hoping to host a social, an education session, and a field session, all aimed at the ASLA EP community. "We're going to offer new landscape architects a variety of engaging opportunities to connect and learn," says Nina. "We want the Emerging Professionals to be a strong force at the conference."

To learn more about upcoming BSLA EP events, visit the BSLA website or attend the upcoming quarterly EP meeting at the BSA Space on Thursday, January 24 at 6:30pm.

Nina and David can be reached at nchase@sasaki.com and dborden@sasaki.com respectively.

Nick Brooks Profiled by BSA

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki associate Nick Brooks is featured on the Boston Society of Architects website. Nick shares his musings on the state of architecture, how he defines design, and his one burning question for Frank Gehry.

Dennis Pieprz presents in Chile

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Dennis Pieprz recently presented a public lecture for the mayor and civic leaders of Vina del Mar, a thriving city near Valparaiso on the Pacific Coast of Chile. The presentation focused on Sasaki's current planning and design practice. Dennis discussed contemporary issues of urbanism including development strategies for evolving cities, resiliency, and cultural forces influencing some of Sasaki's recent and current work, including:

Thu Thiem New Urban Area
Midtown Detroit TechTown District
798 Arts District Vision Plan
Wilmington Waterfront Park
Chicago Riverwalk
Samsong Research and Technology District
Dead Sea Development Zone Detailed Master Plan
Drexel University Daskalakis Athletic Center

Dennis and Pablo Savid are currently working in Vina del Mar on the regeneration of a large brownfield site with Urbe.

Four Essential Virtues in a Post-Disaster World

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Reflections on the Keys to Success in Flood Recovery

by Gina Ford and Jason Hellendrung

In June 2008, a devastating flood hit Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Ten square miles were submerged underwater, including the downtown. The flood displaced 310 city facilities and devastated more than 7,000 properties—including over 5,000 homes. Today, the total cost of damages and rebuilding is approaching six billion dollars.

Just before the flood, we had been selected to generate a riverfront master plan for the city. Overnight our charge became to create a recovery plan. We led an expeditious process that set the course for rebuilding and reinvestment in Cedar Rapids and that November, the City of Cedar Rapids approved the River Corridor Redevelopment Plan. The plan was later awarded the 2011 APA National Planning Excellence Award for Best Practices in Hazard Mitigation and Disaster Planning.

In the wake of Sandy, a disaster much closer to home for us, we have been reflecting on those first days and months following the Cedar Rapids flood. What advice can we offer citizens and leaders affected by natural disaster? Specific solutions aside, we keep returning to four virtues that led to success in Cedar Rapids: patience, optimism, cooperation, and community/unity.

Patience

After losing so much, patience may seem impossible. The community wants instant progress, but recovery takes time. We remember The New York Times report on the first city-wide post-flood public forum in Cedar Rapids. The headline read, "Iowans Washed Out of Homes Find Their Future Hard to Grasp." The idea of a long-range recovery plan in the face of immediate hardship is almost unthinkable. Furthermore, long-term planning is incredibly frustrating. The frustrations are, in part, due to the many layers of government, from local to state to federal, that must be involved—which can be anything but fast moving partners.

The good news: progress comes. In Cedar Rapids, four and a half years later, progress can be seen everywhere. A recent headline in the Cedar Rapids Gazette reads, "Cedar Rapids Sets Record for Construction." The article touts over $340 million dollars of construction just this year in a community of roughly 130,000 people. In the coming months, the city will unveil many public amenities in the form of both new construction (a library, new convention center, and central fire station) and renovation (the city's hotel, an arena, Paramount Theatre, City Hall, and Veterans Memorial Building). Cedar Rapids City Councilor Monica Vernon describes the city's progress as "a testimonial to having a plan and working the plan."

Framework plan

Cooperation

Post-disaster, people help each other in unexpected ways. Transparency and open communication in the rebuilding process can help keep this momentum going, creating healthier long-term community relationships. In Cedar Rapids, scores of community members were involved in the recovery planning process. One of the silver linings to a disaster is the opportunity (and we'd argue necessity) of embracing new partnerships. Silos are a roadblock. Through the process of recovery, a more resilient city network and more sustainable operations systems can emerge. From what once were conflicting interests comes unexpected sharing and mutual benefits.

A great example of cooperation happened during the second phase of recovery in Cedar Rapids, the neighborhood planning process. To help facilitate the dialogue with residents from the flood-impacted neighborhoods, the city trained members from every city department in meeting facilitation. Previously, the departments had little overlap and did not have a sense of shared mission. These facilitators then worked together with the community in a series of public meetings and workshops that included residents, business owners, and community leaders. Collectively, these facilitators contributed over 6,000 hours of their time to the planning efforts, working alongside each other toward a common vision.

The sense of partnership fostered by the facilitators extended beyond that four-month process. In February of 2009, the city council approved a residential property acquisition plan that called for three different actions: 192 flood-impacted properties within the 100-year floodplain to be converted to floodplain greenway to be acquired with FEMA funding, 544 flood-impacted properties in the zone of potential future flood protection to be acquired with CDBG and State funding, and another 600 properties beyond repair in flood-impacted areas. To date, over 1,300 properties have been acquired—a process that involved Community Development, Public Works, Parks and Recreation, Code, and the City Manager's Office as well as FEMA and HUD. We attribute the speed of the property acquisitions both to the long-range plan, and to the spirit of cooperation nurtured in the planning process.

Community meeting

Optimism

The two major concepts that kept coming up in the first years of recovery planning in Cedar Rapids were creating "the new normal" and building better, sustainable neighborhoods. Both speak to another silver lining: the ability to see the city in a new way. Communities and their leaders must seize the opportunity to formulate a better, greater, more sustainable place. In Cedar Rapids, the community saw rebuilding as an opportunity to make a better place for their kids—and their kids' kids.

One of the great successes of the planning was the 10th Street Medical District. The recovery plan identified the one-mile urban corridor, anchored on each end by St. Luke's Hospital and Mercy Medical Center, as a tremendous opportunity to create a unified medical district. The Physicians' Clinic of Iowa (PCI) had recently decided to locate a new facility outside the city. But the new normal brought the hospital leadership together, and armed with a vision and a plan, convinced PCI to reconsider and locate in downtown. This approximately $45 million dollar investment has had a total economic impact on the city of $100 million dollars. This also helped spur investment in constructing a new Community Cancer Center. The 10th Street Corridor and pedestrian improvements are underway now.

10th Street corridor

Community/Unity

The Cedar River was once the dividing line between two small towns, Cedar Rapids on the east and Kingston on the west. Though Kingston was annexed by Cedar Rapids in 1870, the psychological divide persisted. Dubbed "The Year of the River," 2008 was meant to be the year of a great campaign to reconnect both sides of the city with the river, revitalizing downtown and enriching its nearby neighborhoods. We were meeting in City Hall to kick off the riverfront master plan process to this end just as the floodwaters began to hit record-levels and the city began evacuations. Literally overnight, excitement about the river turned to complete shock at its destructive force.

Despite this cruel twist of fate, the community kept its sights on the potential of the riverfront throughout the planning process, continuing the call for a shift in mindset from "river as divide" to "river as heart." Out of the planning emerged a vision for the river that respected the uniqueness of each bank. The plan creates removable floodwalls, promenades, and plazas along the harder, more urban downtown edge and a wider greenway system of levees along the softer Kingston-side—all while providing active community gathering spaces to bring the city together. All of these new spaces in the framework are connected by trails and riverfront paths, linking the 10 neighborhoods impacted by the flood.

Today this vision is moving toward implementation and encouraging reinvestment along the river corridor. A community amphitheater and levee project, designed by Sasaki and under construction now, is both the first piece of flood protection construction since the flood and a new, central gathering space downtown. Also downtown, an emerging artist neighborhood called New Bohemia is moving forth with a number of key reinvestments, including an urban beach (volleyball courts in a riverfront park) adjacent to a new City Market. Reinvestment projects are also underway in the hard-hit Kingston neighborhood, including development-driven proposals for mixed-use, multi-family housing.

In the years since the Cedar Rapids flood, we have witnessed many more natural disasters—some of which have been some of the worst of their kind. The spring of 2012 was the second-deadliest tornado season on record. The summer of 2012 marked the most significant Midwest drought in decades. And this fall, Sandy was what may be the worst storm in East Coast history. In the face of climate change, we need to think differently about how we design and revitalize urban environments.

For the communities that are just starting the process of rebuilding, we hope these reflections on our experience with Cedar Rapids are useful. Marie York, the 2011 National Planning Awards Jury Chair, stated, "The efforts of Cedar Rapids and its citizens are a testament to what can be achieved when a community must and does pull together for the common good."

Pulling together is exactly what we all need to do, both as we embark on rebuilding—and as we devise proactive efforts to make our cities more resilient.

Got Parks? Sasaki's NRPA Survey Results are in!

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This fall, members of Sasaki's Urban Studio attended the 2012 National Recreation and Parks Association Congress and Exhibition in Anaheim. Gina Ford and Eamonn Hutton presented a panel with Bridgeport Parks Department project manager Steven Hladun and Barbara Heller of Heller + Heller Consulting. The panel, entitled "Changing Cities through the Revitalization of Parks," examined the larger role parks play in the environmental, economic, and social revitalization of urban environments, and concluded with a case study of Sasaki's parks master plan for Bridgeport, Connecticut and the plan's implementation.

Sasaki also sought to learn more from park professionals about the challenges and opportunities of parks master planning. To help accomplish this, the team launched a custom, online survey. The survey asked probing questions about the role of the master plan in park service delivery. How are master plans useful? How can they be more so? What are the biggest challenges to their realization? 80% of the respondents were members of parks and recreation departments from around the US.

Click this image for the full survey results infographic!

The survey results illuminate the significance of design and vision, engaging the community, and budget constraints in parks master plans. Overlaid with our insights from the master planning process in Bridgeport, we share the key findings below.

Community Engagement

Only 50% of respondents said that public outreach was part of the planning process for their agency. However, among these respondents, 73% said public outreach was one of the most important elements of their plan. Among all respondents, public outreach was tied for the second most important element in an ideal parks master plan. This suggests that public input is recognized as an important aspect of park planning, even among agencies that have not engaged the public in the past.

As a critical part of reaching Bridgeport's diverse constituents, Sasaki's outreach process combined innovative online tools with tried-and-true, face-to-face outreach. This toolkit of strategies enabled the team to reach all user types, and ensured the plan responded to a wide range of needs. Sasaki's in-house digital strategists developed an interactive, digital mapping survey. This map was launched on the city's website and distributed by neighborhood leaders, and collected input from hundreds of citizens. The online outreach was complemented by more personal activities such as games with summer youth campers at Seaside Beach. Combining technology and personal interaction, the team also conducted video interviews in the parks with park users. The video technology brought their voices and faces to life for a broader audience, enriching the traditional stakeholder interview process.

Vision and Design

All of the survey respondents currently have a master plan and nearly 2/3 of them are satisfied with it. When asked about the most important aspects of an ideal parks master plan, respondents ranked needs assessment the most important. This was also the most successful aspect of respondents' current master plan. Visioning was a close second for most important in an ideal master plan and third for the most successful in current master plans. Design was ranked the least important aspect of the ideal plan—and nearly half ranked it as one of the least successful aspects of their current plan. In our experience, however, design can actually play a transformative role in the visioning process. We suspect that if parks professionals were more satisfied with the design aspect of their master plan, it would be more highly valued.

One of the key messages during our panel presentation on Bridgeport was the power of design. While a solid analysis and needs assessment can provide a roadmap for decision-making, we believe it is most potent when paired with a tangible design vision. A bold set of ideas, once visualized, can excite the community—building the momentum and enthusiasm necessary to make ideas real. A strong design vision paves the way toward implementation, inspiring new partnerships, elevating the fundraising potential, and spurring unexpected economic development. For Bridgeport, this meant that the master plan included lots of rich visuals, from data-rich mappings and city-wide bird's-eye views of city's existing system to on-the-ground views of park improvements.

Funding, Budgets, and Cost

Budget and costs are high on the list of priorities—not surprising in light of the current economic context. The great majority of respondents (68%) believe that the top challenge their organization faces is budget constraints. A third of respondents wanted more information about potential for both federal and state funding sources to help support park improvements and maintenance. Although most respondents described budgeting and cost estimating as essential to an ideal master plan, nearly half felt it was the least successful aspect of their current plan.

In order to help the City of Bridgeport do more with existing resources, Sasaki proposed focusing programming and maintenance in five parks located in high-need neighborhoods. These "hyper-parks" are meant to strategically add amenity where it will be most effective. To offset the maintenance hours needed for these parks Sasaki proposed system-wide changes to park maintenance practices, including the conversion of underutilized lawn areas to meadow. The plan also calls for building partnerships with local residents and organizations to find new sources for volunteers and funding. The plan continues to generate outside interest in Bridgeport's parks, such as ongoing collaboration with The Trust for Public Land around fundraising for key projects.

Happy Holidays

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000

We've created a short video for you to enjoy. Happy holidays from all of us at Sasaki!

New Metrics for the New Normal

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Don't miss "New Metrics for the New Normal: Rethinking Space Utilization within the University System of Georgia" in the latest issue of Planning for Higher Education. The article was co-written by Sasaki principal Gregory Janks, Mel Lockhart of Paulien & Associates, and Alan Travis of the University System of Georgia and explores a bold new way of approaching space planning for colleges and universities.

Traditional space planning for educational institutions involves dividing spaces into distinct categories, and applying predetermined square footage needs to each. But on the modern campus, technological advances and cultural shifts are rendering space much more dynamic.

The University System of Georgia recognized that many of their institutions function reasonably well with far less space in some categories than traditional guidelines recommend, calling into question the orthodoxy surrounding space "needs." Different consultants reported wildly differing estimates of needs for institutions with similar missions, enrollments, and program mix. Moreover, these needs far exceed available capital.

In response, the system worked with Sasaki Associates and Paulien & Associates to formulate a new methodology for measuring the utilization of space to guide space management and capital allocation decisions for individual institutions and the system as a whole. The goal was to create a process that was understandable, easy to implement, and less prone to distortion that existing methodologies, whose calculations are often complicated and unclear. The new approach includes an overlay taxonomy that groups spaces with similar functions into buckets to minimize the effects of mis-categorizations and to provide the atomic units for new utilization metrics, greatly reducing the overall number of required measurements and providing information reflective of modern space usage. The resulting metrics provide new thinking, particularly for classroom and social spaces.

Not a Planning for Higher Education subscriber? "New Metrics for the New Normal" is available for purchase here.

Practicing Outdoor Sports Indoors

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Fieldhouses are big buildings and big investments—but can provide major opportunities for colleges and universities. By designing fieldhouses thoughtfully, institutions can maximize their investment (both in terms of dollars and space), and create a place that is a sustainable, highly utilized, and dynamic part of their culture.

A little semantics and history before we get started: the term "fieldhouse" can have different connotations. But in our practice, we conceive a fieldhouse as an indoor practice space that is overarchingly functional and flexible. Historically, fieldhouses were sometimes used for large basketball venues (like the Hinkle Fieldhouse at Butler University, constructed in 1928). And some were created from Post-WWII voluminous surplus buildings, such as the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Houston Fieldhouse, which was purchased to house an ice arena in 1949. There were also athletic cages (such as the Coolidge Cage at Amherst College, built in 1924) that were constructed on many campuses in the northeast, usually with dirt floors for practicing baseball and running.

In the early 1980s, indoor track and field evolved into an NCAA sport at all divisions for both men and women (although Division I men's competition had existed since the 1960s), and it swiftly gained popularity in the US. 200-meter tracks were the standard, and, to accommodate growing demand, fieldhouses became the venue of choice for all indoor track and field events. Today, there is also increased demand for football, baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, and tennis—essentially any outdoor sport that requires indoor practice space.

The question is how to design a space that can accommodate as many sports as possible in the context of a specific school's needs—and without compromising the primary uses. Through careful consideration of program, layout, and size, fieldhouses can be quite versatile. For example, by increasing the width of a fieldhouse and placing the straight sprint lanes outside the track oval, the interior of the track becomes available for an entirely different use. This approach has proved popular with recent Sasaki clients such as Middlebury College, for whom we are designing a track with a turf interior that will be used for practicing all field sports, as well as many recreational sports.

"We also consider how the fieldhouse can become an asset for schools beyond sports, hosting events such as concerts, speakers, commencement, banquets, and summer camps," says Sasaki sports principal Chris Sgarzi. Schools are exploring this opportunity more frequently—then-Senator Obama even took his message to the fieldhouse at Rhode Island College during his 2004 campaign. These uses, however, bring with them significant design considerations. The facility must provide sufficient entrances and egresses, and have restroom accommodations (even if only temporary) for large crowds. If the fieldhouse will host non-sporting events frequently, the design may also include supporting infrastructure for sound systems, lighting, and concessions.

Because fieldhouses are so massive, energy use is also a significant consideration. We study operating costs and look for opportunities to incorporate daylight, natural air flow, and solar energy while designing efficient heating, ventilation, lighting, and, sometimes, cooling systems. The large roof surface can facilitate rainwater harvesting and, with the proper orientation, is an ideal location for solar energy-collecting photovoltaic panels. By considering the whole life-cycle of the building, schools can come to understand which investments make sense for them.

With these big buildings, the opportunities are even bigger. "The key is to program appropriately for your priorities and flexibility," says Chris.

Pictured above: Fieldhouse at Grinnell College.

The Landscape of Legacy Cities: Q&A With Jill Desimini

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki's collaborative design approach is strengthened by our ongoing exploration and exchange of ideas; fresh ideas push our collective practice forward. To continually expand our knowledge base, we host an ongoing lecture series featuring guest speakers who range from specialists at the New England ADA Center to branding experts at IDEO.

Sasaki recently hosted Jill Desimini, assistant professor of landscape architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Her compelling new research focuses on landscape strategies to address the conditions of abandoned urban land, aiming to uncover latent socioeconomic and ecological opportunities. Recently Jill has focused on cities in the Northeast and the Midwest.

Here, Jill shares insights into cutting-edge academic discussions around legacy cities—that is, cities with historical significance undergoing revitalization.

Q: How did you develop an interest in legacy cities in the Midwest?

A: Believe it or not, I was a huge basketball fan in middle school, and my two favorite teams were my hometown Portland Trailblazers and the Detroit Pistons. You can imagine how excited and conflicted I was when the two teams met in the 1990 NBA finals, the first time since 1979 that neither the Lakers nor the Celtics were in the contest. From my interest in basketball came an interest in the city of Detroit, and its socioeconomic struggles. At that point, I imagined ways to help, usually having to do with addressing youth and education. I wanted to be involved, but little did I know I would still be thinking about the city over 20 years later, this time through the lens of landscape and design.

My current interests around abandoned land, urbanization, and demographic shifts have developed through an urban studies undergraduate degree that focused on social science and the history of the built environment, largely in Providence, Rhode Island. And then I got a landscape architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania that heavily emphasized urban projects, using several sites in North and Northeast Philadelphia. These experiences led me to look more broadly at places with significant population loss and to think systematically about the issues affecting the landscape, both short and long term.

Q: What was your process and criteria for selecting which cities to research?

A: I made the decision to both try to understand a large number of cities—through comparative analysis—and to limit the work to this country to narrow the political, cultural, and economic context. The criteria for selecting cities in the United States began with a simple quantitative filter: a list of cities whose populations, as measured by the decennial census, once exceeded 100,000 people and whose 2010 population is less than 75% of its peak population. Thirty-five cities meet this baseline criterion and are being evaluated by further quantitative measures (land valuation, demographic shifts, and economic wealth of the region) as well as qualitative understandings through repeat site visits, interviews, and cultural assessments.

Q: What are some efforts that have been successful in addressing the issues that shrinking cities face?

A: The issues facing the cities are varied and complex and the scale is overwhelming. The best strategies recognize on the one hand that there is no one panacea and on the other that the propositions need to respect local contexts while being bold and transformative. To think of addressing one lot at a time, when there are tens of thousands of vacant lots in any given city is daunting. Similarly, to propose a single use—for example, wind power alone on a former steel mill site—is short-sighted. Strategies that work regionally and address the potential of larger-scale hydrological, ecological, and cultural systems have the greatest potential; the innovative, local, often short-term and small-scale interventions are the most implementable. The Power House and TAP Project in Detroit, Chateau Hough and Pop-up City in Cleveland, and City Farm and Rebuild Foundation in Chicago come to mind. In terms of the larger scale, the EPA is funding some interesting soils work in Cleveland through the Urban Waters program, the ULTRA-EX grants have potential to implement change, the Local Code: Real Estates project uses a contemporary toolkit to address underutilized land, and the Detroit Super Division and Detroit Works projects present two views on landscape infrastructure.

Q: So, how can designers help?

A: Designers are positive thinkers with creative energies capable of imagining and articulating visionary futures. Designers have the facility to address multiple systems and to find opportunity. They can reframe the perception of the existing context, as well as project viable, environmentally and socially responsible alternatives. Of course, design alone is not enough, but I do believe, it is an important and too often missing part of the equation, especially in these contexts. Design is not about fancy materials and expensive schemes, but about being strategic, doing the most with the least number of moves.

Q: What is next for your project?

A: A compendium of landscape-based strategies that merge theory and practice, ideally culminating in a symposium and book that bring together multiple proposals and viewpoints from designers, scientists, economists, and artists alike.

Interview by Alexis Canter.

Exploring the Living River

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Kansas City is nestled at the intersection of the Missouri River and the Kansas River. Although these waterways played a critical role in the city's history, recent development has failed to fully engage the rivers. Last week, the AIA Kansas City Pillars, comprised of emerging local design leaders, spent the day exploring the rivers through a variety of lenses, including a physical tour of their muddy banks, an overview of the rivers' development from historian Monroe Dodd, a series of case studies from other cities that have revitalized their rivers, and a discussion on the economic development potentials of riverfront revitalization.

The group invited Sasaki principals Mark Dawson and Gina Ford to discuss Sasaki's extensive work on Midwest rivers, including the Cedar Rapids Riverfront along the Cedar River, River's Edge Park along the Missouri River in Council Bluffs, Water Works Park along the Raccoon River in Des Moines, the Chicago Riverwalk along the Chicago River, and the Smale Riverfront Park along the Ohio River in Cincinnati. The discussion also included Scott Cahill, assistant vice president of corporate real estate at Principal Financial, which has been a major force in the revitalization of the Des Moines Riverwalk.

Following the presentations, member of the Pillars group posed questions that incited a robust conversation about the challenges and opportunities that citizens and civic leadership face when contemplating riverfront revitalization. Here we recount highlights from the exchange:

Pillars: Who are the key players in catalyzing change on the river?

Sasaki: The five projects we discussed all have different configurations of players and catalysts. What we are seeing now, across the country, is that riverfront revitalization takes various forms of partnership. Some of these partnerships are quite traditional, like the public-private partnerships that continue to move Cincinnati's riverfront forward. The catalyst for the Water Works project was fairly unusual. The competition came about through a partnership between an institution (Iowa State University) and a private utility (Water Works)—although as the project progresses it will include both public and private entities. We also often see partnerships between citizen-based advocacy groups and civic leadership—like the Chicago Department of Transportation and the Friends of the River in Chicago or the City of Council Bluffs and the Back to the River advocates in Council Bluffs. In each case, however, the city itself needs to have a place at the table and be committed to the long road of planning to implementation.

Smale Riverfront Park

Pillars: What are the barriers to revitalization? What makes riverfront development fail?

Sasaki: As many cities have discovered, and as evidenced by organizations like the Mayor's Institute for City Design, design really matters. Quality design can make the difference between a great waterfront and a mediocre waterfront—or worse, a bad one. We see some of the biggest missed opportunities when infrastructural and engineering systems dominate over place-making and thoughtful design. To overcome this, designers must lead an inclusive, collaborative process with entities like the Army Corps of Engineers, local engineering agencies, and transportation planners. If everyone does not participate and support the visioning process and its outcomes, it is nearly impossible to create a high quality place.

The other essential (and often overlooked) factor is the importance of integrating the working dynamic of waterfronts. Often viewed as a barrier, the economic life of the water's edge is something we find inspiring and beautiful—from barges to fishing vessels to ferries. The Detroit Riverfront, for instance, had incredibly limited space for improvements. The final design embraced working uses through docking facilities and flexible infrastructure, like segments of removable guard rails, that enable interaction and overlap between recreation and working uses.

Detroit Riverfront

Pillars: What are the current trends in riverfront development?

Sasaki: It's critical to think about who will be using the river. The younger generations are less interested in traditional recreation, like basketball courts and golf courses, and more interested in nature-based adventure and outdoor living. At Water Works Park, for instance, we have proposed a park program that includes urban camping, zip-lining, fishing, horseback riding and standing paddle-boarding. As landscape architects interested in sustainability, this trend of linking human health with ecological preservation and restoration is very exciting to us.

Also, after flooding disasters like New Orleans, Cedar Rapids, and, most recently, along the East Coast, waterfront resilience is becoming a significant concern. Resilience, to us, means designing systems to absorb unexpected shocks. To do this, design must move away from singular, hierarchical ideas to network-based, diverse, and even redundant systems. In thinking about the potential of flood, for instance, our approach is moving away from the single, massive floodwall. We advocate multiple layers of environmental protection (rain gardens, wetlands, floodwalls, and flood-proofing), infrastructure (road networks, utilities, and emergency management), and social systems (neighborhood planning, governance models, and capacity-building).

Water Works Park

Following the talk, Melissa Brown, Pillars member and architect with Gastinger Walker Harden + BeeTriplett Buck, reflected on the critical, creative role designers in unlocking potentials on the riverfront. "Designers have to be particularly savvy and creative to help move the common thinking from 'that's not possible' to 'I can't imagine life without it,'" she said.

Rivers are not only dynamic—environmentally, socially, and physically—but also diverse. Each river has its own characteristics and qualities that should be embraced in a revitalization process. This presents exciting opportunities for Kansas City to consider in regards to both the mighty and muddy Missouri River and the free-flowing Kansas River.

Thank you to Pillars for including us in their day of river exploration!

Opportunities in Base Reuse

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Today's military doesn't require the domestic geographic dispersion it once did. And while the next round of BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure Act) base closures proposed for 2013 and 2015 was voted down by the House Armed Services Committee in May, defense secretary Leon Panetta asserts that more military base closures are inevitable. So as these vast swaths of land and their infrastructure become available, what is the best way to repurpose them?

The reuse of military bases varies widely—from the park-centric Governors Island in New York to science and technology-focused Fort McPherson in Georgia. Usually, some degree of mixed uses is most advantageous, but the specific proportions of residential, recreational, and business uses should be considered in the context of surrounding communities, geography, and available infrastructure.

Sasaki has a rich history of working with former military bases across the country, creating master plans to guide their transition to civilian life. In aggregate, they demonstrate the range of possibility for base reuse.

The Presidio in San Francisco, California, is Sasaki's hallmark project of this kind. We provided planning and urban design to create a comprehensive land use policy plan for this iconic area overlooking the bay that today offers primarily recreational uses. Devens, in central Massachusetts, was formerly the army's New England headquarters. After its closure, we prepared the master plan, and the area is now a burgeoning mix of residential and business uses with a strong emphasis on high technology. Griffiss Business and Technology Park in Rome, New York, is a former Air Force base for which we created a master plan. Today, Griffiss is comprised of development districts with specific focuses in technology, manufacturing, aviation, office, education, and recreation. Lowry, in Denver, Colorado, is another former Air Force base that we worked on, and it has since been converted into a sustainable, mixed-use community. We also prepared the master plan for the Charleston Naval Shipyard, which sought to mitigate the economic impact of the base closure with marine industrial and cargo-related uses, and also provided for a waterfront park and recreational uses.

Presently, Sasaki is working at Fort Monroe in Virginia—a former U.S. Army base which was closed as a military facility in 2011. Sasaki's plan will identify a long-term vision for reuse of the property, key implementation projects, and a detailed real estate strategy for attracting new uses and investment to Fort Monroe.

Sasaki was also recently selected to create a master plan for Fort DuPont in Delaware City, Delaware. Located along the Delaware River, Fort DuPont is listed as a National Historic District functions as a park, and also home to several state agencies. "We are excited to work with the State Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), Delaware City, and the community to determine the best way to repurpose and revitalize Fort DuPont," Fred Merrill, principal in charge of both the Fort Monroe and Fort DuPont projects.

The first public meeting of the Fort DuPont master planning process

UWF College of Business Education Center Opens

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Last month marked the grand opening of the new College of Business Education Center at the University of West Florida (UWF). The center serves important functions both externally, as the iconic gateway to the College of Business from the larger UWF campus, and internally, as a catalyst for interaction between business students and faculty.

The project consisted of the renovation of two existing buildings and the construction of a new connector building between them. The connector building creates a more unified education center, resulting in a campus-within-a-campus environment for the College of Business and facilitating a stronger sense of community.

UWF College of Business Education Center interior

The sleek, state-of-the-art building provides a wide range of programming to support students in their pursuits including classrooms, outdoor seating, a caf�, computer labs, and counseling and career services centers. "The design offers a variety of congregating spaces conducive to social connectivity and chance encounter," says Fiske Crowell, principal in charge of the project. "Both indoor an outdoor spaces serve as forums for learning and interaction."

UWF College of Business Education Center grand opening

Playing Well with Others: Q&A with Dan D'Oca

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki's collaborative design approach is strengthened by our ongoing exploration and exchange of ideas; fresh ideas push our collective practice forward. To continually expand our knowledge base, we host an ongoing lecture series featuring guest speakers who range from specialists at the New England ADA Center to branding experts at IDEO.

Sasaki recently hosted Dan D'Oca, co-founder and principal of Interboro Partners—an award-winning, New York-based planning, architecture, and research firm that he runs with Tobias Armborst and Georgeen Theodore. Interboro describes their work as a "subtle aesthetic of social activism, based on actively observing urban phenomena and ﬁnding the neglected, the underserved, or even the abhorred as openings for architectural possibility." A specialist in the politics of the contemporary built environment in America, Dan shared some insight into his practice and collaborative approach to design.

Q: Interboro's sensitivity to the human element of design is evident is all of your work. How would you describe your collaborative process?

A: Architecture for architecture's sake is a phantom: when architecture gets out of the studio and into the world, it inevitably influences—and is influenced by—non-architectural things. To believe otherwise is to doom architecture to irrelevance. Ours is an architecture that plays well with others. We try to understand how architecture influences "non-architectural" problems to identify opportunities in which architectural interventions can influence outcomes for the better.

We're also just extroverted and enjoy talking to people. Work for us is an opportunity to get away from the computer for a little while, to get outside and see what's happening.

Q: Your collaborative, participatory process has a refreshing quality of social activism.

A: In our own way we try to use design to serve the underserved. Our commitment to using planning and architecture for social justice will always be at the forefront of what we do.

Q: The issue of social justice is strong theme in your upcoming book. What else can you tell us about it?

A: We have been working on the book for five years. It's called The Arsenal of Exclusion & Inclusion. It's a book about accessibility and the built environment that begins with a very basic question: who has access to where? In the United States, a substantial amount of legislation is in place to promote access to, and the accessibility of, our cities and suburbs—think the First Amendment, the Fair Housing Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. But it sometimes seems that for each accessibility-promoting policy, there is an accessibility-restricting one. For example, we have "blood relative ordinances" that prevent people from renting a home from anyone save a blood relative, co-op communities that require would-be tenants to secure a letter of recommendation from a resident, and community care facilities ordinances that ban people who have completed inpatient drug treatment programs from sober-living homes. Not to mention exclusionary zoning codes that prescribe minimum lot sizes and house prices that are too big and too expensive for most people. The book examines 150 or so "weapons" used to wage this war between inclusion and exclusion, both the forces of WIMBY (welcome in my backyard) and NIMBY (not in my back yard).

Q: Tell us about the graphic approach of the book. The colorful cartoon illustrations are fantastic!

A: We have been working an illustrator, Lesser Gonzalez. He is an amazing artist and we have been collaborating with him for a couple of years now. The book is very serious but we still want it to be fun and interesting. There are lots of photographs, maps, and things, but Lesser's makes these amazing colorful drawings that appeal to a broad range of people. So if you are a scholar, or a college student getting introduced to cities, you can get something out of it, but if you are a kid, you'd just love the colorful cartoons. That's what we often try to do with our work. We try to build in lots of different things into the project for lots of different people.

To learn more about The Arsenal of Exclusion & Inclusion, visit this blog.

Interview by David Borden.

Innovation and Regeneration at ABX

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000

At the ArchitectureBoston Expo (ABx) this week, Sasaki leadership participated in two panels. The first, led by Sasaki principals James Miner and David Hacin, explored the landscape of innovation in Boston. The second, in which Sasaki principal Victor Vizgaitis joined representatives from the city and the community, was about the project underway to repurpose the iconic Ferdinand building in Dudley Square as the new headquarters for the Boston Public Schools. Together, these talks illustrated the assemblage of old and new in Boston—and Sasaki's ability to navigate our fascinating, multifaceted city.

In Innovation City, James and David built upon issues raised in a recent issue of ArchitectureBoston, for which David served as guest editor, and a thought-leadership panel that Sasaki and Hacin Associates hosted at the BSA in April. At ABx, the duo presented several case studies about the relationship between innovation and place. They explored RadLab's journey around Boston to find the best space for them, Allen & Gerritsen's new office in the Innovation District, the movement from traditional office spaces to co-working spaces, and the Boston Innovation Center currently under construction.

allen & gerritsen

James then shared data and insights about where innovation occurs in Boston and why. Using several data sets—including an interactive mapping survey, information from the US Patent and Trademark office, and assessment of local companies and organizations—James and a team of Sasaki practitioners were able to define hubs of innovation in the Boston area and their relationship to amenities such as restaurants, green space, institutions, and housing. The findings are compelling—but raise more questions than they answer. To pose your own questions, email innovate@sasaki.com!

In Revitalizing Dudley Square, Victor joined Maureen Anderson from the City of Boston, Natasha Espada from Leers Leers Weinzapfel Associates, Catherine Hardaway from the Dudley Vision Advisory Task Force, and Kairos Shen from the Boston Redevelopment Authority. The talk spanned the history of Dudley Square, but focused on the current effort to revitalize the area. Two capital projects anchoring this effort are the recently completed police department and the rehabilitation and infill of the Ferdinand building, currently underway, which will become a municipal facility housing the headquarters of the Boston Public Schools and several community-oriented amenities.

Dudley Square

The programming of the new facility is a direct response to the community's input. Retail at the ground floor, for example, increased from 8,000 square feet to 20,000 square feet to accommodate the community's desire for activity to continue past the nine-to-five workday. Victor spoke about the design strategies that integrate the historic building elements with new construction to create a building that is contemporary yet in keeping with Boston's distinctive aesthetic. He also talked about ways in which the design invites the community into the space. Copious glazing, a double-height lobby, and community access to the rooftop terrace all impart a sense of openness.

An underlying theme of both presentations was the importance of asking questions and challenging assumptions. In this city, where innovation springs up from unassuming places, things are hardly predictable.

RWU Student Gallery Review at Sasaki

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This past Saturday, the Sasaki office was transformed into a gallery of student work, showcasing architecture projects by graduate students in this semester's Comprehensive Studio at Roger Williams University (RWU).

Sasaki associate Roberto Ochoa has taught at RWU for over six years and coordinates the Comprehensive Studio. In this demanding course, students are responsible for resolving many of the critical layers of a project in a condensed timeframe, and create an interdisciplinary design for a particular site.

This semester, there were two sections of the course. The first, taught by Roberto, challenged students to design for either the Bloque de San Pablo in Cordoba or Yacimiento San Esteban in Murcia—both of which have a component of historical ruins. The second section, taught by Michael Giardina from Jacobs/KlingStubbins, focused on a project in Cambridge for Swissnex, which is part of the Swiss consulate in Boston. The students then presented their work in a gallery-style review at Sasaki, in which each student received four, 25-minute, one-on-one reviews with a critics or pair of critics. This semester, Sasaki professionals from a range of disciplines participated, as well as local architects from Hacin + Associates, Machado and Silvetti, Cambridge 7, Landworks, and many others.

"The reviews enable the students to refine their presentation skills and make valuable industry connections," says Roberto. "There are actually several former students of mine now working at Sasaki."

Furthermore, reviewers are able to see ways in which the next generation of designers are conceptualizing work. Sasaki principal Steve Brittan said, "The quality of design of the students I reviewed was exceptional. The students were highly motivated by the challenges of their project, each conducting in-depth analysis of their site, program, and context. What struck me was their ability to develop unique design ideas while still remaining true to the constraints of their brief."

Sasaki shortlisted for Barangaroo Central master plan

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The Sasaki, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and Jackson Teece team has been shortlisted for the Barangaroo Central master plan in Sydney, Australia!

Located on Sydney's spectacular waterfront, Barangaroo is in the process of a dynamic regeneration. Barangaroo Central will be the cultural core of the new district, connecting the naturalistic Headland Park and the commercial center of Barangaroo South. The master plan will provide for a wide range of uses, connectivity, and a major new public space for the city.

Stay tuned!

SOHE at University of Wisconsin, Madison opens

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Last month, the School of Human Ecology at University of Wisconsin, Madison opened the doors of Nancy Nicholas Hall, an innovative new facility designed by Sasaki. The school comprises diverse departments—consumer science, human development and family studies, design studies, and interdisciplinary studies—that can work together synergistically, but each require vastly different programs. Where else would you find a climate-controlled textile collection, a preschool lab, and a rooftop terrace?

Sasaki worked closely with user groups to determine priorities and opportunities for increased collaboration, which resulted in a design that integrates both discrete program needs and flexible open space. "The common areas were a focus of the design strategy," says Fiske Crowell, principal in charge of the project. "They are intended to facilitate student, faculty and staff interaction at places of convergence—public entries, lobbies, corridors, and lounges."

Grand opening ceremony on October 18

The work consisted of a 90,000-square-foot new addition as well as a 75,000-square-foot renovation to the existing historic building, which was originally constructed in 1913. Working in this historical zone required meticulousness and ingenuity. To address the challenge of working on a steeply sloping site, a herd of goats was employed to eliminate invasive species which had overtaken the wooded hillside to the north of the site, thus minimizing erosion and unnecessary soil disturbance.

"We put a lot of energy into ensuring that the design respects the historical context, but also makes a statement that reflects the exploratory research and thinking taking place inside," says Fiske.

The interior reflects the nature of the school as well. Rich and abundant textures suggest textiles; clean lines and technology-rich spaces speak to the sciences; bright colors and playful design elements allude to family-oriented learning.

The project is designed to achieve LEED Gold Certification. Standout sustainable solutions include a sedum green roof, occupancy sensors, ecological HVAC systems, and reclaimed and locally-manufactured materials.

Behind the Runway: Sasaki at the IIDA New England Fashion Show

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Last Thursday found several Sasaki interior designers on the runway for the 2012 IIDA New England Fashion Show and Benefit Gala at the Boston Convention Center. The IIDA Fashion Show gives the industry a break from the built environment to support a great cause. This year's beneficiary is Team Impact, a non-profit chartered to improve the quality of life for children facing life-threatening illnesses. We caught up with Janine Byrne post-show to chat about Sasaki's entry and the inspiration behind it.

Q: Each year, the IIDA Fashion Show creates a theme with inherent duality expressed through a play on words. Past themes include Revolution and Iconography. How did you interpret this year's Audacity?

A: The audacity of being two-faced drove our design concept. Originally inspired by the Ghandi quote, "I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ," we took the spirit of this comment and searched for individuals who embody this behavior. Our list of examples started with religious figures then moved beyond the faith-based to include politicians, entertainers, celebrities, athletes, etc.

Q: During the show, Sasaki's introduction states, "Someone here is a two-faced liar. You say one thing but do another. And what's inside doesn't match the surface. If you're gonna be two-faced, at least make one of them pretty..." How did Sasaki's entry convey this message?

A: We wanted our entry to draw a lot of attention, so we created a giant mask in the form of an overly-traditional, overly-decorated dress. It is the centerpiece of our concept and is deliberately oversized. It glides in a frozen, almost machine-like way. Because it is capable of standing on its own, the inner core and outer shell interact with one another, representing the way that the public cover and private life are in conflict, especially in a two-faced being. The model in the shell also wears an electronic mask. She is literally two-faced in that her face is covered by an electronic one. Digital images of who could be wearing the dress flash across the screen, showing two versions of each hypocrite's face.

Accompanying the dress are two escorts who act as puppeteers. Their goal of achieving ratings or viewers or votes or drugs or wins or press coverage represents the part of the machine that drives the need for a branded public image.

At the core is the inner dress. This clean, simple, classical pillar without ornamentation represents our hope that deep down people are actually pure and good and able to break away from the machine.

Q: This event is a great opportunity for Sasaki designers to collaborate in a unique way with product vendors. Who did Sasaki team with this year and how did you use their materials?

A: Global Furniture, Momentum Textiles, and Peabody Office were fantastic teammates. All four dresses are structured looks made from upholstery fabric. The traditional centerpiece is bold and colorful. It moves on casters and features gold embellishments made from mechanical pieces used to fabricate chairs. The puppeteers wear a dark, modern look made from strips upholstery fabric pieced together. Their jewelry is woven from the same mechanical pieces found on the large dress. The sleek pillar dress that emerges at the end of the performance looks is upholstery that looks like satin. Each dress stands strong on its own, but when placed together, they convey the audacity of hypocrisy.

Sasaki at the 2012 IIDA New England Fashion Show from Sasaki Associates on Vimeo.

UMass Rec Center wins Athletic Business design award

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

We are pleased to announce that our design for the University of Massachusetts Amherst Campus Recreation Center has been selected for an Athletic Business 2012 Facility of Merit award!

The new recreation center, sited at a prominent location along Commonwealth Avenue, reinforces the university's goal of fostering recreational activity and wellness. The design promotes recreation on campus by providing an attractive, vibrant space for students. "The open plan encourages engagement between users, and the use of transparency connects participants to passersby with the aim of inspiring everyone on campus to get involved," says Sasaki sports practice principal Chris Sgarzi.

Judge James Braam of 360 Architecture said the recreation center had, "[a] very thoughtful plan organization, executed skillfully with an understanding that buildings have a responsibility of addressing the social aspects of campus life."

"The UMass project is a true testament of Sasaki's holistic approach to building and site design," says Sgarzi. "A wide range of Sasaki's in-house design professionals came together to achieve a unified, balanced design." Sasaki's sports practice, comprised of an interdisciplinary group of dedicated professionals, has more than 30 years of experience planning and designing athletic and recreational projects on over 200 campuses nationwide.

The 10 merit award winners will appear in the December issue of Athletic Business. The awards will be presented to the facility owners and architects at the Athletic Business Conference & Expo in New Orleans on Friday, Nov. 30.

Dennis Pieprz presents at the BSA

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Last week Sasaki principal Dennis Pieprz gave at talk entitled "Intersection and Convergence" as part of the Boston Society of Architects (BSA) Shaping the Living City Lecture Series. The presentation gave an in-depth look into several diverse Sasaki projects that, together, paint a vibrant tapestry of the wide range of our work, and also illuminate commonalities that exist at all scales.

Dennis began by speaking about TechTown, an innovation district in midtown Detroit for which Sasaki has been recently selected to create a master plan. He then spoke about Sasaki's Dead Sea master plan in Jordan. While the geographies and scales of TechTown and the Dead Sea couldn't be more different, both projects aim to precipitate progress by creating a vibrant public realm.

The Dead Sea project also addresses water and ecological issues, and preserves a wide swath of land—originally slated for development—as an ecological park. The plan also looks at water and sewage treatment to benefit the impoverished local community. The project won both a national ASLA Honor Award and national AIA Honor Award this year.

Dennis then spoke about Songzhuang, where Sasaki developed a master plan that enables agriculture and farming to coexist with urbanization in a district outside of Beijing, China. This project also has a strong sustainability focus, and creates an integrated circuit of production, consumption, and decomposition. The urban sections of the district support a creative economy and emphasize transit and public space.

Finally, Dennis spoke about master plans for three international campuses: the Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research at Masdar in Abu Dhabi, the Singapore University of Technology and Design, and Universidad del Istmo in Guatemala. Although each of these universities exist in vastly different climates and cultures, all three plans focus on 21st century learning environments, the students' experience, sustainability, and implementation strategies.

A similarity between all the projects arose from the audience's admiration of the graphics that illustrated each project. "We have fantastic teams who consider the ideas as central to our work. We dedicate a lot of time to how we communicate the ideas," said Dennis.

The Campus Studio Presents: Modern Space Use

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Gregory Janks, director of Sasaki Strategies, is taking his integrated approach to planning on the road. He, along with Mel Lockhart of Paulien & Associates and Alan Travis of the University System of Georgia, are presenting the system's new methodology for measuring space utilization at SCUP Southern's Regional Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina.

For the last 15 years, the University System of Georgia has implemented its campus master plan template, including traditional space planning methodologies, with the assistance of many different consultants. This experience caused the system to question the value of conventional approaches in guiding capital allocation resource decisions. Many USG institutions function reasonably well with far less space in some categories than traditional guidelines recommend, calling into question the orthodoxy surrounding space "needs." Different consultants report wildly differing estimates of needs for institutions with similar missions, enrollments, and program mix. Moreover, these needs far exceed available capital.

In response, the system, through a pilot study with six institutions, formulated a new methodology for measuring space utilization to guide space management and capital allocation decisions for individual institutions and the system as a whole. The goal was to create a process that was easy to understand and implement; one less prone to distortion than existing methodologies whose calculations are often complicated and unclear. The new approach includes an overlay taxonomy that groups spaces with similar functions to minimize the effects of mis-categorization and provide atomic units for new utilization metrics. This greatly reduces the overall number of required measurements and provides information reflective of modern space use. The resulting metrics afford new thinking, particularly for classroom and social spaces.

Designing for opportunity in Detroit

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

TechTown, an innovation district in Midtown Detroit, is brimming with potential. The nonprofit provides entrepreneurs and start-ups in Southeast Michigan with programs and partnering opportunities, including with the nearby Wayne State University. The character of the area itself is unique, featuring building infrastructure that played an important role in the automotive innovations of a bygone era that is today rich with opportunity for reuse.

Midtown Detroit Inc. has engaged Sasaki to create a master plan for the TechTown district that will capitalize on existing energy and create new opportunities for synergy and growth. Sasaki will define an aspirational framework for the district, create a magnetic identity, establish an urban design framework, and define catalytic projects for the TechTown buildings. The effort is supported by other anchor organizations including Wayne State, Henry Ford Health System, Next Energy, and the College of Creative Studies.

Underpinning the work is the goal of bringing people together and inspiring new ideas. As Sasaki's proposal for the project illustrates, this can be achieved through strategic interventions that are relatively simple—but powerful. A food truck bazaar provides Slows Bar BQ sandwiches and a forum for debate, while bright paint conveys vibrancy and cohesion.

The Sasaki team is inspired by TechTown and excited about the work—in regards to both the process and potential outcomes. In their own words, here is what they find most compelling about the TechTown project:

The potential to demonstrate how cities can catalyze innovation and creativity. —Dan Kenney, principal in charge

The client's wonderful spirit of optimism—they see the potential for a ground-breaking strategy in contemporary urban design thinking. —Dennis Pieprz, design principal

The potential for reinvention of the amazing and diverse building stock. —Philip Perlin, project manager

Designing a space and identity that reflects Detroit's inspiring spirit of reinvention. —Caitlyn Clauson, planner

Designing a structural framework that externalizes the creative energy that exists within individual buildings and fosters a local creative ecosystem with a coherent identity. —Romil Sheth, urban designer

The opportunity to emphasize the public realm as a platform for collaboration and innovation. —Victor Eskinazi, urban designer

Developing a design process that incorporates on-the-ground prototyping and problem solving. —Alexis Canter, landscape architect

Further augmenting this diverse, interdisciplinary team, Sasaki will be collaborating with a selection of resource experts in innovation and revitalization.

Stay tuned!

The Avenue honored with ULI Global Award of Excellence

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki is delighted to announce that The Avenue has been honored with a 2012 ULI Global Award of Excellence. The mixed-use complex in Washington D.C. includes office, residential, and retail elements and abundant green public spaces, streetscapes, terraces, and courtyards with innovative stormwater management strategies. Sasaki provided planning, urban design, and landscape architecture for the project.

The Avenue has garnered much attention in regard to both design and development, and property owner Boston Properties considers it to be the crown jewel of their portfolio.

The Olympics: Past, Present, and Future

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

At the ULI Fall Meeting in Denver this week, Sasaki principal Michael Grove will be speaking on a panel entitled "The Olympics: Past, Present, and Future" which will explore how the Olympic Games can benefit host cities in years following the games.

Winning the coveted title of host city for the Olympic Games is something of which many cities dream. It is an opportunity to showcase the best attributes of your community and your culture to the world—but also offers potential for an economic boon from construction and the influx of tourists. Olympic host cities have often invested in the necessary infrastructure for the games (stadia, etc.), many of which long outlive the games and become a part of the fabric of the city. In this millennium, however, host cities Beijing and London have used the Olympics as an opportunity to benefit the greater city. With the Olympics as a vehicle for investment, growth, and evolution, the games become a catalyst for bolder ideas about how people interact with the city.

London is an excellent example of a city using the Olympics as a platform for the redevelopment of a previously underutilized area. In East London, investment in the games is transforming the neighborhood, and hopefully creating a legacy for the area's continued growth. In cities of developing nations, however, the impact can often be far greater. In Beijing, the city added world-class sports facilities, but also made huge investments to build new transit lines and public parks that will be a part of city for generations to come.

Sasaki's master plan for the Beijing Olympics demonstrates how the investment generated from hosting the games can help to inform the transformation of the city. Beijing's Olympic Green was strategically designed to be highly integrated with the existing urban fabric of the city. This simple yet powerful move ensured that it was a part of the identity of Beijing, and not a temporary development that would be forgotten or abandoned after the Olympic torch was extinguished. Post-Olympic development was also a critical consideration, and these projects continue to be implemented today. New museums, conference centers, office buildings, and commercial uses are creating urban infill around the Olympic Green site.

One of the greatest legacies of the Beijing Olympics was construction of the Olympic Forest Park, which is one of Beijing's largest public parks. This green space has become a transformative environment for the city. Historically, many of Beijing's grand landscapes have been associated with cultural or historic monuments. Public landscapes tend to be smaller, immersed within neighborhoods. Ending the Olympic Green axis with the Forest Park was a grand civic gesture, creating a park to be enjoyed by all residents of and visitors to Beijing. In the park, recreational areas blend with more natural areas that have created new habitat within the city, and has informed a stronger sense of ecological awareness in Beijing. It has changed the mindset of what open space in a city could be.

Read more about Sasaki's commitment to China and our new Shanghai office here.

Building Identity

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Working with the Universidad del Istmo (UNIS) in Guatemala on its master plan and implementation, Sasaki has developed a close relationship with the university's School of Architecture. This year the school invited Pablo Savid-Buteler, co-principal in charge of the UNIS work, and associate Roberto Viola Ochoa, lead architect, to participate in Catedra Jorge Montes, a series of academic events in Guatemala which pays tribute to architect Jorge Montes Cordova—considered one of the country's pioneers of modernism.

The 2012 Catedra Jorge Montes program focused on the question of building identity in architecture, which Pablo and Roberto found to be particularly relevant to their work. "With the process of globalization, architects increasingly work in a variety of contexts," says Pablo. "In Sasaki's international practice, we must come to understand the unique history, culture, environment, ecology, and geography of each place in which we work. Identity is an essential consideration."

Last week in Guatemala City, Pablo and Roberto led a two-day workshop for architecture students from four local universities. The premise of the studio was to introduce the students to a methodology for designing outside of the environment to which they are accustomed. Pablo and Roberto challenged the students to design a generic program, a visitor center, in vastly different parts of the world—Spain, Egypt, India, Lebanon, and the UAE. "A critical component of doing this successfully is to not be bound by preconceived notions. The designer must allow the context to be the impetus for design ideas, not a secondary consideration," says Roberto.

Joining renowned architects from around the world, Pablo and Roberto also gave a lecture open to the public. Their talk focused on the issue of identity from the standpoint of their work methodology and also in terms of their pedagogical practice at Universidad Torcuato Di Tella in Buenos Aires and Roger Williams University, respectively.

"It was great to work with such diverse practitioners and engaged students," says Pablo. "The experience was rewarding, and an important continuation of Sasaki's dedication to mutually enriching academia and practice."

Pictured above, from left to right: Juan Pablo Pinto, �ngela Alfaro, Yves Paul S�nchez, Roberto Viola, Pablo Savid, Richard Lehnhoff, Mar�a Jos� Arenas

Designing to adapt

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Today, our planet faces two extreme challenges: urbanization and climate change. How can we design to adapt? At the recent AIA Connecticut annual conference, Sasaki principal Steve Brittan spoke about the potential for architects to play a pivotal role in addressing these issues—but only if the industry is capable of making significant changes.

Steve advocates a new paradigm in which architects redefine their roles in a much more integrated and multidisciplinary context. This involves adopting new skill sets by overhauling traditional academic training, research, and practice. Designers also need to assert intellectual property rights for innovations that are already occurring within the industry such as performance based modeling and rapid prototyping of designs. Steve shared several of Sasaki's own cutting-edge tools, including SmartPlan, which helps Sasaki designers test alternative scenarios and assess their physical, environmental, and fiscal impacts in real time.

Steve emphasized that architects also need to collaborate more broadly with other industries. A wide range of innovations—including information communication technologies (ICT), sensors and actuators, machine to machine communications (M2M), nanotechnology, renewables, building telemetry, and data-driven design visualization—offer rich partnership opportunities to develop solutions that will holistically transform the built environment, enabling us to survive, and even thrive in a rapidly changing world.

Laura Segal: New Work from Vernal + Barren

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Opening this Thursday, October 11, the latest exhibition at The Gallery at Sasaki features paintings from artist Laura Segal's Vernal + Barren series. A Watertown resident, Segal's art is nature-based, process-driven, abstract painting. Her work explores the intersection between our built world and the natural world and the structure that results from the collision of these forces. Laura took a few moments from her busy installation schedule to discuss her inspiration, this new body of work, and the way it relates to our gallery space.

Was there a specific moment or influence that inspired you to become an artist?

Making art is the source of my energy and is the activity that most connects me to my true self. I was once terrified to become a professional artist, so instead of going to art school, I went to architecture school. Much as I love architecture, I cannot ignore my inherent need to make art. Over the years, I continued to paint, quietly thinking, "Maybe someday I will be an artist." It was not until my father passed away that I found the nerve to truly shift my focus to developing a career in art.

The inspiration for this body of work came from my father. Last year I received an old photograph of my father using an electron microscope. At the time, I was feeling uncertain about where I wanted to go next. I tacked the photo to my studio wall and stared at it a long time. With sudden clarity I knew where I wanted to go. I ordered a digital microscope, headed to my favorite vernal pool, scooped up a water sample, and took it to the studio for a closer look. Truth be told, the microscopic view of the pool is not as interesting as one would think. However, the act of examination sparked this body of work.

What was your process for this show in particular?

Some new techniques evolved as I produced this work. I experimented with finish surface, using gel as a varnish and for descriptive texture. With this body of work, I wanted to create a glass-like lens through which to view the painting. My research brought me to a pourable, non-yellowing epoxy resin. Learning to mix, pour, and finish this material was an exciting challenge—mostly positive, but also quite messy, expensive, and toxic. The results are encouraging and I'm looking forward to perfecting my technique and finding new ways to work with this material.

Why were you drawn to The Gallery at Sasaki?

The Gallery at Sasaki is an ideal venue for my work. On the riverfront, Sasaki is surrounded by the kind of habitat represented in my work. Knowing the space was partially dependent upon artificial light and partially open to a glass wall of natural light influenced the way I exhibit the work as well as the actual production of the pieces. As I worked on the large, glossy panels, I envisioned how they would bask in the natural light flooding the gallery.

Opening Reception
October 11, 2012
5–7PM
The Gallery at Sasaki

Chicago Riverwalk Plan Unveiled

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Earlier this week, Mayor Rahm Emanuel unveiled plans for the final six blocks of development along the Chicago River's Main Branch, from State Street to Lake Street. The project, developed for the Chicago Department of Transportation by Sasaki in collaboration with Ross Barney Architects, Benesch Engineers, and a broad team of experts represents the realization of decades of visioning, planning, and design for a continuous path along the Chicago River's infamous Arcade District.

"The Chicago River is our second shoreline, which has played such a critical role in Chicago's early history, the development of our industry and our quality of life," said Mayor Emanuel in the city's press release. "It is now time to celebrate this incredible waterway with the completion of the entire riverwalk project."

In designing the spaces along the river, the team embraced a mantra of "the life of the river" and sought through both design and programming to more viscerally connect the vibrancy of the city with the ever-growing recreational use of the river. This mantra inspired spaces like the River Theater, a 25-foot grand staircase from Upper Wacker to the river's edge, and the Cove, a low, broad space dedicated to amenities for kayakers. Gina Ford, lead designer for the Sasaki team, says of the project, "It was important to us that each space have an energy and excitement inspired by the life of the river, but also that there are elements of continuity as one moves along its edge."

Along with providing the opportunity to create a vision for one of the world's most iconic waterfronts, the project also enabled Sasaki to work closely with long-time collaborator, Carol Ross Barney. "Carol's depth of understanding of and perspective on the city and the Chicago River are unmatched and imbued this project with a true and unique sense of place" says Gina. Ross Barney Architects and Sasaki have collaborated on a number of urban projects, including concept design for the Chicago Circulator in the 1980s and the Oklahoma Federal Building in 2004.

Steve Hamwey, principal in charge of the project for Sasaki, has been working closely with city leadership to outline a case for funding. "We have surveyed a number of cities, including our own work in places like Indianapolis and Cincinnati, to demonstrate the economic return on public riverfront investments," says Steve. "We have seen a five-to-one ratio of return across the board."

The team will now begin finalizing contract documents with the hopes of being shovel-ready in the spring of 2013.

Read more in this Huffington Post article and this Chicago Tribune article.

BBJ's 40 under 40 honors James Miner

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki is delighted to announce that managing principal James Miner has been honored as one of the 2012 Boston Business Journal's 40 under 40! Along with 39 other business leaders in a wide range of industries, James was recognized at the annual celebration last week, which this year benefitted the March of Dimes.

James is an innovator. He is always looking for new ways to use technology to improve the planning process. He is currently using several new technologies in his work including interactive online community engagement tools and modeling software that ties metrics to urban design decisions in real time. One of Sasaki's technologies, SmartPlan, enables real-time decisions on design strategies by linking spatial, financial, and environmental data. At Sasaki, James has hired a more diverse staff than ever before—from backgrounds in computer programming, economics, and real estate—to push the work in new directions.

James's contributions to his industry and community are both technological and interpersonal. He champions the development of innovative technological tools and applies them with deep understanding for and appreciation of the human condition. This balance is rare, yet ultimately essential to the planning and design industry as we strive to make the world a better place.

James contributes to communities throughout the nation through his urban planning practice. He seeks ways to go beyond educating or imposing pre-formulated ideas on a community, and strives to extract meaningful elements of the public process to drive a plan. James leads teams that develop innovative tools for engagement, utilizing social media and online collaboration. This approach garners valuable input from younger generations—which the planning process will ultimately affect— increasing the relevancy and success of the plan.

Currently, James is principal in charge of The Tomorrow Plan—a high-profile two-year regional planning process in Greater Des Moines, Iowa. The Tomorrow Plan centers on a geoanalytic scenario modeling process, in which several possible scenarios form the basis for discussion about the future. The process is unprecedented in scope and incorporates the aforementioned public engagement tools, which will ultimately inform a 2050 Planning Document for the region. Sasaki is lead consultant for the project, which is funded by a regional sustainable planning grant from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

James also contributes to his local community. Each April, James and his wife, Cara, are top fundraisers at the March of Dimes's March for Babies walk in Worcester. Their dedication to this charity is very personal. Their first son, Benjamin, was born three months early and was in the NICU at UMass Memorial hospital for 70 days. Ben is now a thriving six-year-old boy thanks to modern medicine and the research that the March of Dimes has funded to reduce premature birth rates and improve the outcomes of premature deliveries. As a way of giving back and supporting families undergoing similar crises, James has been an active part of UMass Memorial's fundraising efforts to support the March of Dimes. James and Cara have since had two more healthy, lovely children.

Sasaki Selected for Envision Alachua

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

We are delighted to announce that Plum Creek has selected Sasaki as the lead land use planner and designer for the second phase of Envision Alachua—a community-minded plan for Plum Creek's lands in Alachua County in Florida. A renowned timberland company based in Seattle, Plum Creek is the largest and most geographically diverse private landowner in the nation.

Phase one of the Envision Alachua process, led by MIG, generated a vision, goals, and planning principles document that identified the economy, the environment, and the community as the top priorities for a potential master plan of Plum Creek's 65,000 acres in Alachua County. The focus of phase two, scheduled to commence this month, will build upon that vision and interact further with the community to guide Plum Creek regarding future development and conservation of its lands.

"Plum Creek is leveraging the strengths of Sasaki and MIG to collaborate in hopes of creating a master plan that balances economic development and conservation activities," said Todd Powell, Plum Creek's senior director of real estate. "Sasaki will play a critical role in transforming the Envision Alachua Vision, Goals and Planning Principles into reality."

As lead land use planner and designer, Sasaki will provide master planning, design leadership and direction. The Sasaki team, led by Sasaki principal Fred Merrill, will work closely with MIG and the project team of engineers, environmental scientists, transportation planners, and related technical professionals throughout the community planning process.

"We are excited to work with Plum Creek and to be a part of such a forward-thinking, community-oriented project," says Fred.

Campus work honored by BSA

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki is delighted to announce that three of our campus projects have been selected for awards from the Boston Society of Architects (BSA)! Together, these works illustrate Sasaki's commitment to finding solutions that respond to each institution's needs and context, as well as broader trends in the contemporary campus environment.

The iLoft at Lorain County Community College was selected by the jury for the BSA Honor Award for Design Excellence. The project is a stunning example of renovation and renewal—critical considerations for today's colleges. In what was originally a traditional library space, the iLoft offers students and faculty a wide range of flexible spaces that support technology-based, interactive learning.

Master plans for Mississippi State University and Universidad del Istmo in Guatemala were selected by the BSA's Urban and Campus Design Awards jury. While responding to the vastly different physical locations of each university, both plans integrate strategies for sustainability, emphasize connectivity, and offer flexibility that will support and guide the universities as they evolve over time.

The three projects will be featured at the ArchitectureBoston Expo (ABX), held at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center November 14–16.

The level of recognition for each award will be announced at the BSA's awards gala on January 31.

Stay tuned!

Innovative Events-Based Outreach

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Design firms have long employed events-based communication to build relationships and reach project stakeholders in public planning projects. But considering over-saturated media markets, experiential outreach is playing an increasing role in fostering long-term dialog with both project partners and the community at large. Innovative events-based outreach initiatives are a critical component of Sasaki's communication practice and are central to the firm's ability to accomplish broader human-centered design goals. Sasaki's recent participation in PARK(ing) Day as part of the Allegheny Riverfront Green Boulevard project illustrates the potential—and fun!—of such outreach.

Started in 2005 by the San Francisco-based firm Rebar, PARK(ing) Day is a national event during which public parking spaces are temporarily transformed into pop-up parks. The Sasaki team used the event to grab the attention of the general public and foster dialog about the proposed Allegheny Riverfront Green Boulevard plan with those who would be unlikely to attend traditional outreach events, such as public meetings. During PARK(ing) Day, Sasaki was able to engage the public in the kind of high-touch personal interaction that is critical, but often absent, in outreach efforts for human-centered design. Sasaki's PARK(ing) Day participation was the finale of a summer full of outreach events along the Allegheny River, which included a bike ride, trivia night, and a traditional public meeting.

Sasaki and local organizations collaborated to create a simple, cost-efficient design that represented what the Allegheny Riverfront Green Boulevard will be in the future: a public space that integrates a trail, transit, open space, and native plantings. The temporary installation was located at 100 43rd Street in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The design foregrounded the proposed multi-use path within the Allegheny Valley Railroad corridor. With temporary chalking paint, stencils, site furnishings, potted plants, and a couple of chairs and folding table, the seven by twenty two-foot parking space was transformed into a highly visible, welcoming communication device.

Not only was the PARK(ing) Day installation an effective way to reach the community, but it was also a great team-building exercise for the project. Coordinating a presentation for a steering committee is one thing—physically producing an installation is another! The event provided the design team the opportunity to play and collectively create a tangible product. The creative process included the Urban Redevelopment Authority, Lawrenceville Corp., CTAC Pittsburgh, KMA Associates, Landscape Forms, and Urban Gardener. PARK(ing) Day came as planning work of the Allegheny Riverfront Green Boulevard winds down and the implementation of the project ramps up. Although small and temporary, the PARK(ing) Day installation serves as a microcosm of collaborative design, and sets the stage for larger built work.

Learn more about PARK(ing) Day here.

Stunning photos of Dudley Square

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

These photos capture a delicate stage in the rehabilitation process of our work in Dudley Square. Juxtaposed against a bright fall New England sky, the facades of the Ferdinand Furniture Building, Curtis Building, and Waterman Building are striking—slightly otherworldly, and undeniably magnificent.

Ferdinand Furniture Building

Ferdinand Furniture Building

Curtis Building and Waterman Building

Tyler Patrick Elected Principal

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki is pleased to announce that Tyler Patrick has been elected as a principal of the firm!

Over the last seven years, Tyler has been an integral part of many of Sasaki's high profile national campus planning efforts, including plans for Northwestern University, Purdue University, the Harvard Kennedy School, and The Ohio State University. Tyler has also been a great ally and partner to the Sasaki Strategies group, working to fuse the great traditions of planning with new modes of analysis and visualization.

"Tyler has remarkable acumen in collaboration," says managing principal James Miner. "He works with all the disciplines at Sasaki, with a wide range of institutional clients, and at the intersections between universities and their community contexts."

Tyler has led the town-gown component of several major planning engagements—convening large scale community meetings, interfacing with city and regional governments, and solving complex urban challenges. Through this work, he strives to create quality environments that uniquely reflect an institution's mission. "The broader campus and its context are extensions of the core learning environment," Tyler says. "They are essential considerations in furthering the school's mission."

In addition to his continued work on projects, Tyler will also be playing a role in leading operations for the planning discipline going forward.

Landscape + Legacy

Sun, 30 Sep 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Landscape + Legacy: Sasaki and The Cultural Landscape Foundation

On September 26, Sasaki principal and Urban Studio chair Gina Ford became a member of the board of The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF). Sasaki has always embraced opportunities to work with TCLF, America's only not-for-profit foundation dedicated to increasing the public's awareness and understanding of the importance and irreplaceable legacy of its cultural landscapes.

Gina's position on the board represents a transition of leadership, stepping into the role long-played by Sasaki principal Alan Ward. Alan's respect for cultural landscapes is echoed both in his professional work, on sites such as the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and the United States Capital Visitors Center, and his stunning photographic contributions in publications like American Designed Landscapes and The Miller Garden: An Icon of Modernism.

TCLF founder and president, Charles Birnbaum, says, "TCLF is pleased and honored to continue its relationship with Sasaki Associates with Alan Ward passing the baton to Gina Ford after eight years of board service. We are grateful for Alan's support both on the board and as a popular contributor to our annual silent auction. I know I speak for the entire board in welcoming Gina."

Another collaboration between Sasaki and TCLF is the Stuart O. Dawson Oral History project, launched in the fall of last year. The project, lovingly produced by TCLF, documents the work of one of Sasaki's founding principals, Stu Dawson, over his fifty year tenure at the firm. Among the many video essays, stories, and letters included in the project is an essay by Gina, reflecting on Stu as her mentor.

"Participating on the board is an exciting way for Sasaki to continue being visible and active stewards of the nation's great works of landscape architecture," says Gina. "I am thrilled to carry on Alan's work in this realm and support the continued illumination of the masters of our professionals like Stu."

Learn more about TCLF, its mission, and upcoming events here.

Urban Studio Launches Currents

Sat, 29 Sep 2012 00:00:00 +0000

We are excited to launch Currents—an initiative that seeks to understand and articulate recent shifts in the design and construction of the public realm and to help make these broader trends in professional practice more visible. The project was developed by Sasaki's Urban Studio, inspired by academic exploration at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln led by Sasaki principal and Urban Studio chair Gina Ford. Currents comprises five themes—engaging, researching, competing, withstanding, and programming. Each theme will be examined in sequential volumes, which will be released throughout the coming year.

Engaging is also available for download here.

Engaging focuses on the role of innovation in public outreach as a driver of design in American cities. The document illustrates a series of recent, notable case studies in which outreach was a critical component of the design. The studies are curated to illustrate the following five concepts: process as event, on-the-ground, real time, early wins, and accessible materials. This volume concludes with a case study on Sasaki's Storming the Fort submittal for the Fort Mason Center Design Competition.

Gina Ford and Sasaki associate Alexis Canter will be further exploring the ideas and issues raised in Engaging in their panel on Monday at the 2012 ASLA Annual Meeting in Phoenix. The panel, entitled "Getting to the 99%: Tools for Innovating the Usual Public Meeting," describes three unique, contemporary outreach processes—in Scott Page's Wicker Park project, West 8's Governor's Island project, and Sasaki's Water Works Park project.

Stay tuned for more!

Reusing Infrastructure

Fri, 28 Sep 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Reusing Infrastructure: Mobility, Open Space, and Development Opportunities

Once chronically overlooked, antiquated transportation infrastructure and under-utilized industrial corridors have come to be regarded as opportunities in several forward-thinking cities. The most visible of these instances is the High Line—an aerial greenway on the West Side of Manhattan that repurposes a section of the former New York Central Railroad. The High Line's success has garnered a lot of attention and spawned a number of projects in other cities, but it is not the first instance of re-using infrastructure, and nor is it without criticism. Rather, the Highline exists as an outstanding example in a continuum of projects throughout time that reuse infrastructure in different ways to varying degrees of success. As we continue to adapt our cities in this era of increasing urbanization, we must look to the High Line and other examples with a critical eye—replicating the good and improving upon shortcomings. Reusing Infrastructure is an ongoing research effort by Sasaki principal Jason Hellendrung, who will present the latest progression of his work at the 2012 ASLA Annual Meeting in Phoenix this weekend. In his research, Jason seeks to determine how projects that reuse infrastructure can not only beautify our cities and inspire our citizens, but also provide critical value in terms of open space, transit and mobility, and development opportunities.

Projects looking to emulate the High Line's success include the Bloomingdale Trail in Chicago, the Reading Viaduct in Philadelphia, the Sixth Street Embankment in Jersey City, and the Iron Horse Trestle in St. Louis. Similarly, a number of park spaces have been created on railroads, railroad stations, or rail yards, like Railroad Park in Birmingham, Commons Park and the Union Station Neighborhood in Denver, and Santa Fe Railyard Park in New Mexico. In all of these examples, the primary focus of these projects is the creation of new open space. In some instances, neighborhood development has been an accompanying goal— but not necessarily economic development. Of the elevated railroad reuse projects, the Bloomingdale Trail is one of the first examples of layering mobility as a primary goal, with a multipurpose path being developed for bicycling and other forms of mobility.

Reusing Infrastructure is focused on the greater opportunity of repurposing these rail corridors and infrastructure for improved mobility and transportation, creation of new open space, and economic revitalization and neighborhood development of the existing and former industrial properties lining these corridors. Jason's research explores three premier initiatives in the country that address these issues though the planning and design of projects reusing infrastructure: the Atlanta BeltLine, the Orange Line corridor in Los Angeles, the Allegheny Riverfront Green Boulevard in Pittsburgh. A variety of performance metrics—including congestion mitigation from removing cars from the road, environmental benefits from air quality improvements, and economic development through the creation of new transit-oriented development—help inform Jason's work.

Stay tuned for more!

Practice Meets Academia at ISU

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki's practice has always been enriched by its connections to academia—whether through the legacy of Hideo Sasaki's teaching-based model, the firm's ongoing commitment to campus planning and design, or recent teaching engagements at schools like the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Northeastern University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Rhode Island School of Design.

In a lecture at Iowa State University's College of Design on September 19, Sasaki Urban Studio members Gina Ford, Laura Marett, and Alexis Canter focused on this confluence of practice and academia. The trio spoke about Sasaki's recent work within the context of the Midwest floodplain and explored the specific connections this work has to Iowa State University.

Alexis discussed Sasaki's winning entry for the Water Works Competition, which re-envisions Water Works Park—the site of the City of Des Moines's drinking water infrastructure that also features recreation uses and rich ecology. The competition was the brainchild of Iowa State University's associate professor of landscape architecture Carl Rogers, who was inspired by the relevance of the site to contemporary issues of landscape architecture. Professor Rogers formulated the international design competition through his professional practice seminar, working with students to create the competition brief, assemble data, and launch the competition website. Gina and Alexis are also collaborating this semester with Professor Rogers and his colleagues, assistant professor Bambi Yost and lecturer Tom Neppl, on their current design studio, which focuses on another water infrastructure-based competition on the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn.

Laura discussed Sasaki's current work at ISU's Iowa State Center. Built in the late '60s and early '70s, the Iowa State Center is a stunning architectural complex of significant facilities including the Scheman Building, the Stephens Auditorium, the Fischer Theater, and the Hilton Coliseum. Led by Joe Hibbard, the Sasaki team is creating a landscape master plan for the site addressing issues of wear, connection, event planning, flood-resilience, and identity. Used frequently as the subject of landscape studios at the College of Design, the site and its future potential incited a lively discussion from the students in the audience.

Lastly, Gina foregrounded these interwoven connections between academia and practice as a model for the tackling complex issues of the region. Moving forward, for example, the Sasaki Urban Studio will be partnering with Iowa State University and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln on a joint, multi-year study to address issues of ecology, recreation, and flood-resilience on the Missouri River.

Stay tuned!

Using the past to create the future in Dudley Square

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The Dudley Square municipal facility in Roxbury, which broke ground in March, is a major effort in Boston—of utmost importance to Mayor Menino, the community, and here at Sasaki. The project repurposes the iconic Ferdinand Blue Store, as well as the Curtis and Waterman buildings also located on Washington Street in Roxbury. The project is intended to serve the dual purposes of providing a catalyst for neighborhood development and creating a state-of-the-art, centrally-located headquarters for the Boston Public Schools (BPS) administrative offices. The project is important—and also profoundly complex. It requires extensive community engagement, coordination with various city departments and regulatory organizations, technical considerations, and design ingenuity.

Last week Sasaki associate Nick Brooks presented the project with City of Boston senior project manager Maureen Anderson to the BSA Historic Resources Committee. Over bagels and coffee at the BSA's new space on Congress Street, Nick and Maureen discussed the goals, strategies, and challenges of the project.

Nick and Maureen underscored the project team's ongoing dialogue with the community to ensure the work addresses their concerns and objectives. One such concern is the character of the neighborhood after the BPS staff goes home. In response, the design team has dedicated the first floor to 19,000 square feet of retail and dining, which is intended to engage and activate the street into the evening. A green roof also will be accessible to the community, offering sweeping views of the Boston skyline. Overall, the team considers the project a vision for the building and the neighborhood—a village that is the social heart of Roxbury.

The upper floors of the facility will be dedicated to the office environment for BPS. An open layout will facilitate collaboration and maximize square footage, and technology will be integrated to meet—and even exceed—contemporary expectations.

One challenge has been to determine the right design sensibility for the site—successfully integrating Boston's historic character (think brownstones and wooden spires) with forward-looking, innovative design (like ultra-flexible spaces filled with natural light). At the building's exterior, the design team is working to incorporate the historic structures in a meaningful way, with the Ferdinand as the focal point. New construction is recessed from the historic facades so they retain their original volume and relationship to the street. "They read as themselves—not as wallpaper," explained Nick. Former uses on the site also inform the design, such as interior circulation that traces the passing of the old elevated Orange Line, which was torn down in the 1980s.

Nick and Maureen also discussed the regulatory challenges of working with historic structures in Boston. They specifically addressed the requirements of Article 85, a zoning regulation intended to ensure that no feasible alternative to demolition exists for historically sensitive properties. "While we never believed that taking down the buildings was the option, the article 85 process allowed us to explain our thought process to the community and the [Boston Landmarks Commission]," said Nick. "It has been said that familiarity breeds love. We hope to use the familiarity with the Ferdinand, Curtis, and Waterman buildings to continue positive outcomes as a function of the new building."

NEW OFFICE NOW OPEN IN SHANGHAI

Mon, 17 Sep 2012 00:00:00 +0000

We are delighted to announce the opening of our new office in Shanghai, China! The office bolsters our commitment to China and the larger Asia-Pacific region.

Since our first project on the mainland 14 years ago, we have maintained a strong presence at the forefront of planning and design in China. The Shanghai office will support ongoing and future work in the region, where Sasaki is addressing a wide variety of design challenges and opportunities in the world's fastest urbanizing society.

"The Shanghai office is the culmination of many years of experience of working in China, and will help us collaborate even more closely with our clients in Asia," says Sasaki principal Michael Grove, who leads the majority of Sasaki's work in China. "The location symbolizes our long-term commitment to the region, and allows us to offer our broad range of planning and design services to a part of the world that is witnessing dramatic shifts in its urban environment."

Sasaki's work in China is already some of the most recognized in the country. Our projects reflect the nation's increasingly urban context and progressive attitude towards design—evident in award-winning designs for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 798 Arts District, the National Creative Cluster, the Jinan New Urban District, and Jiading Central Park in Shanghai, which will open to the public this fall. Each of these projects serves as an innovative, sustainable, and culturally relevant model for development—a commitment we bring to all of our work.

Image: Fuxing Island Innovation District

SASAKI???????

Mon, 17 Sep 2012 00:00:00 +0000

该分公司将支持Sasaki在中国及整个亚洲目前和未来的工作

美国马萨诸塞州波士顿（2012年9月）-国际规划和设计事务所Sasaki正式宣布成立中国上海分公司。该分公司支持着Sasaki对中国及亚洲地区的承诺。

自从14年前在中国大陆的第一个项目开始， Sasaki便一直保持着在中国规划和设计领域的前沿。随着Sasaki在这个全球城市化最快的社会所面临的广泛设计挑战和机遇上的探索，上海分公司将支持在该区域正在进行的以及未来的工作。

Sasaki负责中国业务的董事Michael Grove先生说"上海分公司是我们在中国多年工作经验积累的结果，它将帮助我们更加密切地与我们在亚洲的业主进行协作。该分公司的地点代表了我们对该区域长期的承诺，它将让我们能够为这个见证着剧烈城市环境变化的区域提供广泛的规划和设计服务。"

Sasaki在中国的作品已成为该国最著名的一些项目。这些项目反映了中国愈演愈烈的城市化环境和对设计的大胆进取态度。这些突出地表现在一系列获奖设计中，包括2008北京奥运会、798艺术区、国家时尚创意中心、济南新城区、以及今年秋季即将正式开放的上海嘉定中心公园。这些项目为开发提供了创新的、可持续的、并且具有高度文化相关性的模式，是Sasaki对其所有工作的承诺。

关于Sasaki

Sasaki（www.sasaki.com）是一家综合规划和设计事务所，致力为业主提供周全且可持续的方案以解决独特的问题。作为跨学科公司的特点，我们的团队利用协作性和多样化的理念将个性化的着眼点用于为我们的学院机构、市政和商业业主创造屡屡获奖的空间和场所。 Sasaki是一家中型事务所，其波士顿总部以及上海分公司的专业人员在美国及全球展开工作。

Innovative new commons dedicated at Dixie State College

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Last week, the Jeffrey R. Holland Centennial Commons (HCC) at Dixie State College of Utah was officially dedicated to Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, a 1963 graduate of Dixie College. The HCC, which opened in June, is quickly becoming the intellectual, academic, and social hub of the campus. In his speech at the ceremony, Jeffrey Holland called the commons building a place for students with "uncommon hope."

The HCC was designed by Sasaki in collaboration with Salt Lake City's VCBO Architecture. "The building is a very innovative combination of library, student services, and academic spaces—all linked together with a dramatic staircase that floats within a four-story-high main atrium overlooking the campus," says Bryan Irwin, principal in charge of the project. In addition to the campus library, the college's English department, business services, and IT departments, the HCC also features two food service venues and an interactive touchscreen wayfinding system. The spacious structure is filled with natural light and features bold interior elements and warm accents. It is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification.

"Friday's dedication was a bittersweet event," says Bryan. "We had such a great collaboration with the college, our partner architects VCBO, and the general contractor, Jacobsen Construction, that President Nadauld joked he was sad to see it come to an end."

Read more in this article from The Spectrum.

Stephen Gray teaches urbanism studio at Northeastern

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Urbanism—which captures the way in which urban inhabitants interact with their surrounding built environment—is perpetually evolving. Boston features examples of the many iterations of urbanism—the traditional urbanism of the compact, walkable South End, the large-scale urban sites of the 1960s such as Government Center, and the contemporary and more reparative urbanism of the greenway at the central artery. However, the built environment is not recreated with each trend. Rather, each iteration layers upon the last, creating a unique urban environment—an amalgamation of both the present and past realities.

This term, Sasaki urban designer Stephen Gray will be teaching a studio on urbanism at Northeastern, examining how infrastructure, landscape, and architecture intertwine to construct urbanism. In particular, the studio will serve as a critique of 1960s urbanism and how these sites and landscapes can host—and even facilitate—future transformations. Students will closely examine Assembly Square in Somerville, which was originally the site of a Ford Motor assembly plant and has since become home to several big box retailers. The area has been identified for major redevelopment with an emphasis on mixed uses and transit, including a new MBTA Orange Line station. Students will formulate specific design solutions that acknowledge the 1960s urbanism context of the site while meeting the needs and expectations of contemporary urbanites.

Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Reopens

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Over the Labor Day weekend, the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool reopened to the public—updated and revised to meet contemporary needs while preserving the defining character of this national landmark. Sasaki's work on the site included upgrading accessibility and security, increasing site resilience to its 4.5 million annual visitors, and integrating several sustainable solutions.

"On most projects we try to create striking new designs, however at the Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool, our aim was to design the new walks, plazas, walls, lighting, and pool to appear as if it was always there, as an integral part of the original design," says Alan Ward, Sasaki principal in charge of the project. "The designed changes to the landscape of the Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool received more review and scrutiny than any project I have worked on at Sasaki over the past 30 years." This process included working with and gaining approvals from the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission.

Originally, the reflecting pool was filled with potable water and, due to failing structural conditions, needed to be refilled two to three times each year—using nearly six million gallons of water each time. Sasaki studied numerous options during preliminary design for supplying the water to the reflecting pool in a more sustainable manner. The implemented design eliminates potable water and supplies the reflecting pool with water from the Tidal Basin that is filtered and recirculated to improve water quality. Daily water replenishment is supplied from the sumps in the pump room of the World War II Memorial.

View a video about project from the US Department of the Interior here.

The diversity and opportunities of Boston Harbor

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Lobster boats, sail boats, water taxis, party charters, and a Merchant Marine vessel; life on the surface of Boston Harbor is a microcosm of the city itself—a beautiful, inspiring, and sensitive balance of economic, recreational, ecological, and social systems.

This week, Sasaki Associates practitioners and leadership hit the harbor with The Boston Harbor Association's visionary leader, Vivien Li. The two-hour chartered tour addressed the harbor's history (think horse burials on Spectacle Island and the unpleasant smells of pollution), reinvestment in the harbor's edges (from historic triumphs at Charleston's Navy Yard to recent successes like the destination dining at Liberty Wharf), and future opportunities (imagine East Boston's edge in five, ten, or twenty years).

"The harbor is one of the greatest opportunities for innovative, creative planning and design still left in the greater Boston area," says Sasaki managing director, Bob Culver. "The attention paid to this harbor by persons like Vivien Li ensures the preservation of the harbor as meaningful place to live, work, and play for generations to come."

Vivien also reinforced the connectivity of the harbor, talking about the 47 miles of Harborwalk that links the harbor's six surrounding neighborhoods. Sasaki landscape architect Peter Emerson called this part of the tour revelatory. "These places we think of as distinct—Charlestown, East Boston, the Islands—actually all share a common center: the harbor."

Understanding complexities of the harbor and appreciating its significance is a critical component of Sasaki's recent, ongoing, and future project work in the area, including the landscape design for the InterContinental Hotel flanking the Fort Point Channel, a vision plan for the city of Chelsea, and an urban district plan and redevelopment strategy for the Everett Lower Broadway District.

"It's gratifying to see how far the waterfront has come, starting from 1979 when Sasaki Associates prepared and oversaw the implementation of a master plan for the restoration of Boston's Long Wharf, to today's revitalization efforts in Boston neighborhoods such as Dorchester and East Boston, and in neighboring communities such as Chelsea, Everett, and Quincy. Boston Harbor has truly become common ground for everyone to enjoy," says Vivien.

Learn more about The Boston Harbor Association here and HarborWalk here.

Sasaki Receives 2012 ASLA Awards

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki is delighted to receive two professional awards this year from The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA)! The One Ohio State Framework Plan received an ASLA Award of Excellence and the Dead Sea Development Zone Detailed Master Plan received an ASLA Honor Award.

Together, the two projects illustrate Sasaki's wide-ranging abilities. "The cultural, climatic, programmatic, and physical contexts of Ohio State and the Dead Sea development are vastly different," says Dennis Pieprz, urban designer and design principal for the Dead Sea plan, who was recently selected as an honorary member of ASLA. "Yet both projects set forth a clear vision, supported by bold landscape ideas, rigorous, systematic, creative programming, and sustainable development."

The awards not only highlight the diverse contexts in which Sasaki works, but the firm's consistent dedication to excellence. "The unique configuration and synergy of each project team resulted in ideas that are truly innovative," says Ricardo Dumont, landscape architect and design principal for the Ohio State plan. "Both projects are simultaneously ambitious and implementable."

The awards ceremony will be held on Monday, October 1, in Phoenix as part of the ASLA Annual Meeting and Expo, where Sasaki will also be presenting several panels. Stay tuned for details!

Sasaki Charrette: Re-envisioning Chelsea

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Each summer a diverse group of interns joins Sasaki. This year's 11 interns came from undergraduate and graduate programs around the country including architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, interior design, and business. Underscoring the collaborative, multi-disciplinary nature of the firm, the interns began their experience by working together on a two-week design charrette for Chelsea, Massachusetts—an urban community two miles north of Boston that is undergoing an era of revitalization.

In encouraging renewal, one of the primary challenges the city faces is the Tobin Bridge, a major highway corridor that bisects the city. The Sasaki team sought opportunities to transform it into a hub of cultural and public activities that celebrate the history of Chelsea. Strategies include eliminating the psychological and physical barrier of the Tobin Bridge, addressing key safety issues of the bridge and surrounding area, and establishing walkable environments. The team hopes these concepts, defined in the Chelsea Vision Plan, will further revitalize Chelsea and reshape the present perception of the city.

The Chelsea Vision Plan addresses four areas of focus, accompanied by branding and implementation strategies. The first, overarching area defined by the team is the loop. Chelsea boasts of many amenities available to its residents, but these amenities are scattered throughout the city and lack comprehensive organization. The loop aims to connect these amenities to better serve both Chelsea residents and visitors.

The second area of focus is the bridge itself. Using visionary precedents, the team proposed a variety of options to transform the image of the Tobin Bridge, including a sculpture installation to envelop parts of the bridge. The team also recommended a suspended pedestrian causeway or "marsupial bridge" below the structure to connect pedestrians to Boston. Temporary site elements such as pallet parks—modular green space systems that can be implemented and subsequently removed if the space is needed for alternative purposes—are proposed for underutilized areas. The team also recommended unique lighting elements and farmers' markets in the interstitial spaces below the bridge.

The third area of focus is the gateway node to Mary O'Malley Park and Broadway Street. The team's design connects Mary O'Malley Park—one of Chelsea's best green spaces—with the rest of the city by blurring the edges that currently separate the park from the urban fabric.

The fourth area was dubbed Chelsea 2.0. It integrates short-term goals with a long-term vision for turning a large, underutilized section of the city into a 24/7 safe and active neighborhood.

Finally, the team created a branding concept for Chelsea. They developed the concept into a logo, a 2030 Chelsea Tour Map, a way-finding system, and a suggested community-wide event entitled Paint Your Community. These strategies act as unifying devices for the city and promote a better sense of community.

After the two-week charrette concluded, the interns presented to a panel of critics, including Chelsea's city manager, Jay Ash, and members of the Planning Department. This presentation was followed up by a final presentation to the Chelsea Planning Board and members of the public at Chelsea City Hall. "I've been looking at the Tobin Bridge my entire life and have never seen it the way the Sasaki interns saw it and envisioned it," said Jay Ash, "I'm excited about their work and anxious to follow up on their visions."

Read more about the issues and Sasaki's work in this Boston Globe article.

Team
Architecture
Nazli Ergani, Rhode Island School of Design
Stephanie Herring, University of South Florida
Corporate
Tim Peterson, University of Colorado
Interior Design
Lian Guojun, Iowa State University
Landscape Architecture
Mark Beer, Purdue University
Annie Hansel, UC Berkeley
Bradley Howe, University of Nebraska
Eunjee Kim, University of Pennsylvania
Janice Tung, Cornell University
Planning
Chris Kuschel, Harvard University
Caitlin Zacharias, University of Pennsylvania

James Miner profiled by BSA

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki managing principal James Miner is featured on the Boston Society of Architects website. Read about his current work and inspirations, as well as his thoughts on technology, Boston, and Ice Cube (yes, the rapper).

Campus Issues: Global Perspective

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Reality unites
Global trends in the development of higher education are not worldwide homogenous phenomena. Instead, they are understood in the unique context of varying regional realities and differing states of development. The ideation, positioning, and development of new universities in emerging nations is influenced by international benchmark institutions as well as issues like exponential demographic growth, consolidation of urbanization processes, and infrastructure upgrades.

The connections make the campus
The success of modern academic programs in international contexts lies with a faculty body that can implement the teaching program of a new university. This process includes growing, repatriating, and importing academic talents to execute academic mission. Other means to establish academic platforms include alliances between growing industries and universities to help customize academic curriculums, tailoring research programs to deploy a graduating workforce with direct impact on regional and national market realities. Affiliations and partnerships between established, transnational institutions and emerging universities benefit academic plans, allow for shared resources, and offer research, teaching, and scholarship opportunities for faculty and students.

A clean slate
The planning, design, and implementation of new universities bring the opportunity to revisit archetypical constructs, from the creation of the ideal classroom to the whole campus as a model learning environment. Free from the constraints set by historic processes of development and richly informed by the mission and culture of their institutions, brand new campuses offer the chance to develop true laboratories for learning and teaching closely aligned with operational, pedagogic, and social programs. Each campus aspect is customized to the new university's developing identity.

Quick Case Study:
University of Balamand, Mother Mary Dormitory Building; Tripoli, Lebanon
The residence hall is the first building implemented as part Sasaki's master plan for the University of Balamand. The structure is situated along a steep rock plateau sprinkled with young oak trees. Interconnected by a common building podium, the complex is a series of optimally oriented, self-contained dwelling towers that terrace along the site slope. Interior building platforms are coordinated with the exterior, creating terraces, courtyards, and roof gardens. This provides a sequence of spaces where program and landscape spiral around the topography. Both landscape and building materials are taken from the site itself. Local limestone is the predominant material and is featured in the preserved site's rock outcroppings, the dry-laid stone garden walls, the coarsely textured building retaining walls, and the smooth veneer of the higher building envelope.

Dennis Pieprz selected as honorary member of ASLA

Wed, 08 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The American Society for Landscape Architects (ALSA) has announced the selection of Sasaki principal Dennis Pieprz as an honorary member. Honorary membership recognizes notable service to the landscape architecture profession and is among the highest honors ASLA can bestow upon non-landscape architects. ASLA has inducted only 158 honorary members since its inception in 1899.

Dennis plays a leading role in Sasaki's International Studio and the planning and urban design practice. His national and international experience encompasses diverse project types including urban districts, new communities, campus environments, waterfronts, and urban regeneration. Dennis approaches his urban design work collaboratively, integrating landscape, planning, and architecture with a critical understanding of the forces that shape contemporary cities.

Sasaki principal Alan Ward, FASLA, nominated Dennis. "For almost three decades at Sasaki, Dennis has led significant planning and urban design projects around the world that have been organized around a clear and beautiful landscape framework," wrote Alan in his nominating letter. "Through his design work, contributions to design publications, public speaking engagements, and academic positions, he has brought forward and made visible the essential role that landscape has in making important and lasting public places in cities, campuses, and regions around the world."

Recent major project achievements for Dennis include leading the design effort for the award-winning Dead Sea vision plan in Jordan, as well as leading the team for Penn Connects—a vision plan for the University of Pennsylvania. "Working with my colleagues, teammates, and clients is a constant source of discovery and invention," says Dennis. "We learn from each other through the evolving design process. That is what inspires me."

Letters of support for Dennis came from University of Pennsylvania professor and dean emeritus Gary Hack, HASLA, SOM partner Philip Enquist, Sasaki managing principal Mark Dawson, FASLA, Sasaki principal Stephen Hamwey, HASLA, and Abu Dhabi vice president of development Hugo Blomfield. View the nominating letters here.

The presentation ceremony will take place at the ASLA Annual Meeting and EXPO in Phoenix on October 1.

Campus Issues: Resource Conservation

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sustainability? Coming right up
After years of concentrating only on energy reduction, campuses now adopt broad sustainability performance measures. With AASHE STARS, for example, the focus shifts to emphasize resource conservation. Wide-ranging performance goals at the beginning of facility programming and design combined with a more holistic approach to sustainability on campus leads to optimized building performance.

Measure twice, cut carbon
Reinforcing sustainability planning with measured results is a means of determining an initiative's success. Institutions ask planners and designers to identify the return on investment of sustainability initiatives, not only for economic impact, but also for the entire higher education enterprise. This requires increased use of metrics and performance measurements in early planning and design stages to set a baseline and establish measurable targets for expected results.

We have the tools
Governing boards and state legislatures demand business models that maximize use of campus resources to meet strategic goals. Environmental sustainability planning must engage the entire campus to link resources such as renewable energy, physical plant, finance, academic programs, and budget into an overall institutional strategy. Advanced technology tools gather, analyze, and integrate data in support of an ongoing planning process with integrated decision-making.

Quick Case Study:
Bates College, Dining Facilities; Lewiston, Maine
Sasaki's design for the Bates Dining Commons transformed the college culturally and spatially. The Commons is one of the first capital projects at Bates College in over a decade and reflects the college's commitment to environmentally responsible policies. The design team focused its efforts on reducing energy consumption, carefully selecting materials, and establishing an innovative waste management plan. The building is designed to achieve a minimum of LEED� Silver equivalence.

Dennis Pieprz presents "Cities of Learning" in Singapore

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

On July 19, Dennis Pieprz presented a lecture entitled "Cities of Learning: Planning and Design for the New University" at the Emerging Models of Planning Practices conference held at the Urban Redevelopment Authority headquarters in Singapore.

Dennis began by illustrating the dynamic forces of tertiary education enrollment on the global institutional stage. The primary consideration in education worldwide is the need for access in growing economies. "There is exponential growth in the number of people going into universities, especially in Asia and South America," says Dennis.

Dennis then explored major forces that influence his thinking in planning and designing new universities. These include key issues around 21st century pedagogy, universities as generators of innovation, the civic and spacial qualities of university environments, and new strategies for engaging the community in campus planning and design.

Dennis described the ideas embedded in three recent Sasaki master plans for the Khalifa University of Science Technology and Research at Masdar UAE, the new Singapore University of Technology and Design, and the Universidad del Istmo in Guatemala. Each of these projects underscore the forces and considerations that are essential in today's global context.

The conference was organized and sponsored by the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, The National University of Singapore, the Singapore Urban Redevelopment Authority, and the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Steve Brittan joins Sasaki as principal

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki Associates is delighted to announce the addition of Steve Brittan as principal of the firm. Steve will greatly enhance Sasaki's diverse leadership and contribute to the evolution of the nearly-60-year-old firm.

Over the past 25 years, Steve has collaborated with the design, real estate and technology sectors in the US and internationally. His projects range from academic, residential, and commercial buildings and environments. During his tenure at Burt Hill/Stantec, Steve oversaw projects such as the award-winning Macallen Condominium Residences in South Boston in partnership with Nader Terhani, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum expansion with Renzo Piano's Building Workshop, and the new UMass Amherst academic and classroom building currently under construction.

"Steve's background is exemplary," says Pablo Savid-Buteler, managing principal. "His experience in both architecture and urban design mirrors our integrated practice and adds a rich dimension to the international and urban studios in which he will work."

Steve has a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Cape Town and a Masters in Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He serves on the boards of ArchitectureBoston, Tufts Medical Center, Studio Art Centers International, Boston Architectural College, and the Commonwealth Covenant Fund. He regularly consults with innovative start-ups in sustainable design and technology sectors. Steve served as assistant director for Housing at Boston's Department of Neighborhood Development and the BRA. He has taught architecture and urban design at Harvard, Columbia University, BAC, and RISD.

Campus Issues: Changing Demographics

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Diverse student populations create a diverse campus
Future generations of college students will represent a racial generation gap as projections triple the number of Latinos and Asians in the United States over the next 40 years. In addition, a growing international student population on college and university campuses continues to trend upwards. With these diverse population groups comes the potential for different learning styles, student support needs, and access requirements. Increased student diversity on campus increases the need to understand how physical space will impact learning and development for future students.

Our future depends on access and affordability
Current and future economic implications paired with changing student demographics will influence future generations' ability to access a college education. The challenge ahead is to provide higher education for varied constituencies. Determining location, program, and design facilities that improve access and affordability means looking beyond the traditional definition of a campus.

Stay curious
The career era is over. Employees no longer find one job and stick to it. Today's workforce seeks to challenge itself with new skillsets, maintaining a competitive edge. This makes continuing education programs more valuable than ever. An overwhelming majority of adults in the U.S. agree that degree completion, advanced degrees, and continuing education make a candidate more attractive to potential employers.

Quick Case Study:
Lorain County Community College, iLoft; Elyria, Ohio
According to the Community College Survey of Student Engagement, "Personal interaction with faculty members strengthens students' connections to the college and helps them focus on their academic progress." Taking this into account, Sasaki surveyed the latest innovations in instructional spaces and worked extensively with LCCC to examine efficient and effective ways for students and faculty to interact. The team then collaborated with faculty and administrators to determine the types of spaces that best support teaching and learning. The resulting design arranges classrooms along both sides of the building, creating two flexible bars. The dividing walls easily relocate, enabling the college to resize classrooms as needed. Outside these classrooms are group study rooms that can be used as informal study spaces.

Innovative Engagement: Storming the Fort

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Located just inside the San Francisco Bay, Fort Mason Center is part of the National Park Service's Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Fort Mason has a rich history as a key point of deployment for US military supplies and personnel. The center has functioned as a unique community destination in San Francisco for over 35 years—hosting arts and cultural events, as well as programs in historic buildings and on the piers along the northern bay waterfront. The campus is located on a highly desirable, 13-acre waterfront site that is open to the public and offers unparalleled views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and Angel Island. The center currently has over 1.5 million visitors annually.

The Fort Mason Center design competition, called Fort Mason Center Revisited, sought creative and practical design concepts to further enliven and integrate the site.

Sasaki was one of the 20 firms invited to participate in the first round of the competition. While not selected for the second round of the competition, Sasaki's strategy offers an innovative interdisciplinary approach. The concept combines Bay Area thought leaders with designers and enables open community participation on-site. Entitled Storming the Fort, the submission outlines a process that is part public event, part think-tank, and part design camp—all of which would build off the dynamic energy of the site, generate positive community buzz, and enable grounded ideas.

The process exemplifies Sasaki's dedication to innovating public engagement. In contrast to the traditional methods of public engagement (think town hall meetings), Sasaki leverages new avenues. Dynamic events, social media, and other online tools engage a greater number of community members who also represent a wider range of demographics. And increased, diversified engagement ultimately elevates the quality and relevancy of the work.

The Fort Mason submission entry took advantage of the digital submission format set forth by the client. Sasaki created a website—www.stormingthefort.com—to showcase the strategy and process.

The team was led by Gina Ford, Isabel Zempel, Mark Dawson, and Alexis Canter of Sasaki's Urban Studio—an energized and interdisciplinary team dedicated to the creation of vitality in American cities. The team also included innovators across many disciplines, from design, art, history, culture, food, and ecology. Understanding the uniqueness of Bay Area culture—and the center itself as an embodiment of that flavor—Sasaki created the design team with San Francisco-based practices and collaborative ethic. The team included Douglas Burnham (Envelope A+D), Blaine Merker (Rebar), Ben Davis (Words, Pictures, Ideas), Jeffrey Tumlin (Nelson Nygaard), Kristina Hill (UC Berkley), Dominic Willsdon (SF MoMA), Matt Cohen (Off the Grid SF), Anya Fernald (Belcampo/Eat Real Fest), Andrew Wood (SF International Arts Festival), Stacy Kozakavich (Bay Area Historian), and Jay Turnbull (Page & Turnbull). In addition to the members of the design team, Sasaki engaged national experts to critique the work as it emerged and speak publicly at the center about their realm of expertise, categorized as such: History and Adaptation (Charles Birnbaum of the Cultural Landscape Foundation), Mobility (Mike Lydon of The Street Plans Collaborative), Land + Water (Ben Gilmartin of Diller, Scofidio Renfro), and Vision and Strategy (Tim Marshall of ETM Associates).

The Best of the Best at SMPS National Conference

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki marketing manager Liz Tawater recently found herself in San Francisco enjoying the city's art and coffee—and picking up some great AEC marketing tips and insights. Let's find out more about her trip and the purpose behind it.

What brought you to San Francisco?

The purpose of my visit was to attend Society for Marketing Professional Service's national conference, Build Business. This year's conference theme was Take Action and it brought 800 professional marketers under one roof to celebrate the role of the AEC marketer. It was a great opportunity to reflect on the year's successes and gain valuable insight into ways our firm can move forward to better market ourselves.

What were some of your conference favorites?

Keynote speaker Greg Bell delivered an excellent talk titled "Water the Bamboo: Unleash Your Potential." He discussed embracing and nurturing change as a means to staying energized about ideas and therefore better able to implement them. Sometimes you are ready to take action before others are and the process may take a while to see results, but it's worth the wait.

Presenter Christine Hollinden led an engaging session called "A Brand Is More than Green M&Ms: A Live Brand Review." She shared brand audits from two firms to demonstrate the value of such an audit. She presented her own road map for self-auditors, stressing the importance of interviewing all levels of employees, as well as surveying all types of clients, to best understand the current status of your firm's brand. Christine also discussed the importance of a simple elevator pitch.

The San Francisco chapter of SMPS also threw an awesome block party at 111 Minna Gallery. The band, beverages, and food truck catering were a wonderful welcome to the city. It was a fun networking event that felt appropriate to the city and its SMPS chapter.

Overall, I'd say it was a really effective, successful conference!

Sasaki participated in the SMPS Boston chapter's Marketer's ROC Awards and won several awards. How did Sasaki fare at the SMPS National Awards Gala?

It was an honor to be considered at the national level and inspiring to see how other teams present their work. It was clear that a lot of energy and dedication went into every submission. I am thrilled to announce that Sasaki took home two awards. We placed second in the Internal Communications category for Meet Market(ing), our comprehensive in-house exhibit and lecture series on our firm's marketing activities. Targeted at our design practitioners and firm leadership, Meet Market(ing) displayed our marketing team's knowledge and effort in every aspect of AEC marketing from public relations to social media to conference collateral. We also placed third in the Brochure category for our sustainability brochure. It was a labor of love that received valuable feedback from both SMPS Boston and SMPS National jurors. I am thrilled about both wins and the feedback. Our team looks forward to submitting new work next year!

Campus Issues: Flexible Design

Mon, 23 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Change is the only constant
Change is inevitable. The evolution of technology, communication systems, learning, pedagogy, demographics, culture, and modalities of the student body demand restructured curriculums as well as new academic and research programs. Change revises the requirements of academic support spaces, continually challenges the building infrastructure of campuses, and prompts the need for the adaptability of environments.

The modern building offers alternatives
A new breed of hybrid structures builds in flexibility by developing container-type spaces that users can modify according to their needs. Incubator spaces, space boundaries, room settings, furniture configurations, and teaching and media support adapt to changing programming demands, and are often controlled or scheduled by end users via portable devices. Careful integration of building systems and infrastructure enables long-term adaptability and creates alternative spaces and program configurations. Systems distribution, space modularity, and intelligent building controls are key contributing factors in the planning of flexible environments.

Adaptability guides development decisions
Successful campus plans map out growth and development scenarios that contemplate the adaptability of building and site structures. Aligning enrollment projections, faculty and staff growth, availability of funding, and operational resources with building and open space inventories is vital to developing campus environments. A phasing plan allows planners, designers, and stakeholders to assess a campus's structure, consider near- and long-term implementation strategies, and ultimately define a campus's future.

Quick Case Study:
University of Massachusetts, Venture Development Center; Boston, Massachusetts
A mixed-use incubator space that supports technology and life science entrepreneurs, the Venture Development Center elevates the University of Massachusetts's reputation in the sciences. The space features exquisite views to the Boston Harbor, creates an environment that fosters collaboration and experimentation among entrepreneurs, and provides crisp, ready-to-use workspaces. The VDC is a fully-equipped professional work environment that is flexible, transparent, and encourages collaboration.

Sasaki and SCUP Announce Inaugural Perry Chapman Prize

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The Hideo Sasaki Foundation, in collaboration with the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP), is pleased to announce the inaugural Perry Chapman Prize. The prize honors the intellectual contributions of M. Perry Chapman by awarding an individual $10,000 to pursue a particular research project in planning and design.

Chapman worked at Sasaki Associates from 1962 until 2009. Over this time, he came to be known as the firm's dean of campus planning. "Perry was a great mentor and his passion for higher education rubbed off on everyone he worked with," says Sasaki principal Dan Kenney, AICP, AIA. "I worked with Perry for over 35 years and I was always impressed with his inquisitive mind, his quest for new ideas, and commitment to excellence."

The prize will be awarded annually from 2012 through 2016. It is funded through the support of the Hideo Sasaki Foundation.

For this year's research topic and more information about the Perry Chapman Prize, please visit the SCUP website.

Campus Issues: Renewal and Regeneration

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Renovate or replace?
Many aging buildings cannot support their current mission and curriculum—let alone future programs—without significant renovation or replacement. In many instances it is not the most historic buildings on campus that present the greatest challenges, but rather buildings constructed in the 1950s through the 1980s. Facilities of this era have limited flexibility for reuse and antiquated building utility systems. Aging facilities present a challenge in meeting the growing need for technologically sophisticated spaces and environments that support new instructional and research programs. In some cases (particularly in the sciences) existing buildings cannot viably adapt to meet new program requirements, but can be successfully repurposed for other uses.

A meaningful sense of repurpose
As educational initiatives require more flexible and adaptable space, creative design solutions enable building and facility renewal to meet this need. Older buildings with well-structured, modular floor plans serve new uses through creative repurposing. Renewal and renovation is both an economic advantage and truly sustainable approach to development.

Ignoring deferred maintenance is expensive
In the rush to create new facilities for expanding needs over the past 25 years, many existing buildings went seriously neglected. Funding for maintenance is difficult to acquire because projects involving physical plant and equipment replacements generally are not attractive to donors. Some public institutions and their respective legislatures understand the growing need and designate separate funding streams exclusively for deferred maintenance and upgrades. Planning for public and private institutions must take these fiscal fluctuations into account, responding to them in a flexible yet responsible manner. Regeneration can reduce the backlog of deferred maintenance as buildings are upgraded through the process of repurposing.

Quick Case Study:
Drexel University, Daskalakis Athletic Center; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Drexel University Daskalakis Athletic Center is an integrated sports facility that forms a distinctive center for collegiate and community activity along Philadelphia's Market Street. The project reenergizes the old gymnasium by renovating its uses and expanding its footprint with a new, annexed recreation center. The renewed complex opens up the previously introverted structure of the gymnasium to the university and city surroundings, reinforcing Drexel's urban fa�ade along Market Street. The recreation center engages the street by offering several points of public access and transparency that provides views of the activity within. The DAC has become an activity hub for campus groups and student clubs, as well as a major destination for diverse community programs such as ROTC and public schools in West Philadelphia.

Sasaki and Buro Happold present zero net energy at SCUP 47

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki is proud to be at the Society for College Planning and Management's 47th Annual International Conference & Idea Marketplace in Chicago this week. On Tuesday afternoon, Bill Massey, an architectural principal at Sasaki, and Steve Baumgartner, a sustainability and strategic energy engineer at Buro Happold, will present on an approach to zero net energy strategies on today's college campuses.

Many institutions are experimenting with innovative ways to reduce their energy footprints. But are the most effective strategies necessarily the most innovative? Effective design strategies and technologies have been around longer than many people realize. Combining tried and true energy reduction methods with today's off-the-shelf technologies can create impressive results.

Bill and Steve will use a hypothetical 100,000-square-foot recreation center as a test case that employs a wide variety of sustainable strategies. The presentation shares the results from this case study, and evaluates each strategy's appropriateness, applicability, sustainable benefit, and cost. Some strategies are easily attainable at little-to-no cost, such as simple daylighting strategies and thoughtful envelope design. Others—like ground source heat pumps and photovoltaics—are extreme and potentially costly, but have big benefits and the potential for strong energy-saving returns.

"A mix of sustainable solutions that range in levels of investment makes creating a sustainable campus more attainable," says Bill. "By examining the costs and benefits of multiple strategies, we hope our audience at SCUP 47 will be able to better identify which strategies make the most sense for their unique campus context."

System, Strategy, Site: Des Moines

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This spring, Sasaki principal Gina Ford co-taught an urbanism design studio with David Karle, assistant professor of architecture at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln (UNL), as a part of Gina's role as the Hyde Chair of Excellence. The studio—called "System, Strategy, Site: Des Moines"—comprised undergraduate landscape architecture and architecture students and focused on a critical examination of the city of Des Moines.

The studio process mirrored recent research-driven design models, including Sasaki's Urban Fabric Project as well as David's ongoing urbanism research at UNL. Students worked in teams, examining Des Moines through a series of lenses—such as food, water, and time—and developed their own thesis, program, and design work to address the research and analysis findings. Students then showed their work at a week-long public exhibition at the Des Moines Botanical Center.

On June 29, Gina and David presented the findings of their studio to a cross-section of the community that included members of Des Moines's leadership, representatives of The Tomorrow Plan, collaborators from the Water Works Competition, thinkers from Iowa State University, and people from area design practices. The themes of the work resonated with the community members and echo much of the conversation happening through the country about the keys to sustainable urban environments, including:

Strong, Productive Neighborhoods
Three teams focused on strengthening Des Moines's urban neighborhoods. All three projects saw great potential in open space strategies as key to neighborhood revitalization. Strategies included multi-functional open space systems that layer recreation, industry, ecology, and food production in new and unexpected ways. Kevin Moran, the city parks manager and planner, appreciated the focus on the Eastside neighborhoods, saying, "There are several underutilized lots in this area and it would be great if they were developed in a new and innovative way."

A Diverse Downtown Experience
Another three teams explored means of enhancing the vitality of downtown Des Moines. Each project posited diversity of experience and connectivity as key to a healthy, vibrant urban core—whether through creating a physical framework for incubating new forms of industry downtown, re-imagining the city's skywalks as an expansive and integrated open space system, or making new programmatic connections between the downtown destinations. Erin Olson-Douglas, the Des Moines's urban designer, found the skywalk proposal exciting and innovative, saying "There is a real opportunity to transform the skywalks from just a transportation corridor into a city amenity."

A River Embraced
Two more teams re-examined the connections between forms of urban development, the floodplain and the Des Moines River. One team imagined a new type of neighborhood development in the floodplain—one that embraces flood dynamics in both open space strategy and building form. Another sought programmatic connections between the floodplain's greenway program and adjacent development. Randy Beavers, the CEO and general manager of Water Works, appreciated the focus on furthering the ongoing River Renaissance in the city, saying "I appreciate the attention given to connecting pedestrians to the river and exploring different riverfront housing types."

An overview of the UNL studio presentation is available here.

Pictured above: Des Moines Botanical Center

THE PARK CITY PRESENTS ITS NEW PARKS MASTER PLAN TO THE PUBLIC

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The best part of a master plan is its implementation. That's why Sasaki is proud to announce the launch of its Parks Master Plan for the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Join Mayor Bill Finch of the Park City, along with the Trust for Public Land and the Fairfield County Community Foundation on Monday, July 2, for a public presentation of the city's next generation of open space.

The success of the plan depends on strategic partnerships. Throughout the master plan process Sasaki sought partnership opportunities for the Park City and found the right fit in the Trust for Public Land. Working in American cities and suburbs to ensure access to safe outdoor environments, the Trust's Parks for People initiative aligned perfectly with Bridgeport's desire to increase urban vitality and livability through its park system. And now, thanks to the Fairfield County Community Foundation, the Trust is able to conduct a feasibility study that will allow the Trust to determine where to develop new open space and how to renovate existing parks.

Sasaki principal Jason Hellendrung is looking forward to today's launch. "It's been a pleasure to work with the Park City over the last year and an honor to be a part of the implementation process, especially now that the Trust and the FCCF are involved in the project. All the positive energy behind this effort is truly amazing."

The Parks Master Plan will improve existing parks in the system, better connect Bridgeport's neighborhoods, support economic development, and create a sustainable open space network with green infrastructure along the sound, rivers, and creeks.

CAMPUS ISSUES: CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Everything is connected
More than ever before, institutions realize their success is connected directly to the vitality and livability of their host community. Institutions that engage with their community to implement quality of life and economic improvements greatly benefit from the effects. Planners need to build connections beyond the programmatic and physical campus. A vibrant plan with strong opportunities for interaction comes from incorporating the community and its stakeholders in the design process.

No campus is an island
One way for colleges and universities to continue moving forward in today's challenging economy and complex political environment is to forge more public-private and intra-agency partnerships. These partnerships advance common institutional, community, and state goals in a cost-effective manner. Integrating community into the planning process leads to aligned priorities and beneficial strategic alliances.

Civic engagement improves higher education
Most institutional missions emphasize community engagement to foster students' understanding of the importance of contributing to society. Shared facilities are a growing institutional focus. Integrating community with campus planning efforts creates greater synergies and economies, resulting in increased civic engagement.

Quick Case Study:
Portland State University, District Framework Plan; Portland, Oregon
Portland State University and the city of Portland have a uniquely collaborative relationship—the city's mayor and the university's president work together to produce mutually beneficial results. Building on the relationship between the city and PSU, Sasaki's plan proposes a development strategy that leverages these partnerships in an integrated, mixed-use manner to guide the university's future growth within the University District. Uses are not only mixed, but shared. Transparency permeates the environment, making the academic and social life of the university visible to all.

HealthLine BRT Featured in Urban Land

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The most recent issue of Urban Land features Cleveland's Euclid Avenue HealthLine BRT, for which Sasaki provided planning and landscape architecture. The article examines the project in terms of the development it has helped to stimulate in the area, how it has helped to catalyze an economic development strategy for the city, and the role the HealthLine has played in changing people's minds about the link between transportation and jobs in Cleveland.

Sasaki principal Jason Hellendrung, who wrote the article and was project manager of the project, shares, "We are really excited about the results of the HealthLine project. Our design strategy was to 'think rail while using bus,' and the results follow suit: the HealthLine has achieved what many thought could only be done by rail. It demonstrates the potential for BRT—when coupled with thoughtful planning and design—to have a lasting, positive impact on the surrounding community."

View a PDF of the full article.

Campus Issues: Fiscal Reality

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Funding ebbs and flows
Colleges and universities are experiencing unpredictable fluctuations in capital funding, forcing institutions to make tough fiscal decisions. Top tier universities receive unpredictable donor funding which causes allocation issues. Funding for public institutions continues on a downward trend. In recent years, little to no appropriations are available for capital projects at public schools. No matter the fiscal challenge or opportunity, each institution must responsibly distribute available funds.

Innovative design increases opportunities for collaboration
Escalating programmatic, faculty, and student needs combined with scarce funding and increased scrutiny demands a heightened level of innovation and performance from institutions and their design teams. Innovating within tight cost and schedule deadlines is more than expected—it is essential.

Efficiency is imperative
Institutions recognize the need to better manage their space, finances, and staff. These factors—and their unpredictablity—demand new approaches to planning and facility management. Strategic planning, inventory evaluation, and capital improvement construction programs are no longer static documents. They are fluid, adaptable, modular, and fiscally responsive.

Quick Case Study:
The Ohio State University, One Ohio State Framework Plan; Columbus, Ohio
The One Ohio State Framework Plan redefines campus master planning. As Ohio State faces increasingly complex challenges— a sustainability imperative, reduced access to capital, an aging physical plant, and a vision centered on increased collaboration—the framework ensures that mission drives development of the physical environment. The plan establishes guiding principles, supports a long-term vision for the campus, defines projects that propel the university toward this vision, and utilizes an innovative decision support system to help ensure that planning integrates academic, strategic, financial, and physical considerations across the university.

Stephen Gray participates on ULI Panel in Fremont, California

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Last week, Sasaki urban design associate Stephen Gray participated on a Urban Land Institute (ULI) advisory panel that provided guidance on public realm improvements needed to create a 21st century business district in Fremont, California. The ULI team comprised a full spectrum of land use and real estate development disciplines in both private enterprise and public service.

Located between San Francisco and Oakland to the north and San Jose and Santa Clara to the south, Fremont is in the heart of Silicon Valley and has a tremendous opportunity to position itself to grow into a highly competitive job center for the region. In anticipation of a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) extension and the construction of a new station in the industrial Warm Spring area, the panel was charged with providing market and urban design advice for the 850-acre study area, which is already home to the Tesla Electric Vehicle Company among other R&D centers. The panel had three days to visit the site, conduct interviews, identify applicable best practice examples of jobs-focused Transit Oriented Development (TOD), and create a vision with strategies for implementation and phasing for the short- and mid-term outlook.

The panel proposed several strategies to maximize the effectiveness of the Warm Springs site area and to add momentum to an existing contemporary jobs center through public realm investments and a clear yet flexible mixed-use, transit-oriented development framework. The strategies include the creation of Innovation Way, an organizing spine reaching from the new station to Fremont Boulevard. This spine links three distinct squares and includes strategically positioned "innovation hubs" intended as creative flex spaces for collaboration among the various R&D companies. The framework also highlights the potential in transforming the strong diagonal of Old Warm Springs Road into a pedestrian and bike route with an iconic bridge breaching the east-west divide—a move which would increases internal pedestrian access, and provides regional access and visibility to the area by providing a second connection to Fremont Boulevard. Finally, the panel provided detailed market and financial analyses, proposed real estate development opportunities, balanced capital cost for infrastructure and branding strategies, assessed market viability, and identified key parcels to be secured for public purpose.

"This was an amazing experience," says Stephen. "It's incredible to see what can be accomplished in such a short time—kind of like compressing an entire project into just three days."

View the full presentation of the panel.

Moving Toward a Sustainable City

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Master Planning: Moving Toward a Sustainable City
July 9–10, 2012
9–5 pm at the Harvard GSD

In our modern, global society, improving the quality of urban life has become a shared responsibility. Are we equipped to respond to the environmental and economic challenges we face in creating sustainable urban environments? What are the environmental, economic, and social issues that are central to realizing sustainable solutions? At what scales must these issues be addressed? As design professionals, we must develop a broader understanding of the master planning skills needed to achieve sustainable urbanism.

Join Sasaki principals David Hirzel, Fred Merrill, and Dennis Pieprz at the Harvard Graduate School of Design as they lead a group of guest lecturers in presenting case studies ranging from new cities in emerging and urbanizing countries to mixed-use urban infill of American cities. Discussions will provide the perspective of planners, designers, economists, regulators, and developers as they work together to implement strategies to achieve sustainable urbanism. Participants will develop a broader understanding of how the master planner's skills and contributions fit within the overarching sustainability goal to achieve development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Be a part of this exciting and insightful executive education program by registering today! Participants will receive 14 units of AIA/CES, AICP/CM, or LA/CES credits.

Image: Dead Sea Development Zone Detailed Master Plan in Jordan

Sasaki Marketing team honored at SMPS Boston ROC Awards Gala

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000

On June 14, the Sasaki marketing team took home high honors from the annual Society of Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) Boston ROC Awards Gala. The program, which stands for Recognizing Outstanding Communications, showcases the best work produced by architectural, engineering, and construction management firms in New England. Sasaki placed first for:

Sasaki.com (Website category)
Sustainable Solutions brochure (Target Market category)
Urban Land Institute Fall Meeting Expo (Events category)

Sasaki also received an honorable mention in Event Marketing for Meet Market(ing)—an innovative internal event that highlighted the marketing team's diverse initiatives including branding standards, proposal framework, conferences, and social media.

Sasaki's marketing team includes Olga Bazhenova, Phil Bock, Julia Carlton, Terri Gray-Pearce, Katie Irwin, Emily Junker, Sarah Lambert, Mary Lewey, Michael Potter, Mallory Spector, Liz Rosenbaum, and Liz Tawater.

Sasaki's innovative tool for engagement on MIT CoLab Radio

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The Tomorrow Plan is an unprecedented regional planning effort focused on the future sustainable development of Greater Des Moines, Iowa. Our work on the project included the development of a unique online tool for community engagement. In this article on MIT CoLab Radio, Sasaki team members James Miner, Sarah Madden, and Hope Stege depict the innovative tool and the challenging issues it seeks to address.

Fiske Crowell Attends AASCB Sustainability Conference

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This week, Sasaki principal Fiske Crowell, FAIA, is attending the annual sustainability conference held by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AASCB).

"Business schools are emerging as one of the most fertile environments for researching and expanding the knowledge of sustainability in our culture," says Fiske, who is a regular attendee of the conference. While this notion is often focused on the instructional and curriculum development considerations necessary to educate students to work effectively in their future roles as business leaders, it is also an opportunity for the school to manifest its aspirations and commitment to sustainability in a visible—and operational—manner through the exhibition of green design strategies and energy conservation commitments within its new facility.

Sustainably designed campuses and facilities can be a recruitment tool for potential students, and an educational tool for existing students. "Tomorrow's leaders are interested in how well buildings use energy and materials in their construction and operation," says Fiske. "And our work goes even further—we address all aspects of the built environment to achieve sustainable solutions, from the earliest stages with master plans for new and existing communities to the complete design of buildings and landscapes."

Steve Hamwey Speaks at APTA Conference

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000

At the Rail Conference of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) in Dallas this week, Sasaki principal Steve Hamwey, PE, HASLA, spoke about the Charlotte Area Transit Blue Line. Steve and the design team explored the integration of station area planning and station design, which played a key role in the success of the project. The line has surpassed ridership projections by 65% since opening in 2007.

Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) used land use planning as a major criteria in developing the location and function of the 13 stations along the 9.6 mile route. The planning and design team worked closely with the city to develop realistic station area plans that focused on the best location, density, circulation, and infrastructure.

Steve highlighted how the station area plans were implemented using the key principles of access, station amenities, and transit oriented development potential.

"The positive news from the conference is that transit ridership is up 5% nationally," says Steve. "As planners and designers, we need to continue to integrate station areas and communicate with the end user—the transit rider!"

SmartPlan with Sasaki

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Bold and poetic design transforms the built environment and the lives of those who inhabit it. In this age of increasing connectivity and immense amounts of information, the question is how designers can leverage information to improve our craft. SmartPlan with Sasaki is a direct response to that challenge. SmartPlan encourages more informed, efficient, and ultimately better design. SmartPlan has revolutionized the urban design process by integrating the creativity and energy of the design team with the power of cutting-edge technology. SmartPlan is innovation in process—reflecting the very nature of innovation itself.

View a video illustrating SmartPlan's capabilities here:

SmartPlan enables Sasaki designers to assist developers and civic leaders in making informed decisions on design strategies for urban development projects. By linking spatial, financial, and environmental data, SmartPlan helps the project team test alternative scenarios and assess their physical, environmental, and fiscal impacts in real time. The planning phase of development at any scale requires that our clients make tough decisions around physical considerations such as parking and density, financial considerations such as revenue generation versus the provision of public amenities, and environmental considerations including stormwater runoff and carbon emissions. SmartPlan helps clients visualize and quantify the trade-offs inherent in these choices. We have utilized this innovative tool on a variety of planning and urban design engagements across the globe.

SmartPlan meets the "do more with less" expectation of today's world—in spite of diminished funding and accelerated project timelines. Its graphic and engaging interface allows greater client and stakeholder participation and understanding. Using SmartPlan, the project team collaborates with clients to visualize complex development concepts, quantify their impacts, and make informed decisions. Design iterations happen in a matter of hours and days, rather than weeks and months. Instead of telling the client which plan or scenario is best, the design team is able to show clients the impacts of major design decisions and test scenarios on the fly, resulting in a more efficient process and increased stakeholder trust and buy-in.

SmartPlan enables the design team to:

• Determine the best framework development by testing alternatives based on a range of density targets

• Test different uses and scenarios at the parcel level and identify opportunities for efficiency and shared resources

• Create a range of building programs that respond to development targets and constraints and assess each program's impacts according to a range of metrics

• Identify optimal phasing for project implementation

• Generate the parking requirements for each program use based on a series of informed assumptions

• Modify the development program within appropriate demand parameters to address traffic issues

• Measure the impacts that design changes will have on the financial attractiveness of the overall development scheme

• Balance the cost of public services with the taxes a proposed development will generate and the economic benefits it will create

Webster University newspaper features Sasaki

Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki principal Dan Kenney, AICP, AIA, participated in a Q&A for The Journal, Webster University's student publication. Sasaki recently created a master plan for the campus, which is currently undergoing final approval. In the article, Dan speaks about trends in campus design and how the master plan integrates these trends.

Read the full article here.

Phase I of the Smale Riverfront Park opens in Cincinnati

Fri, 25 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

On a lovely late-spring evening this past weekend, the Smale Riverfront Park in Cincinnati came alive with hundreds of people attending its opening celebration. The park is composed of an inviting mix of features—a new stage, promenades, interactive fountains, water cascades and curtains that display brilliant colors at night, a grove of trees, and the Black Brigade Memorial, which honors Civil War veterans. The celebration revealed the success of the design as people filled the walkways and both young and old played in the Main Street fountain. The fun-filled evening culminated with a fireworks display.

"It was a splendid moment for the city and community and for us to see how excited they all are," says Mark Dawson, FASLA, managing principal in charge of the project. "People were saying, 'This is just what Cincinnati needs.'" View an interview with Mark here.

Sasaki's design for the park embraces the river, honors Cincinnati's past, and invigorates the city's future. This first phase of the project connects the heart of downtown to the water and completes a necklace of open spaces on the river, linking to statewide recreation trail and bike systems. The second phase—currently in design—will include a transient boat landing and access to the river south of Main Street, as well as a carousel and additional interactive water features.

Sasaki receives AIA award for Dead Sea Master Plan

Thu, 24 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

On May 18, Sasaki was awarded a 2012 AIA Honor Award for the Dead Sea Development Zone Detailed Master Plan.

"The Dead Sea plan is a visionary project produced by a remarkable Sasaki team of talented planners and designers," says Dennis Pieprz, principal in charge of the project. "A key component of our work was to establish a long term public realm for citizens and visitors to engage with the sea, the community, and each other—all within a framework that is ecologically balanced, financially responsible, and forward-looking."

The jury was particularly impressed by the integration of the waterfront. "The development of a planning strategy that is structured around the movement of water demonstrates an ecological sensitivity," they stated.

Pictured above, the design team celebrates at the awards ceremony, which took place at the AIA 2012 National Convention and Design Exposition in Washington DC.

Sasaki Helps Reimagine Lower Broadway District in Everett

Wed, 23 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki is working closely with GLC Development Resources and the City of Everett on an urban district plan and redevelopment strategy for the Everett Lower Broadway District. The site—which currently consists of heavy industry, commercial, and residential properties—is essentially the gateway to the city, bordered by Boston and the Mystic River.

The study is focused on potential growth and development, improving existing residential and commercial uses within the district, and creating an inviting place to live and work. There is a strong emphasis on mixed-use development and maximizing the waterfront. The team is also working to locate an MBTA commuter rail station.

"We're thankful to work with Sasaki Associates to help guide us through this visioning project," says Mayor Carlo DeMaria, Jr. "Historically, this city has never walked through a master planning process, taking in opinions of residents and businesses to help clearly define our needs and goals. This is an exciting project for Everett and for our administration, especially as we try to reignite positive, job creating development along Lower Broadway."

Fred Merrill, AICP, the Sasaki principal leading the project, observes, "Lower Broadway offers extraordinary opportunities for mixed-use, residential and commercial redevelopment projects that will improve this important gateway location to Everett from Boston."

In the coming months, a series of informational and public hearings will help illuminate and define needs and challenges of the Lower Broadway area, including a comprehensive study of the physical, social, and economic issues concerning the popular entryway into the city.

Planning Magazine features Sasaki's interdisciplinary practice

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki is delighted to be featured in the April issue of the APA's Planning magazine. The article, "Setting the Standard for Interdisciplinary Practice," explores the differentiators that led to Sasaki's 2012 National Planning Excellence firm award from the APA.

"Sasaki's continued legacy of interdisciplinary design, focus on understanding our clients' issues, and innovative strategies set us apart and create value," says managing principal James Miner. "The award is a great honor and we are excited about the opportunity it has afforded us to share our work and the philosophy behind it with a wider audience."

Download the full article here.

In addition to the article, the APA also produced a short video overview of the firm, which was screened at the awards ceremony.

Water Work: Cities, Rivers, and Rising Water

Mon, 07 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Gina Ford and Laura Gornowski Marett are landscape architects who practice in Sasaki's Urban Studio, an interdisciplinary and energized team of collaborators focused on the vitality of American urban environments. Much of their recent work has involved examining urban waterfronts and creating strategies to reclaim these often brownfield environments for public use and access, repurpose open space for the service of disadvantaged communities, re-establish riparian corridors and habitats, and withstand the forces of increasingly common floodwaters.

This spring, Gina and Laura took part in the Ground+Water exhibition and lecture series at the Rhode Island School of Design. Their lecture—Water Work—examines a sequence of recent projects focused on the role of rivers in the American Midwest. The work reveals a compelling accumulation of experience, from disaster and recovery to resilience and regeneration.

Introduction: Sasaki Practice
Water Work: Cities and Rising Water (starts at 8:05)
Cedar Rapids Flood Recovery (starts at 12:33)
Chicago Riverwalk (starts at 25:35)
Des Moines Water Works Park (starts at 36:17)

Dick Galehouse presents ULI panel on Kai Tak

Thu, 03 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This coming Monday, Sasaki principal Dick Galehouse, AICP, AIA, will be speaking at the Columbia Museum of Art about the ULI Advisory Services Panel for the Kai Tak Development in Hong Kong.

Kai Tak is the site of the former airport for Hong Kong for which the government has developed a master plan to achieve a vibrant, mixed-use district. An international panel of seven ULI members—assembled under the chairmanship of Jeremy Newsum—was asked to review the plan the and respond to a series of questions about the implementation. The panelists were organized under a Placemakers Group, Economics Group, and City Leadership Group. Dick served in the Placemakers Group, which assessed the master plan the Development Bureau of the Hong Kong government had prepared and made recommendations to enhance the site's attractiveness for expansion of Hong Kong's financial center.

The panel proposed several strategies to maximize the effectiveness of the Kai Tak master plan, including a sustainable stormwater management system, the creation of a large, world-class central park, increased pedestrian access to the waterfront, reorganization of real estate development parcels, market and financial analysis of proposed real estate development, balanced capital cost for infrastructure, and branding strategies.

The panel, the first of its kind in Asia, took place in December 2011. Following the panel's presentation of findings to Development Bureau, Secretary for Development Carrie Lam expressed her desire to visit the US with her senior staff to view major cities and noteworthy mixed-use projects.

The event is free and open to the public. Access registration information here.

Sasaki elects Isabel Zempel and Katia Lucic as principals

Tue, 01 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki is delighted to announce the election of Katia Lucic and Isabel Zempel as principals of the firm. These two bright, accomplished women greatly will enhance Sasaki's diverse firm leadership and contribute to the evolution of the firm. Their election exemplifies Sasaki's commitment to dynamic and resilient leadership, which has been a differentiator of the firm since its founding.

Since joining Sasaki in 1996, Katia has been directly involved in some of Sasaki's most memorable projects, resulting in award-winning work in both planning and architecture. Katia focuses on design and implementation with particular attention to detailing and materiality. Her work is characterized by strong integration within the surroundings and she consistently explores opportunities in the transition zones between the buildings and open spaces. "Professional excellence is Katia's hallmark," says Vinicius Gorgati, managing principal. "She dedicates herself to intellectual pursuits through creative thinking and a deep attention to realizing project goals. She pursues ideas with focus and rigor, resulting in work of beauty and integrity. Fundamentally, her work ethic is predicated on trust and collaboration, the foundations for our collective practice at Sasaki."

Katia's recent collaborations in the Campus Studio include the East Baltimore Urban Mixed-Use District, multiple projects at Lorain Community College, the University of Buffalo Heart of the Campus project, and the Ohio State South High Rises and landscape. Katia is a member of the Boston Society of Architects and the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. She holds a Masters of Architecture from McGill University and a Bachelor's degree from the University of Zagreb, Croatia.

Isabel joined Sasaki in 2005 and has taken on increasingly responsible roles as a landscape architect specializing in urban designs, working across disciplines on international and national projects. Isabel has a passion for contemporary and bold design expression of landscapes where culture, identity, architecture, engineering, and poetry form unique concepts within the urban context of her work. She is an accomplished design initiator with a consistent eye toward collaboration and integration of art and allied disciplines—on her projects, she collaborates frequently with artists and architects. "Isabel has the ability to interrupt design intuitively, balancing environmental and programmatic demands while expressing design in a contemporary landscape form," says Mark Dawson, managing principal. "You clearly can see her intellect, awareness, and passion for the arts in her landscape expression. Isabel's ability to work collaboratively with architects and clients—gaining their confidence and trust—is a strength and something she does with ease. She is truly a wonderful addition to the leadership team at Sasaki."

Isabel has made strong contributions to many notable Sasaki projects, including the 798 Arts District, Arzanah Master Plan, Hongxing Oceanfront Community, Mina Zayed Waterfront Pier, KUSTAR New University, the National Creative Cluster in Beijing, Jiading Central Park, the Brickell Financial Avenue in Miami, and the Knoxville Museum of Art. Isabel frequently is involved in academic positions as a Design Critic for the Harvard Graduate School of Design and the Rhode Island School of Design, where she also taught her own design studio. She received her education at the Technical University of Osnabrueck and practiced in Germany for several years.

Sasaki Plan Selected for the Beijing National Creative Cluster

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki's recently completed master plan for the National Creative Cluster in Beijing has been selected as the preferred scheme for development of the project. Located adjacent to the Songzhuang Arts District, NCC is planned as one of the city's most significant upcoming developments. The Sasaki plan establishes NCC as a new knowledge hub for the city, integrating incubator and start-up companies with other creative industries into a mixed-use district designed to foster innovation and fresh ideas. Sasaki will continue to be involved in the project by working closely with the client and the Beijing Planning Institute to create a detailed control plan for the development.

The design team presented to an expert panel in Beijing on April 9, and was recently notified of the decision to move forward with the Sasaki plan. "The National Creative Cluster symbolizes Beijing's transition from a 'Made in China' to a 'Designed in China' economy," says Michael Grove, principal on the project. "We are excited to help design a new district that is explicitly focused on knowledge, creativity, and innovation and that will help to strengthen the city's competitive edge in China and in the region."

Further participation in the development of NCC is an exciting step as Sasaki continues to strengthen its presence in China. The firm opened an office in Shanghai this year to support ongoing and future projects.

Michael Grove speaks at Brown University

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

On Friday, April 20, Sasaki principal Michael Grove gave a lecture at Brown University as part of the Urban Studies Program's "Year of China" events. Entitled "Renew, Reinterpret, Reinvent," Michael illustrated Beijing's efforts to transform the capital into a world-class hub for culture, creativity, and the arts. Using the 798 Arts District, the Gonghuacheng Technology District, and the National Creative Cluster as project examples, Michael showed Beijing's progress towards creating innovative, mixed-use projects that integrate transit, culture, and ecology. After the lecture, Michael also participated in a lunch discussion with the Urban Studies students, which included a lively conversation about the decline of manufacturing cities and the rise of the Asian metropolis.

Back in the Boston Game

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The Sunday Boston Herald features an illuminating article on Sasaki and our relationship with the Greater Boston and New England region markets. We are proud to recommit the full breadth of our services to Greater Boston, engaging in diverse and innovative planning and design work with local communities. By fostering our local presence and simultaneously strengthening our international practice, our clients in Boston and the world beyond benefit from mutually enriched experience and expertise.

Read the full article here.

Sacred Heart University dedicates new Student Commons

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

On April 13, Sacred Heart University dedicated the new Sasaki-designed student commons to Linda E. McMahon, trustee and longtime friend of the university. The Sasaki team was proud to be part of the dedication of this contemporary, light-filled center that will become an active hub of student activity on campus.

"The building and landscape promote a strong link between recreation and residential areas and the main academic quadrangle," says Vinicius Gorgati, principal in charge of the project. "The design also reflects the university's commitment to quality education and a vibrant student life experience on campus."

The commons is a part of a sequence of buildings and a network of open spaces designed by Sasaki that includes the Great Green, the award-winning chapel, and the John F. Welch College of Business and the Isabelle Farrington College of Education, which is slated for completion in 2013.

Dennis Pieprz speaks at SCUT School of Architecture

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Dennis Pieprz recently presented the lecture "Sasaki: Recent Works in Urban Design" at the South China University of Technology School of Architecture in Guangzhou, China. The School of Architecture, with 79 years of history, is one of the earliest schools established at the university and is considered one of the leading planning and design schools in China.

Dennis spoke about a wide range of projects addressing themes dealing with the complexity of experience in urban life. He discussed the recently competed Wilmington Waterfront Park in Los Angeles, a vision plan for the Dead Sea in Jordan, a new mixed use research district in Seoul, Korea, and a number of new university projects in Asia and South America.

What does innovation city mean to you?

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Last night Boston-area thought leaders from diverse industries came together to discuss the idea of an innovation city. What is it? And how can planning and design intersect with—and help propel—leading area industries to ensure the future of Boston as an innovation city?

The Innovation City panel discussion was hosted by Sasaki Associates, Hacin + Associates, and the Boston Society of Architects. In conjunction with the event, we produced Innovation City—a video exploring these ideas through interviews with other thought leaders around Boston. The video kicked off the panel, but we also hope that it will help catalyze a continued conversation throughout the Boston community. Please watch, share, and send your comments and ideas to innovate@sasaki.com!

A huge thank you to our insightful panelists:
Assaf Biderman, Associate Director, MIT SENSEable Cities Laboratory
Jennifer Chayes, Managing Director and Distinguished Scientist, Microsoft New England
Bryan Koop, Senior Vice President, Boston Properties
Lara Lee, Chief Innovation and Operating Officer, Continuum
Jill Medvedow, Ellen Matilda Poss Director, Institute of Contemporary Art
Kairos Shen, Director of Planning, Boston Redevelopment Authority
Kathy West, Vice President of Real Estate and Facilities, Partners HealthCare

And to our esteemed video participants:
Dawn Barrett, President, Massachusetts College of Art & Design
Barry Bluestone, Founding Director, Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy
Sho-Ping Chin, FAIA, LEED AP, Principal, Payette
Eric H�weler + Meejin Yoon, Principals, H�weler + Yoon Architecture
Dennis Pieprz, Principal, Sasaki Associates
Tim Rowe, Founder and CEO, Cambridge Innovation Center
Leonard A. Schlesinger, President, Babson College
Daniel St. Clair, Managing Director, Investment and Development, Spaulding & Slye
George Thrush, FAIA, Director of the School of Architecture, Northeastern University

Innovative Planning: Game-Changing Engagement

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the final installment of our posts illustrating Sasaki's innovative approach to planning in conjunction with APA 2012 National Planning Conference and Sasaki's receipt of the association's National Planning Excellence Award for a Planning Firm! Today, we'd like to share a game-changing tool we developed for The Tomorrow Plan—a two-year regional planning process in Greater Des Moines, Iowa. The Tomorrow Plan centers around a geoanalytic scenario modeling process, in which several possible scenarios form the basis for discussion about the future. Sasaki is lead consultant for the project, which is funded by a regional livability grant from HUD.

Sasaki developed a dynamic, game-like tool that pushes the boundaries of technology and engagement in planning. Called Design My DSM, the tool takes an innovative, participatory approach—allowing citizen stakeholders to have direct impacts on the design of an upcoming scenario. The goal is to illuminate overlapping interests among stakeholders and to encourage people to think regionally before strategizing locally.

The interdisciplinary Sasaki team—made up of urban planners, visual and interaction designers, and web developers—started with three big ideas:

1. Most planning tools let consist of pre-made maps or research material. How could we design a fun interface that is all about the user, how planning impacts them, and what they want to see in the future?

2. Getting people engaged and excited about the planning process can be hard. Why don't we design a tool that is playful, focused on education, and designed to elevate the discussion of ideas?

3. Crowdsourcing and participatory planning techniques are the next frontier for planning. What if we used the dynamic tool to directly feed users' input into a brand-new scenario?

One of the ongoing challenges for planning is how to build trust among diverse stakeholder interest, and how to create an incentive to participate in the planning process. Design My DSM uses a playful approach to lower the stakes, making it easy for people to explore how their personal preferences relate to regional benefits—and to begin to see overlapping interests.

Sasaki has developed many different types of dynamic tools over the years, and the common theme is that all are designed to help inform decision-making. Our goal is to make engagement tools that can have a positive impact on public discourse. And the best way we know how to do that is to make it personal, and make it fun.

Check out Design My DSM here!

Curious about the development process of Design My DSM? Check out this behind-the-scenes post on The Tomorrow Plan Exchange.

Innovative Planning: Consensus-building in Bridgeport

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

For the second installment of our posts illustrating Sasaki's innovative approach to planning in conjunction with the APA 2012 National Planning Conference and Sasaki's receipt of the association's National Planning Excellence Award for a Planning Firm, we'd like to explore the application of some of Sasaki's tools to a parks master plan in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The process underscores the fine balance Sasaki strikes between technology and personal interaction in consensus-building.

The city's waterfront location on the Long Island Sound and its many neighborhood parks are critical assets for Bridgeport's revitalization. Thanks to the support of a mayor and city staff who embrace the importance of open space to urban sustainability, Sasaki was engaged to complete a parks master plan for the city to build on the recently completed BGreen 2020 sustainability plan.

A unifying tenet of the plan is that parks are for people. Ultimately, the plan is only successful if it increases citizens' access and enjoyment of the parks. Bridgeport's parks are diverse in scale and amenity, and its list of users is equally broad. By combining innovative technology tools with tried-and-true, face-to-face outreach, the Sasaki team developed a full tool-kit of innovative strategies to reach all user types, and ensured the plan responded to each of their needs.

In a recent interview on Co.Design, RISD president John Maeda characterizes the tension between technology and personal interaction in consensus-building as thus: Technology is like spray glue—it covers everything quickly, evenly, and successfully. Face-to-face interaction is like Elmer's glue—it creates a reliable joint, but is wet, messy, and un-scalable. Maeda's verdict is that we need both spray glue and old-fashioned Elmer's—and Sasaki's approach in Bridgeport does just that.

Sasaki's in-house digital strategists developed an interactive, digital mapping survey. This map was launched on the city's website and distributed by neighborhood leaders, and enabled the team to gather important input from hundreds of citizens. This broad outreach was complemented by more intimate activities such as games with summer youth campers at Seaside Beach. Technology and personal interaction combined when the team conducted video interviews in the parks with park users. The video technology brought their voices and faces to life for a broader audience, enriching the traditional stakeholder interview process.

"As we continue to evolve and improve our digital tools, we need to keep thinking about how to closely integrate personal interaction with technology," says Sasaki designer Brie Hensold. "The most powerful insights come from a combination of innovation and old-fashioned conversation."

Innovative Planning: SmartPlan

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki's planners are at the forefront of the discipline. Over the next few days, we'd like to share some of the tools, projects, and perspectives that illustrate Sasaki's innovative approach to planning in conjunction with APA 2012 National Planning Conference in Los Angeles this week and Sasaki's receipt of the association's National Planning Excellence Award for a Planning Firm.

Design and development in a complex, evolving economic environment requires appropriate and accurate tools to measure value. One area in which Sasaki is advancing the planning practice is in the development and application of new technologies that make the planning process more tangible, efficient, and effective.

One of the dynamic planning and urban design tools we have developed in-house is called SmartPlan, which we created to help project teams and civic leaders make more informed decisions on design strategies by dynamically linking spatial, financial, and environmental data together with a visual interface. Employing this technology in the design process enables the team to test changes to development programs and assess, in real time, the resulting impacts on a variety of different metrics including, parking demand, traffic generation, project revenue, fiscal impact, and environmental impacts such as storm water runoff. The SmartPlan software allows for quick study of multiple alternatives with complex variables—simplifying the visualization and analysis of both value and impact.

"SmartPlan is about more than the technology itself," says managing principal James N. Miner, AICP. "The combination of this innovative software and our insightful, intuitive planners and designers driving it is what truly renders our plans powerful and transformational. It also means that we can collaborate with our clients and their stakeholders in a way that was not possible until now."

Download the SmartPlan PDF here.

Alexis Canter speaks at ASLA, AIA, and APA meeting in Iowa

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

At the Iowa ASLA, AIA, and APA spring conference on April 10, Sasaki landscape designer Alexis Canter presented on a panel titled The Water Story: A Panel Discussion Des Moines Waterworks Parkitecture Competition.

Alexis spoke about the Sasaki team's winning concept for the Water Works Parkitecture competition, which focused on integrating innovative programming and ecological restoration into the site's working water infrastructure. She also discussed the competition entry's innovative approach: telling the story through an accessible and graphic park guidebook. For more information, visit the project website here.

Alexis also addressed the role of competitions within Sasaki's Urban Studio practice and the positive benefits achieved through participating in the process.

The panel represents an exciting continuation of Sasaki's partnership with Des Moines Water Works and Iowa State University Department of Landscape Architecture. Other panel participants included Mike Bell (RDG Planning and Design), Ted Corrigan (Director of Water Distribution for Des Moines Water Works), Matthew Gordy (Assistant Professor at Iowa State University Department of Landscape Architecture), and Carl Rogers (Associate Professor at Iowa State University Department of Landscape Architecture).

Dennis Pieprz and Michael Grove lecture at Wuhan University

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki principals Dennis Pieprz and Michael Grove spoke at Wuhan University on April 5 and 6, joining other thought leaders—including Michael Dennis from MIT, Roger Trancik from Cornell, and Zhu Wenyi from Tsinghua—on the subjects of campus planning and urban design.

Highlighting China's long history of providing world-class education, Dennis focused on how campus planning is critical in helping to define the mission and pedagogy of a university. Examples included Sasaki's work at Penn, KUSTAR, and the Singapore University of Technology and Design. Bringing the conversation back to China, Michael's presentation addressed the need to integrate local culture and ecological considerations into urban design projects. Sasaki projects in Jinan and Beijing illustrated how thoughtful design can establish a strong sense of place and imbue a region-specific identity for China's rapidly expanding cities.

Sasaki participates in exhibition and lecture series at RISD

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Opened April 2, the Ground+Water exhibition and lecture series at the Rhode Island School of Design features recent work of Sasaki's urban studio. With a focus on urban waterfronts, the exhibit features a series of strategies to reclaim these often brownﬁeld environments for public use and access, repurpose open space for the service of disadvantaged communities, re-establish riparian corridors and habitats, and withstand the forces of increasingly common ﬂoodwaters. A sequence of recent projects focused on the role of rivers in the American Midwest. The work reveals an accumulation of experience, from disaster and recovery to resilience and regeneration, and will be explored in a lecture by Sasaki principal Gina Ford and landscape architect Laura Gornowski Marett at RISD on April 17.

For more information about the lecture, visit the event listing here.

Sasaki's Wilmington Waterfront Park lands the cover of LAM

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki is delighted that Wilmington Waterfront Park—the first project to be fully implemented from Sasaki's master plan for the Port of Los Angeles—is featured on the cover of Landscape Architecture Magazine this month. Inside, the corresponding the article, "Reparations Become a Park," features rich and expressive imagery. "A great accomplishment—the cover of LAM!" says Steve Hamwey, PE, HASLA, principal in charge of the project. "Congrats to the port, the community, and the Sasaki team."

Built on a 30-acre brownfield site, the award-winning urban park serves as a public amenity by doubling the amount of open space in the community while also buffering the Wilmington residents from the extensive port operations to the south. Sasaki is proud to be a part of this intervention and the positive impact it has had—and will continue to have—on the community.

Download a PDF of the article.

CPM features landscape design for Sacred Heart Chapel

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki's landscape design for the Sacred Heart University Chapel of the Holy Spirit is featured on the cover of the March issue of College Planning & Management. Sasaki provided both architecture and landscape architecture for the chapel, resulting in a fully integrated design. Sasaki's projects on campus also include the student commons—opening this month—and the John F. Welch College of Business and Isabelle Farrington College of Education, which is scheduled to start construction in the fall of 2013.

Download a PDF of the article.

Sasaki Designer Colin Booth Speaks at TEDx tonight

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The theme of the April 6 TEDxMassCollegeofArtandDesign conference is activism in art and design. In his talk "Crisis, Idealism, and Getting Things Done," Colin will give the perspective of a young, idealistic architect who entered the field because he found design to be a powerful tool for positive change on all scales. Through his deep involvement with the Boston Architectural College community and self-prescribed focus on sustainable design within their architecture program, Colin has organized and led a series of projects that involved seven local universities and have had lasting impacts on curricula and pedagogy.

"I hope to effectively make the point that for all of our transformative accomplishments, it should be kept in the context of the global problems we find ourselves in," shares Colin. "Things need to change enormously, and right now. It's a not a question of whether we can avoid things like climate change—we can't, we're too late already. The question is whether we can collectively make the choice to live sustainably before our impacts are so severe that reality catches up with us and forces a much more difficult existence. The conversation should never for a moment drift away from the issue of basic survival—in policy, business, design, and art. There is no better way to keep us all focused."

Dan Kenney serves as panelist at Trespa roundtable

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki principal Dan Kenney recently participated in a three-hour roundtable as a part of the Trespa Cutting-Edge Campuses program in Manhattan. The event brought together leading designers, who shape the landscape of colleges and universities across the United States, to explore ideas regarding campus planning, design, and programming in the 21st century.

"Because academic goals have physical implications, strategic planning and space programming are now more important than ever in making decisions about capital allocation and development," shares Dan. "Master plans can no longer survive as static documents. They must be fluid strategies that respond and adapt to change."

View the article and video overview of the roundtable via School Construction News here.

Sasaki Sports presents on sports facilities design at NIRSA

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Friday morning at the 2012 NIRSA conference in Tampa, Bill Massey and Nancy Freedman delivered engaging presentations on sharing space and sustainability in sports facilities design.

The duo first spoke about maximizing the shared, flexible spaces in the design of sports facilities. "Such spaces not only increase the value of each square foot, but in fact enhance the student life experience by promoting interaction and socialization within environments designed for fitness and competition," says Nancy.

Bill and Nancy also spoke about designing a zero net energy recreation center—a conceptual case study by Sasaki that explores the design methods that would make such a facility possible. "The needs of a rec facility—particularly in regards to air temperature control and ventilation—makes a zero net energy building uniquely challenging to design," shares Bill. "But by integrating multiple strategies, our study provides a framework for making it possible."

2012 Hideo Sasaki Distinguished Visiting Critics Exhibition opens

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Don't miss the Buildings that Heal—Toward an Architecture (of Impact) exhibition by Mass Design Group at the BAC. Mass Design Group, this spring's Hideo Sasaki Distinguished Visiting Critic at the BAC, is a not-for-profit firm that creates well-built environments using appropriate design, local investment, and innovation to break the cycle of poverty.

Each spring the BAC invites the Hideo Sasaki Distinguished Visiting Critics to exhibit work, lecture, and conduct an advanced studio for those seeking to study with highly accomplished practitioners who foster the concepts of collaboration and integration.

The show opens today and runs through May 6 in the McCormick Gallery on Newbury Street.

Victor Eskinazi is design critic for Tianjin Studio at MIT

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki urban designer Victor Eskinazi is a design critic for the Tianjin Studio this semester at MIT's School of Architecture and Planning. The interdisciplinary studio, lead by Professor Tunney Lee, focuses on sustainability and future residential developments in Tianjin, China, a burgeoning metropolis of 12 million people 100 kilometers from Beijing. Students are creating a design and planning framework that emphasizes four interrelated systems: housing, environment, mobility, and community facilities.

The course is part of a long-standing relationship between MIT and Vanke China, the largest real estate development company in China. Over the years, the studio has provided valuable insight on how to tackle regional ecology and infrastructural systems, as well as social issues that usually extrapolate beyond specific site boundaries.

Victor shares, "The studio is a great opportunity for designers and planners to work together at the intersection of their disciplines to provide the sponsor with practical scenarios that elevate the current approach to development in China."

Boston Globe features H+A Boston innovation center design

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

On Tuesday City of Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino will unveil plans for a $5.5 million innovation center in the Seaport District—also known as the Innovation District, which seeks to foster creative growth through a robust, concentrated urban ecosystem. The center, designed by Hacin + Associates, will provide a unique space for collaboration and events.

Sasaki principal and Hacin + Associates president David Hacin shares, "The Boston Innovation Center has been conceived as a flexible and collaborative workspace and meeting environment for the emerging innovation community in Boston's Seaport. The eventual new restaurant opens directly to the new public parks and activity along the waterfront and creates a new and unique destination for people to engage with this rapidly changing area. The building's dynamic form, industrial materiality, and state-of-the-art graphic displays recall the industrial history of the harbor's past and the promise of Boston's future."

Read the full Boston Globe article about the center here.

Sasaki attends EDGE conference in New Delhi, India

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This month Romil Sheth, urban designer, and Caitlyn Clauson, strategic campus planner, attended the EDGE Conference in New Delhi, India. The conference focused on emerging directions in global education with an emphasis on creating strategic and planning frameworks for new universities in India.

Romil presented at the conference on a panel titled "Creating Campuses for Dynamic Learning," which focused on relationships between pedagogy and physical design and the importance of creating an integrated, student-oriented campus environment. Using case studies from Sasaki's work at Singapore University of Technology and Design and the Universidad del Istmo, Guatemala (pictured), Romil presented a case for creating dynamic campus environments with pedagogical structures that break down traditional silos of learning by introducing buildings and spaces—indoor and outdoor—that facilitate both structured and spontaneous group and peer learning.

Metro magazine covers BRT research meeting at Duke

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

On March 8, Sasaki principal Jason Hellendrung participated in a brainstorming meeting about how to build the BRT industry as an assertive constituency. The meeting was held through Duke University's Center on Globalization, Governance, and Competitiveness and funded by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation.

"BRTs have a great track record around the world for very effectively moving people in cities," says Jason. "The HealthLine BRT in Cleveland is one of the best examples in the United States and has really dispelled the notion that BRT can't attract choice riders or catalyze economic development. BRT is a much more financially viable option for many small or medium-sized cities, as well as larger cities. The future for BRT in the US is red hot!"

Metro Magazine has published an article about the meeting, highlighting takeaways from the event.

Read the full Metro article here.

Tracy Dupont presents a fresh take on FF&E at ACUI

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The annual ACUI conference is being held this week in Boston and attendees are enjoying uncharacteristically sunny skies and spring-like temperatures! On Monday, Sasaki senior associate Tracy Dupont presented with Christine DePalma, assistant campus planner University of Massachusetts Boston, about FF&E—furniture, fixtures, and equipment. Tracy and Christine offered fresh perspectives in their talk, titled "Fabulous, Functional, and Eco-friendly." The session included insights on how to navigate the furniture selection process, emphasizing the importance of a solid relationship between the client institution and the designer.

"Furniture can make or break your space," says Tracy. "With so many things to consider during the FF&E process—codes, specifications, finishes, sustainability—communication between campus and designer is key."

Case studies from Sasaki's work at Northeastern University, Valparaiso University, Slippery Rock University, and the University of Massachusetts at Boston and Amherst helped illustrate the topic.

Robert L. Culver Joins Sasaki as Managing Director

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki is pleased to announce the addition of Robert L. Culver to the firm as a managing director. In this role, Bob will work closely with firm leaders on issues of strategy, marketing, and business development. His efforts will further advance the firm's ability to serve its academic, urban, and commercial clients. Additionally, Bob's position will allow him to work directly with Sasaki's clients on issues of overall strategy, project management, and project financing—further diversifying Sasaki's services and value.

Bob has a rich background in creative problem-solving. He is the former president and CEO of the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency and also served as the Vice President for Finance and Administration at Yale University, the Executive Vice President/CFO for the Cabot Corporation, the Senior Vice President and Treasurer of Northeastern University, and a consulting partner at Coopers & Lybrand dealing primarily with higher education and healthcare clients.

Download the full press release here.

Renovated by Sasaki, Davenport sells for $79 million

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Originally built as a furniture factory in 1860, the Davenport has since been converted to office space and remains an important part of the Cambridge urban fabric. Facing low occupancy in 2008, the owners engaged Sasaki to re-imagine the space for contemporary tenants. Through creative building repositioning, Sasaki transformed the lobby and common spaces—including the outdoor and indoor courtyards—and added a glassy, contemporary conference room for tenants. Sasaki's design maintains the historic character of the original brick and beam structure while incorporating a modern look and feel that appeals to dynamic young companies.

The Davenport is now 95% leased and is home to innovative companies like HubSpot, Sonos, Zipcar, and Atlas Venture. The Davenport was recently purchased by DivcoWest for $79 million—about $357 per square foot.

Read more in the The Boston Business Journal article.

Latest AB, edited by David Hacin, highlights fresh perspectives

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The Spring 2012 issue of ArchitectureBoston is out! Sasaki principal and Hacin + Associates president David Hacin is guest editor for the issue. David's topic for the issue—change—precipitates provocative articles and fresh new design. In his editor's letter, David asks, "Are we nimble, innovative, and willing to change course to best promote our collective concerns for the built environment, both here and elsewhere?"

Sasaki designer Colin Booth participated in "Wide Open"—a piece in which young designers discuss their professional horizons and architecture's future. Colin says, "Taking part in this discussion was a welcome reminder that all of us in the design profession have a lot of work to do. Crisis equals opportunity, and the recent economic crisis is the perfect opportunity to redefine the critical roles we all have in evolving the way we create the built environment. This issue of AB is very timely."

Click here to browse the online issue.

Sasaki Works with Tufts Students on Planning Initiative

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

At Tufts University, the Department of University Space Management and Planning and a field project class at the Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning Institute (UEP) are assessing campus transportation and circulation. The team—comprised of Tufts students and the Director of University Space Management and Planning—engaged Sasaki to develop a campus mobility survey.

The innovative survey is interactive and graphic, which piques the interest of students and captures richer data than traditional survey methods. Based on the data, the student-led team will make recommendations for short-term and long-term solutions to improve the safety, efficacy, and sensibility of circulation on campus. Sasaki has recently developed similar tools for Babson College and the Harvard Kennedy School.

Click here to read an article about the initiative from Tuft's independent student newspaper.

Tao Zhang presents ecology paper at IALE world congress

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The International Association for Landscape Ecology organizes a world congress every four years to provide a discussion platform and stimulate collaboration for researchers and professionals from around the world. The 8th IALE World Congress was held this past summer in Beijing, China. Sasaki landscape architect and ecologist, Tao Zhang, presented a paper entitled "Making Landscape Ecology Matter to the Public: Designer's Role and Lessons Learned in Two Case Studies in China."

Tao shares, "Public awareness and appreciation of an ecological environment is a critical driving force to achieve a more sustainable society. In this long-term process, designers can make ecology visible, tangible, and easily understandable to the public."

Download the paper abstract.

Stu Dawson serves as GSD guest critic

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki principal emeritus Stu Dawson is a guest critic at the Harvard Graduate School of Design this semester, joining visiting instructor Peter L. Osler, Chairman of the Department of Landscape Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Titled "A Garden in the Machine: A Demonstration Landscape for Deere and Company," the studio is focused on the John Deere Corporate Headquarters in Moline, Illinois, which was designed by Saarinen and Sasaki in the early 1960s.

The studio began with analysis of other Sasaki corporate landscapes, including IBM in Yorktown Heights, New York; Bell Laboratories in Holmdel, New Jersey; and Upjohn Pharmaceutical in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Students also developed a stunning eight-foot-long graphic timeline of Deere milestones during its 175-year history in context with significant world events. An important undercurrent of the first half of the semester was consideration of the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration.

Future studio tasks include a site visit (generously funded by the Sasaki Foundation, Harvard, and John Deere), concept development for updates to the current site, research on influences of current technology, and assessment of emerging needs for more parking, flood control, and land use. The studio will explore multiple concepts for the design of John Deere's front door: the vast Rock River flood plain to the south of the corporate headquarters.

Jason Hellendrung to participate in BRT research meeting at Duke

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This Thursday, the research meeting, entitled "Bus Rapid Transit in the United States: Building a Business Constituency," will bring together nonprofits, researchers, academics, and professionals in discussions about how to build the BRT industry as an assertive constituency. The meeting will be held through Duke University's Center on Globalization, Governance, and Competitiveness and funded by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation.

"I'm excited about the opportunity to work with my peers to build the industry," shares Sasaki principal Jason Hellendrung, who led Sasaki's award-winning Euclid Avenue HealthLine project in Cleveland, Ohio and is currently working on transportation and development projects in Pittsburgh and Knoxville.

UNB video celebrates new student commons

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The Hans W. Klohn Commons at University of New Brunswick in Saint John is garnering praise from university administration and donors, and creating buzz among students. Sasaki's design for the facility incorporates innovative sustainability strategies—such as an energy-producing elevator—and integrates previously disparate programming to create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.

"I plan to be at the commons more than any place else," said Samantha Tinker, a third-year English and history student at UNB Saint John. "It's an absolutely beautiful building and I think it will be great to attract more students to come to UNB in Saint John."

Check out the UNB article and video about the commons here.

Boston Globe covers Dudley Square project kick off

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

In "Dudley Done Right," The Boston Globe covers the kick off of the Dudley Square project, a municipal office and retail project that will serve as a catalyst in revitalizing the area. Sasaki and Mecanoo Architecten, based in the Netherlands, are working with the Boston Redevelopment Authority on the six story complex that also includes public parks and community spaces.

"You're going to see a rejuvenation of this whole area,'' the article quotes Mayor Thomas M. Menino. "It's going to help people in the neighborhood to stay put because there will be more jobs and economic opportunity.''

Click here to read the complete story.

Michael Grove presents at Vertical Cities in Hong Kong

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki principal Michael Grove's presentation at the Vertical Cities conference is focused on the importance of the ground plane when designing cities of the future. Michael shares:

With so much emphasis placed on building the tallest, most iconic skyscrapers, many developments in evolving cities throughout China and the rest of the world are forgetting that much of the human experience happens on the ground—in city streets and parks. Buildings are used by smaller groups of people, while the public realm is used by everyone, providing a critical part of the social and environmental fabric of cities. While sustainable solutions and technological improvements are important for new buildings, many of the most important decisions affecting sustainability happen at the planning and urban design level, including proper building siting and orientation. The setting that designers create for new buildings and for entire urban districts is therefore just as critical, if not more so, than any architectural solutions.

For more information about the conference, please click here.

Sasaki announces new internship for aspiring strategists

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

We are delighted to announce our new Strategies Internship Program. Participants will join our internal think tank, Sasaki Strategies. Our work concentrates on the intersection of mission, money, and place. We constantly challenge the status-quo, inventing new ways to help our clients make good decisions through the intelligent use of data.

Our goal is to attract innovative problem-solvers from a range of backgrounds; we encourage applications from those without planning or design training. We are looking for candidates who are clear thinkers, numerate, comfortable with technology, and good story tellers.

The program will run from July through December 2012. Successful candidates will work full-time at our Watertown office. Apply here.

Sasaki Selected for Fort Monroe reuse and development plan

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki has been selected to prepare a master plan and real estate development strategy for Fort Monroe, a former U.S. Army base which was closed as a military facility in 2011 as a part of the Base Realignment and Closure process. Located in Hampton, Virginia, Fort Monroe is a National Historic Landmark District and recently was designated a National Monument by President Obama. Fort Monroe Executive Director Glenn Oder says, "We're extremely excited about having Sasaki help us develop a plan that respects and preserves the history and puts the property back in the stream of commerce for the city of Hampton and the region."

The 560-acre site contains 170 historic structures and several hundred acres of natural resources including eight miles of waterfront and three miles of beaches along the Chesapeake Bay. The Fort Monroe Authority has completed a Reuse Plan which outlines goals for the future use of the property. Sasaki's role will be to transform the broad goals of the Reuse Plan into real, sustainable, feasible, and actionable plans and projects that create achievable and enhanced expectations of development values at Fort Monroe. Sasaki's work will identify a long-term vision for reuse of the property, key implementation projects, and a detailed real estate strategy for attracting new uses and investment to Fort Monroe.

Sasaki principal Fred Merrill, AICP, will lead the project, supported by an internal team and several local and national subconsultants. "Fort Monroe has played an important role in our nation's history, and we are proud to contribute to its future reuse and further development to become an integral part of the city of Hampton and the regional economy," says Fred.

Time + Architecture magazine features Jiading Park

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The February 2012 issue of the Chinese publication Time + Architecture examines "Architectural Strategies for Suburbs of Metropolises" through "a perspective of architecture practice in Qingpu and Jiading Districts of Shanghai." Included in this perspective is an article by Sasaki senior landscape architect Dou Zhang, taking a closer look at Jiading Central Park.

Download the PDF for the complete story.

Martin Zogran wraps up AMDP course at Harvard GSD this week

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Harvard GSD's Advanced Management Development Program in Real Estate (AMDP) for entrepreneurs and senior managers is geared toward developers, owners, financiers, and other real estate professionals with 15 or more years of experience in the industry. Over the course of a week, Sasaki senior urban designer Martin Zogran, who has taught at the GSD since 2004, challenged executives in the course to address complex development concerns typical of many economically and socially challenged cities and towns in the Northeast United States.

Martin shares, "This course is an excellent opportunity for leading real estate executives from across the globe to focus intensely on mid-size cities impacted by the current economic downturn and the larger trends of de-industrialization. Working together with design students from the GSD, this year's participants presented development scenarios to officials from the City of Worcester—with great results."

Perry Chapman remembered by Sasaki and local community

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Over the course of his 46 years at Sasaki, Perry Chapman became known as the firm's dean of campus planning. His work constitutes the foundation upon which our campus planning practice is based today. He cared deeply about Sasaki, his colleagues, and his clients. Perry was a true gentleman, intellectual, and friend. He was a mentor to many and helped shape professional careers that extend across the firm, the country, and around the world. Perry's ethics, professionalism, and hard work were an inspiration to all that knew him.

Please read more in the Boston Globe obituary.

Bill Massey serves as panelist for SMPS Boston event

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

On February 16, Bill Massey is serving as a panelist for "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly: Business Development from the Clients' Perspective," presented by the Society for Marketing Professional Services Boston. This event will provide feedback on appropriate business development practices and behavior, from the perspective of various industry members, including owners/end users, an architect, a construction manager, and three seasoned BD professionals. SMPS is a community of marketing and business development professionals working to secure profitable business relationships for their A/E/C companies. SMPS Boston aims to be the primary resource for education, team building, and strategic and marketing information for SMPS members and others involved in the built environment.

Learn more at smpsboston.org.

Gregory Janks authors booklet on institutional space planning

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Kings of Infinite Space: How to Make Space Planning for Colleges and Universities Useful Given Constrained Resources, authored by Sasaki principal Gregory Janks, is now available as a SCUP booklet.

In Kings of Infinite Space, Gregory uses a dataset that includes 103 institutions with 65 colleges and universities, 32 community and junior colleges, and 6 larger research-intensive institutions to—among other things—question the validity of benchmarking.

"Traditional college and university space planning methods largely ignore issues of quality, money, and mission, focusing instead on the application of formulae to strictly categorized space types. Today's complex challenges, including a significantly reduced resource base, motivate an evolution in methodology.

"Opportunities exist to strengthen technical underpinnings and to question key assumptions, particularly the value of benchmarking. We sketch this evolved comprehensive space planning practice, with its emphases on utilization, economic value, quality, and accountability both to the institutional mission and to stakeholders."

Kings of Infinite Space is available at www.scup.org, the Amazon Kindle store, and the iTunes store.

Martin Zogran presents China ecological urbanism work at BSA

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

On January 19, Martin Zogran, lead urban designer, presented "SASAKI in China: Ecological Urbanism at Work," discussing two recent Urban Design competitions completed in the last year: Jinan New District and Gonghuacheng Technology Business District, China. Zogran emphasized how each project integrated ecological systems at the master plan level while accommodating China's increasing demands for rapid urbanization. The presentation offered a glimpse into the international design competition process and our interdisciplinary approach.

For more information, visit architects.org.

Sasaki wins Water Works Parkitecture competition

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The Water Works Parkitecture competition, held by Des Moines Water Works and the Iowa State University Department of Landscape Architecture, sought proposals to integrate the ecological and social functions of the park and river into a unified landscape, inspire the community, and generate discussion about watershed issues. The competition also called for solutions for ecological and recreational challenges specific to Water Works Park.

Sasaki's winning plan—developed in collaboration with RDG and AES—shapes two distinct yet complementary sections of Water Works Park: the wild and the engineered. The wild offers immersion into the park through activities like horseback riding and hiking. The engineered is the active heart of the park and provides more structured activities and events. The centerpiece of the engineered landscape is a recreational watercourse, experienced on standing paddleboards, that is linked to interpretive opportunities regarding the role of the site in harvesting and cleaning drinking water.

Sasaki Selected for 2012 National Planning Award

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki has received the 2012 American Planning Association's National Planning Excellence Award for a Planning Firm. The APA recognized Sasaki for the enduring high quality of our project work and for our leadership in charting the future of planning, including a significant commitment to sustainable design practices.

The Planning Firm Award recognizes a firm for its body of distinguished work influencing the planning profession. APA's national awards program, the profession's highest honor, is a proud tradition established more than 50 years ago to recognize outstanding community plans, planning programs and initiatives, public education efforts, and individuals for their leadership on planning issues.

Sasaki's work endures the volatility of time with inspiring planning and urban design frameworks that strike a balance between context, culture, and invention. Our plans also address sustainability in regard to economics, social context, and the environment—and our global experience gives us the ability to do this work at all scales and in a variety of contexts.

For more information, download the full news release.

Also, view this short video overview of Sasaki, produced by the APA, which will be screened at the awards ceremony in April.

Jordan Dead Sea Master Plan wins National AIA Honor Award

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki has won a 2012 National AIA Honor Award in Regional and Urban Design for the Jordan Dead Sea Master Plan.

Our work involves a comprehensive strategy for 40 square kilometers around the north eastern edge of the Dead Sea, outlining a dynamic, robust, and sustainable plan for growth and evolution of the region. Steeped in biblical and contemporary history, the Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth. Critically, the plan establishes a balanced approach between development and conservation of the Dead Sea's precious resources while supporting social infrastructure for the nearby existing communities. It also redefines and emphasizes the public realm of the area—one that is bold, accessible, and culturally relevant.

Comprehensive design guidelines, specific infrastructure strategies, and a dynamic market/financial analysis are all key tools developed for the client to attract investment and guide future development in support of the plan's vision and goals.

The Sasaki team also completed a Strategic Environmental Assessment, the first of its kind in Jordan, in parallel with the master plan, informing sustainability strategies incorporated into the overall plan.

Dennis Pieprz presents in Vietnam at sustainability conference

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki principal Dennis Pieprz presented an array of Sasaki case studies at a December conference on Sustainable Urban Design at the Hanoi Ministry of Construction in Vietnam. He described Sasaki's interdisciplinary strategy for planning and design across scales and project types, showing recent projects in Vietnam, India, Singapore, China, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan.

Two Sasaki projects win ENR Best of the Best 2011 award

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

After winning a regional ENR award, Wilmington Waterfront Park in Wilmington/Los Angeles, California; and 2200 Pennsylvania Avenue (formerly Square 54, shown) in Washington DC, both moved on to the national competition and earned a Best of the Best 2011 designation.

Wilmington Waterfront Park, submitted to ENR California by Sasaki, won in the Best Landscape/Hardscape/Urban Development category, while 2200 Pennsylvania Avenue, submitted to ENR New York by Clark Construction Group, won in the Best Retail/Mixed-Use Developments category. Out of 119 regional Best Projects winners, an independent jury of design and construction professionals selected 18 winners in categories ranging from green building to transportation. Projects were judged on safety, innovation, contribution to the industry/community, aesthetic and functional quality of design and construction craftsmanship.

The February 13, 2012 issue of Engineering News-Record, a McGraw-Hill Construction publication, will feature the winners.

Read the McGraw-Hill Construction press release.

Sasaki, RDG, and AES present ideas for Water Works competition

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

On December 16, the team of Sasaki, RDG, and Applied Ecological Services presented their ideas for the Des Moines, Iowa Water Works Parkitecture Design Competition. The team's plan—entitled WATER, WILD + WONDER—imagines a dynamic public park that respects and discovers the power of water in the Des Moines region. The team was one of five finalists to present their ideas to the community. For more detailed information, please visit the team's presentation site.

Planning magazine examines "Signs of a New Regionalism"

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In the December 2011 issue of Planning magazine, Corry Buckwalter Berkooz discusses how several new planning projects in the greater New York region indicate a resurgence of regional planning as a means for creating sustainable communities. Included in the report is a visualization of a new waterfront park in Bridgeport, Connecticut, part of Sasaki's Parks Master Plan.

Download the PDF for the complete story.

Wilmington Waterfront Park Receives Additional Recognition

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In addition to being named the "Best Landscape / Hardscape / Urban Development Project" in ENR California's Best Projects of 2011 competition, the Sasaki-designed Wilmington Waterfront Park at Port of Los Angeles has earned two significant engineering awards.

The project will receive a Merit Award in the 2012 Engineering Excellence competition from the California chapter of the American Council of Engineering Companies at an awards banquet on February 7, 2012.

The project also received the 2011 Project of the Year Award from the Southern Chapter of the American Public Works Association, which will be handed out at an awards luncheon on December 7.

Sasaki Professionals Offer Insight at Build Boston 2011

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Three professionals from Sasaki will present at this year's Build Boston conference, New England's largest industry convention and trade show. Peter Hedlund, ASLA, LEED AP is presenting "Re-Building UMass/Boston: The Mother of All Enabling Projects," session B10; Brad Prestbo, AIA, CSI, CDT is presenting "The 100-year Plus Building: Using Past Lessons in Today's Buildings," session B05; and Meredith Elbaum, AIA, LEED AP BD+C is presenting "A Tale of Three Firms: Taking on the AIA 2030 Commitment," session C24.

Build Boston, November 16-18 at the Seaport World Trade Center, is presented by the Boston Society of Architects.

Drexel Rec Center Wins Athletic Business 2011 Facility Merit Award

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The new Sasaki-designed student recreation center at Drexel University was selected as one of ten Facilities of Merit by Athletic Business magazine in its annual design competition. The three-story, 84,000-square-foot addition to the 1960s-era Daskalakis Athletic Center creates an integrated sports facility for the Drexel community as well as an engaging, dynamic new streetscape for the campus. The project will be honored along with the other winners at the Athletic Business Conference & Expo in Orlando, Florida on December 2 and profiled in the December issue of the magazine.

Former Newburyport mayor honored for renewal efforts

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki principal emeritus Stuart Dawson attended the "Byron's Court" dedication in Newburyport, Massachusetts on November 5, which unveiled a plaque on Inn Street honoring former Mayor Byron Matthews and his role in the city's urban renewal.

Matthews was tireless in his efforts to revitalize Newburyport, and hired Sasaki to design the restoration of this 23-acre historic downtown and waterfront, which includes plazas and walkways using traditional materials, a fountain, and lighting, parking, street and planting improvements.

Today, Newburyport continues to be a thriving downtown with retail, special events, and residential uses. The preservation of the historic building stock was critical to the downtown's success. The nearby waterfront, which Sasaki designed in 1980, has created a unique amenity to complement downtown activities.

Mark Dawson elected ASLA Fellow

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki principal Mark Dawson, FASLA was inducted into the ASLA Council of Fellows on November 1 in San Diego, California. The designation of Fellow is conferred upon individuals in recognition of exceptional accomplishments over a sustained period of time, and is among the highest honors a landscape architect may receive. Mark was escorted by Stuart Dawson, FASLA, his father and principal emeritus at Sasaki.

LA Mag features Urban Fabric and Bridgeport Parks Master Plan

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki's Urban Fabric Project is highlighted as the "Practice" feature in the November 2011 issue of Landscape Architecture Magazine. The article describes how the research project and lecture series is impacting our urban design projects, including the on-going City of Bridgeport, Connecticut Parks Master Plan.

Download the PDF for the complete story.

Fred Merrill presents Legacy Farms at SNEAPA Conference

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki principal Fred Merrill, AICP, LEED AP helped detail a successful master plan and rezoning process for a 730-acre area that yielded clustered development, walkability, and open space conservation. Fred will give a presentation, entitled "Smart Growth in Action: The Legacy Farms Story, Hopkinton, Massachusetts," at the Southern New England conference of the American Planning Association. The presentation will include participants from the Town of Hopkinton, Massachusetts as well as a developer, Baystone Development.

Sasaki Expands National Sports Design Studio

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki announces the acquisition of Concord, Massachusetts-based planning and design firm Sgarzi Associates. Founded in 2003 by Chris Sgarzi, Sgarzi Associates has developed a strong reputation for their programming, planning, and design of sports, recreation, and student life facilities throughout the Northeast. Chris will serve as a principal at Sasaki and will work with firm leaders in both our Boston and San Francisco offices.

Additionally, the firm has added Stephen Sefton to the sports design studio as a senior associate. Stephen joins the firm from Ellerbe Becket/AECOM where he served as a senior sports designer in their San Francisco office.

For more information, download the full news release.

Gina Ford named UNL 2012 Spring Hyde Chair of Excellence

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki principal and Chair of our Urban Studio Gina Ford, ASLA has been honored with the Spring Hyde Chair of Excellence at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Architecture and will participate in the 2011-2012 Hyde Lecture Series. As the 2012 spring Hyde Chair, she will lead an urbanism studio focused on the City of Des Moines, Iowa (subject of Sasaki's Tomorrow Plan for Sustainable Regional Development) and a seminar on currents in the design of the public realm.

Sasaki wins at IIDA New England Fashion Show & Benefit Gala

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The Sasaki team of part-time fashion designers walked away from Boston's largest design event of the year with a first-place award for Most Original Design. With nearly 1,000 people in attendance, International Interior Design Association New England's annual Fashion Show & Benefit Gala is a popular industry event and fundraiser.

The theme of this year's show was ICONography, and Sasaki was recognized for our reinterpretation of Alexander McQueen's 1999 "Spray Paint Dress" performance piece. Sasaki's sponsors included Benjamin Moore Paints, Union Office, and Janus et Cie, and therefore all of the fashion items were made from materials from those three manufacturers.

Wilmington Waterfront Park Receives ENR California Award

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The Port of Los Angeles' recently completed Wilmington Waterfront Park won ENR California's "2011 Best Landscape/Hardscape/Urban Development Project." The 30-acre urban park, one of 34 projects selected out of 116 submissions, is being celebrated for the excellence demonstrated by the entire team over the complete design and construction cycle of the project. The December 5 issue of ENR California will feature profiles of the winning projects.

Urban Fabric Project Hits the Road

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki's Urban Fabric exhibition heads out on a national tour with stops scheduled in Providence, Rhode Island; San Diego and San Francisco, California; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Raleigh, North Carolina. Follow the latest updates from all of our Urban Fabric events on the project's news page as well as the Urban Fabric Twitter feed and Facebook page.

PSU Ice Rink and Welcome Center Wins Green Building Award

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Business New Hampshire magazine honored the Sasaki-designed ALLWell Center at New Hampshire's Plymouth State University with the "Lean & Green" Green Building Award. The "Lean & Green" award honors a building project that incorporates sustainability into its design, construction, and future operations, and which has demonstrated savings and energy efficiency.

Watertown Pop-Up park transforms empty walkway

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

It's amazing what can emerge from inspiration, a small budget, and cupcakes. At noon on August 25, Sasaki launched its first ever Watertown Pop-Up Park. The typically-empty walkway east of CVS on Merchant's Row transformed into a vibrant park with games, music, and cupcakes. Twister-inspired colored circles were scattered across the pavement and the theme continued skyward in balloon form. Adult visitors hula-hooped and played bean bag toss while younger children enjoyed the ball pit and bubble station. Proceeds from the cupcake sale were donated to the Watertown Boys & Girls Club.

The idea emerged during a Sasaki brainstorming session. The goal was to create a high-quality, yet temporary open space to bring the Watertown community together and raise awareness about public space. Sasaki volunteers in planning, landscape architecture, civil engineering, marketing, and graphics envisioned, planned, and prepared the temporary park. The team worked with City Planning Director Steven Magoon, the Watertown Police Department, Fire Department, Department of Public Works, and adjacent neighbors to make it happen. Local businesses, daycare centers, community networks, and the Watertown Family Network received invitations to the summer celebration. Vibrant signage and music pulled in passers-by.

Alan Ward participates in NCPC panel discussion on security

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki principal Alan Ward, FASLA was a panelist for the National Capital Planning Commission's discussion "Redefining Security a Decade After 9/11," where he shared his perspective on design issues as they relate to security in the public realm. Joining Alan as panelists were Brian Jenkins of RAND Corporation and architect Thomas Vonier, FAIA.

Read an article on the discussion here.

Dennis Pieprz lectures at School of Planning and Architecture

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki principal Dennis Pieprz presented a lecture called, "Sasaki: Intersection and Convergence" at the prestigious School of Planning and Architecture in Delhi, India. He presented a wide ranging array of recent projects discussing the firm's philosophy and approach to planning and design.

Fred Merrill speaks at Louisiana's Smart Growth Summit

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki principal Fred Merrill, AICP was a speaker at the Smart Growth Summit hosted by the Center for Planning Excellence in Louisiana. The talk, entitled "We have a new comprehensive plan, what do we do now?" covered how to sell a plan after it's done and how to sustain and measure progress and momentum.

The Smart Growth Summit has become the premier event for promoting quality planning and design in Louisiana. The 2011 summit targeted Louisiana elected and appointed officials; planning practitioners, such as developers, architects, engineers and planners; and citizen and activist groups. It included presentations and discussions on such topics as coastal planning, affordable housing, sustainable design, mobility and transportation, complete streets, and the effects of Smart Growth on the global economy.

Ithaca Times reports on upcoming design process launch

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The Ithaca Times reports on the upcoming start of the second phase in the Ithaca Commons Design process. Sasaki has been working closely with the Ithaca community to update the highly successful pedestrian mall at the heart of the town.

Read the full article here.

Civil Engineering features Wilmington Waterfront Park

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The July 2011 issue of Civil Engineering, magazine of the American Society of Civil Engineers, includes the recently opened Wilmington Waterfront Park in Los Angeles, California. The article, "Los Angeles Creates Park to Provide Buffer Between Port, Community," discusses the public process behind the park's creation, and describes how the park's features are both beautiful and functional, shielding the Wilmington community from the port's operations.

Sasaki collaborated with the Port of Los Angeles and its staff, members of the community and all affected agencies and stakeholders to craft a master plan for the 30-acre park that would create a natural buffer between the Los Angeles neighborhood of Wilmington and port operations. The park's impact on the surrounding communities is significant, with extensive measures taken to improve air quality and reduce noise and light pollution on the adjacent residences. Opened in June 2011, it contains innovative features such a 16-foot high landform along the southern border of the park that creates a platform offering stunning views of the nearby coastline while simultaneously buffering noise from the port. The sustainable accomplishments and innovative design of the new Wilmington Waterfront Park effectively doubles the amount of public open space available and demonstrates Sasaki's abilities as an inter-disciplinary firm, capable of performing landscape architecture, architecture and civil engineering services alike.

Download the PDF for the complete story.

Civil Engineering features Lincoln Memorial renovation

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The July 2011 issue of Civil Engineering, magazine of the American Society of Civil Engineers, includes the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. The article, "Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Undergoes Complete Overhaul," discusses the impetus for the renovation, and how the project implemented the vehicle barrier system without detracting from the site's historical integrity.

Sasaki, the project's Landscape Architect, has been working with the Louis Berger Group since 2009 on the rehabilitation of this iconic landmark.

Download the PDF for the complete story.

Dan Kenney and Greg Havens lead sustainability seminar

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

LEED� buildings can serve as a starting point for sustainable campus development. But how can campus administrators, sustainability coordinators, and facilities directors of higher education institutions—as well as design and planning professionals—move toward a broader approach to sustainability?

On July 13 and 14, Sasaki principals Dan Kenney and Greg Havens will lead "Taking Campus Sustainability Beyond LEED�," a Harvard Graduate School of Design Executive Education program that gives participants an understanding of a comprehensive, integrated framework for addressing campus sustainability and facilities renewal. The program focuses on the direct application of techniques and strategies that advance the concept of sustainable design for campuses and offers specific skills in best practices for managing the energy, water, and natural resources of a campus environment.

Fred Merrill serves as Panel Speaker at MAPD Conference

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki principal Fred Merrill, AICP was a panel speaker at the Annual Massachusetts Association of Planning Directors' Conference on Friday, June 9 in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The panel presentation, entitled "Advanced Public Outreach Tools and Techniques," will focus on best practices and current trends in facilitating effective public outreach in urban design and master planning projects.

Sacred Heart Chapel of the Holy Spirit Wins SEGD Merit Award

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The annual SEGD Design Awards Program recognizes exceptional graphic design illustrating the pandisiplinary nature of visual communication in the built environment. The awards are conferred by multidisciplinary, international juries and the winners are honored at the SEGD Conference + Expo, featured in the award-winning segDESIGN magazine, and on the SEGD website.

This year, from over 400 entries from over 10 countries, Sacred Heart University's Chapel of the Holy Spirit earned an Award of Merit. This years' recipients illustrated the true international competition for the field of Graphic Design in the built environment, consisting of only 27 selections and featuring work from China, Syria, Italy, Portugal, New Zealand, Australia, Croatia, as well as the United States.

The Herald News Features Sasaki's Internship Program

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In "Student interns help FROED envision Fall River's future," The Herald News reports on the partnership between Sasaki's Internship Program and Fall River, Massachusetts, one of Urban Fabric's research cities.

Sasaki commenced their 2011 internship program on Monday, June 6. This is the fourth year in which Sasaki has organized a two-week pro bono workshop with a community in Massachusetts. This year the program is working with the City of Fall River. The partnership with Fall River started in the winter of 2010 when Sasaki highlighted Fall River as one of the prototypical communities for Urban Fabric, an independent research project and exhibit Sasaki hosted. The Urban Fabric project highlighted Fall River, Massachusetts; Newark, New Jersey; and Mobile, Alabama as communities linked by the textile industry in the United States in the 1800s, and explored how these communities are moving forward following the loss of the industry. The project identified strategies from around the world that communities struggling with the loss of an industry can look to in order to move ahead in rebuilding the economic, social, and environmental foundations of their communities.

The two-week workshop will look at strengthening the connections between Fall River's downtown and waterfront. The interns will spend the following eight weeks working with project teams throughout Sasaki's office.

Athletic Business features five Sasaki projects in showcase

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki has five projects featured in Athletic Business' 24th Annual Architectural Showcase. The highly-regarded feature profiles the year's most outstanding examples of a wide range of athletics, recreation, and wellness projects.

Sasaki projects include the Daskalakis Athletic Center at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; The Reverend Harold Ridley, S.J. Athletic Complex at Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore, Maryland; ALLWell Welcome Center and Ice Arena at Plymouth State University in Plymouth, New Hampshire; University of Arizona Student Recreation Center Expansion in Tucson, Arizona; and University of South Alabama Student Recreation Center in Mobile, Alabama.

LA Mag features Euclid Avenue HealthLine BRT

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The Euclid Avenue HealthLine Bus Rapid Transit project in Cleveland, Ohio was featured in the June issue of Landscape Architecture Magazine. The article describes the economic investment the transformative project has engendered in central Cleveland, and the positive response from the public and business communities for the new BRT line.

Sasaki started the preliminary design in 2002 for re-programming Euclid Avenue, the historic main street of Cleveland, to integrate two exclusive bus rapid transit lanes and station platforms into the street right-of-way for the 6.8-mile corridor. Along the corridor, Euclid links 9 different neighborhoods and districts, which required coordination with numerous community development corporation, such as the Downtown Cleveland Alliance and University Circle, Inc., as well as major stakeholders, such as the Playhouse Square Foundation, Cleveland State University, the Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve University, and University Hospital, as well as individual property owners.

Following approval of the preliminary design plan, Sasaki provided landscape architecture and graphic design for the comprehensive street redesign, which rebuilt the public right-of-way from building face to building face. Construction started in 2006, and the project opened in late 2008.

Download the PDF for the complete story.

Huffington Post quotes Dennis Pieprz on work in Vietnam

Thu, 19 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In The Huffington Post, J. Michael Welton quotes Sasaki principal Dennis Pieprz in the article "In Vietnam, Design Lessons Learned" discussing new work for US firms in Vietnam, including Sasaki's work on the Thu Thiem Urban Districts master plan in Ho Chi Minh City.

Euclid Avenue HealthLine Receives 2011 ULI Award of Excellence

Thu, 19 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The Urban Land Institute awarded the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority and Sasaki an Award of Excellence for the Euclid Avenue HealthLine Bus Rapid Transit project at the Institute's 2011 Real Estate Summit in Phoenix, Arizona on May 19. The annual awards competition promotes better land use and development throughout the Americas, and as such recognizes the full development process of a project. The criteria for the awards include leadership, contribution to the community, innovations, public/private partnership, environmental protection and enhancement, response to societal needs, and financial viability. This award is one of ten bestowed by ULI in 2011 from 148 entries received from throughout North and South America.

The ULI Award is a recognition of the roughly $5.5 billion in public and private re-investment along the corridor catalyzed by the $197 million Euclid Avenue construction project, and the numerous partnerships between the multiple organizations and agencies necessary to make this level of reinvestment possible. To date, ridership along the transit route is roughly 58% higher than ridership on the previous route, accounting for over 2 million new riders in the first two years of service over the previous bus line.

Janne Corneil and David Hacin present at BSA discussion series

Thu, 19 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki principals Janne Corneil and David Hacin were featured presenters in the BSA Urban Design Committee's discussion series on the South Boston Waterfront's Innovation District. The discussion, held at the Microsoft New England Research and Development Center, was the last of a three-part series focusing on the redevelopment of the South Boston Waterfront to create a world-class district which will foster the continued growth of so-called innovation firms and sustained relationships between public, private, and institutional players in the region.

University Business quotes Bryan Irwin on study space design

Mon, 16 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In "Collaboration Station" from the May 2011 issue of University Business, Sasaki design principal Bryan Irwin discusses how market demand and the information age has impacted the design of group study spaces.

Architect Magazine quotes Dennis Pieprz on Lakeside plan

Sun, 15 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki principal Dennis Pieprz is quoted in "Make No Small Plans," a feature in the May 2011 issue of Architect magazine, for Sasaki's work on the Lakeside Master Plan on the south side of Chicago. The articles cites the project, designed in collaboration with SOM, as a successful example of how regional planning issues such as water can be visibly integrated into a neighborhood urban design plan.

Sasaki ranked #6 on The Architect 50 list

Wed, 11 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki ranks #6 on Architect's 2011 "Architect 50" listing, which ranks American architectural firms based on three factors: profitability, sustainable ethos, and design quality.

BSA article features Urban Fabric project

Mon, 09 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki's Urban Fabric project has been featured in "Urban Fabric: What happens when you let innovation lead," an article by Michael Paganetti on the BSA's website. Urban Fabric is a research project conducted in April and May which brought together independent analysis with lectures by academics, practitioners, and policy experts from across the country to probe the question: what happens to a city when industry leaves? Through the lens of the American textile industry, the project investigated the remnant social, economic and environmental conditions of three prototypical cities and presents case studies from around the world of potential strategies for the future.

Find out more at www.urbanfabricproject.com.

College Planning and Management features PSU

Sun, 08 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Plymouth State University's ALLWell Center Ice Arena and Welcome Center in Plymouth, New Hampshire, was the featured project in College Planning & Management's February 2011 "Facility Focus" section. The Sasaki-designed facility was completed in 2010.

Download the PDF for the complete story.

Perry Chapman presents at SCUP North Central conference

Mon, 02 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki principal Perry Chapman will be a featured presenter at the SCUP North Central regional conference to be held at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Perry's presentation will examine the historical evolution of campus placemaking in America, and will then provide the audience with a sense of how the University of Missouri has established and enhanced its sense of place through campus master planning, which Perry directed for twelve years. His talk will kick-off a series of topical panel discussions and tours of the University of Missiouri-Columbia campus.

David Hacin and James Miner present at NEU Conference

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Two of Sasaki's principals joined up with national design and policy experts to present at a national conference sponsored by Northeastern University's School of Architecture. The conference, entitled "Public Participation and Design in Contested Cities Since the 1960s, " featured David Hacin on Panel 2 discussing the complexity and variances of today's public review process as well as James Miner on Panel 3 reviewing how the public participation and design process continues to change.

Download the conference poster for more information.

Cedar Rapids receives National Planning Excellence Award

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The American Planning Association honored Sasaki and the City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa with the inaugural National Planning Excellence Award for Best Practices in Hazard Mitigation and Disaster Planning for the River Corridor Redevelopment Plan completed in 2010. The award recognizes an effort that protects communities from natural and man-made hazards, minimizes losses from disaster, and aids quick and efficient recovery to leave communities stronger and better prepared than before. The APA presented the award to the City for its ability to expeditiously develop and embark on a redevelopment plan within days of a historic flood of the Cedar River in Cedar Rapids.

Download the PDF to read the award feature in Planning magazine.

UAZ Student Rec Center Expansion Honored with Multiple Awards

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki has been honored with a 2011 ACUI Facility Design Award and a 2011 NIRSA Outstanding Sports Facility Award for the new Student Recreation Center Expansion at the University of Arizona. Highlights of the facility include a 35,000 square foot fitness center, cardio mezzanine, climbing boulders, and outdoor volleyball pits. As a LEED� Platinum certified building, the project is an authentic expression of building in the Sonoran desert environment as well as a highly visible symbol for the university's commitment to student health and wellness. These awards speak not only to Sasaki's expertise in sports planning and design, but to the firm's comprehensive understanding of contemporary institutional environments and student communities.

For more information, download the full news release.

LA Mag features Al-Azhar Park

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Initiated by His Highness the Aga Khan, the article entitled "Revolutionary Idea" from the April 2011 issue of Landscape Architecture Magazine talks about the transformation of a centuries-old dumping ground in Cairo into a 74-acre park featuring a formal linear promenade, eight meters wide, running the entire length of the park. The project evolved to include the upgrade of nearby neighborhoods, which were not part of the original concept.

Download the PDF for the complete story.

W&M School of Education Receives AIA Richmond Award

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The College of William and Mary School of Education has received a Merit Design award from the AIA Richmond 2011 Awards Program. Sasaki, along with associate architect Boynton Rothschild Rowland Architects PC, were honored at the awards celebration on April 15. The project was one of three to receive a merit award and one of only five projects honored out of the 28 submissions received.

The Ohio State Framework Plan Receives SCUP and BSA Awards

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The One Ohio State Framework Plan is a comprehensive, integrated, and dynamic structure for guiding change in the university's physical environment. It is built on Ohio State's goal of becoming "One University" where diverse stakeholders at one of the nation's largest institutions work collaboratively to solve world problems. The chief purpose of the framework is to ensure mission drives the physical environment. The framework includes guiding principles, a long-term vision for the campus, a series of scenarios and priority projects that launch the university towards this vision, and an innovative decision support system to help ensure that planning integrates academic, strategic, financial, and physical considerations across the entire university.

The One Ohio State Framework Plan received the 2011 SCUP Award for Institutional Innovation and Integration, which recognizes and honors the achievement of higher education institutions or teams of individuals whose work demonstrates innovative thinking, planning, and implementation in an integrated fashion.

The Framework Plan also received the 2011 Merit Award in Landscape Analysis and Planning from the Boston Society of Landscape Architects.

Christian Science Church Complex Receives Landmark Designation

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

City of Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino has announced that the buildings and landscape of The First Church of Christ, Scientist's world headquarters in Boston has been honored by with a designation as a Boston landmark by the Boston Landmarks Commission. The Modernist plaza landscape and buildings of 1971-1972 express the vision of the Church and of architects I.M. Pei and Araldo Cossutta and Sasaki, Dawson, DeMay, who were the landscape architects.

Download the PDF for the full news story.

Booklet details sustainability at National Grid

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki created a booklet for National Grid detailing the design process and key technologies behind the LEED� Platinum Certified New England Corporate Headquarters. Flip through the booklet below.

Sasaki Announces Urban Fabric Exhibition and Lecture Series

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki invites you to an exhibition and lecture series at our office April 6-May 6, 2011.

"Urban Fabric: Strategies for American Cities" brings together independent analysis with lectures by academics, practitioners, and policy experts from across the country to probe the question: what happens to a city when industry leaves? Through the lens of the American textile industry, the project investigates the remnant social, economic, and environmental conditions of three prototypical cities and presents case studies from around the world of potential strategies for the future.

For more information, visit www.urbanfabricproject.com or call 617.923.7354.

Download the PDF for a complete schedule of lectures and events.

SUTD Master Plan Receives 2011 SCUP Honor Award

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki's master plan for Singapore University of Technology and Design received the prestigious SCUP 2011 Honor Award for Excellence in Planning for a New Campus. The master plan, designed in collaboration with MKPL, defines a new university campus that advances the implementation of a cutting-edge academic vision of interdisciplinary, collaborative, and project-based learning. The university's academic mission and curriculum was developed in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The award is one of only six Honor Awards out 200 submissions in the 2011 SCUP awards program.

For more information, download the full news release.

VLS Framework Plan Receives SCUP and BSLA Awards

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki's Framework Plan for the Vermont Law School earned a 2011 SCUP Merit Award for Excellence in Planning for an Established Campus, as well as the 2011 Honor Award for Landscape Analysis and Planning from the Boston Society of Landscape Architects.

Vermont Law School is the top environmental law program in the country, yet the school's academic commitment to sustainability is not visible on campus. The Framework Plan proposes that investment in Vermont Law School should be tied to investment in the small Vermont village in which it resides. The campus is the village, and the village is the campus—exemplifying a complete vision of sustainability. Other major elements of the Framework Plan include renovating and reusing historic buildings, exploring regional food and energy partnerships, and connecting to the adjacent White River.

LA Mag features SeaPines Plantation

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In the February 2011 issue of Landscape Architecture Magazine, Mark Hugh, ASLA, campus landscape architect of Duke University and a member of the LAM Editorial Advisory Committee, revisits the Sasaki-designed Seapines Plantation on the occasion of the milestone project's 50th anniversary.

Download PDF for the complete story.

Sasaki and Hacin + Associates Form Strategic Partnership

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki and Hacin + Associates (H+A) are pleased to announce the formation of a "strategic partnership." This formal relationship—which is not a merger—will allow the two firms to extend their design capabilities and strengthen their presence in core markets. This partnership has grown from the successes of recent collaborations and the realization that both firms share a similar focus on finding innovative, client-focused design solutions.

For more information, download the full news release.

Planning magazine quotes Gina Ford on waterfront parks

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

"Hail to the Blue and the Green," an article in the November 2010 issue of Planning magazine, takes a closer look at waterfront parks. Sasaki principal Gina Ford discusses our work in Cedar Rapids and how the project team addressed the divide between downtown and the river.

Download the PDF for the complete story.

RPI Receives Athletic Business Facility of Merit Award

Sun, 17 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki's design of the East Campus Athletic Village for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute earned a 2010 Athletic Business Architectural Showcase Facility of Merit award. The project features a new stadium and home field, a basketball arena with a dedicated gymnasium and a sports training facility.

Innovista Master Plan Receives APA South Carolina Award

Sun, 17 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki's Innovista Master Plan for the University of South Carolina received a 2010 award from the American Planning Association South Carolina Chapter. Sasaki designed the master plan for the area between the university and the riverfront, a largely undeveloped area with a sharp 80-foot drop-off in topography and dramatic views.

UAZ Student Rec Center Earns LEED� Platinum Certification

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The new 54,000 square foot expansion of the Student Recreation Center at the University of Arizona has earned LEED� Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, the highest category of sustainable design and construction. The facility is the first collegiate level recreation center in The United States to earn this distinction.

Designed by Sasaki in collaboration with M3 Engineering of Tucson, the project integrates passive solar orientation, programmed outdoor space, day-lighting strategies, and indoor environmental quality as fundamental properties of the building.

California Construction recognizes Sasaki in Best of 2010

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000

California Construction has recognized Sasaki's designs for the University of California, Davis Graduate School of Management (shown) and California State University, Chico Wildcat Recreation Center for construction and design excellence with a Best Project Award and an Award of Merit respectively. The McGraw-Hill Construction publication recognizes projects located throughout California and gives awards based on criteria including design, functionality, project management, client service, and safety.

The December 2010 issue of California Construction will feature the winners, who will be honored at an awards breakfast December 1 in Long Beach and December 2 in San Francisco. They also will go on to compete in the National Best of 2010 competition.

Alistair McIntosh Elected to ASLA Council of Fellows

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki principal Alistair McIntosh, FASLA, has been elected to the American Society of Landscape Architects' Council of Fellows. Fellowship is among the highest honors ASLA can bestow and recognizes the significant contributions these individuals have made to the profession and the public through their works, leadership and management, knowledge, and service.

Alistair has more than 30 years of experience designing civic and institutional landscapes. His award-winning work includes Schenley Plaza in Pittsburgh and the Central Indianapolis Riverfront in Indianapolis. Alistair is currently working on designs for the Cincinnati Riverfront Park.

Sasaki Architects Present at NIRSA event in Fort Worth

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki architects Bill Massey, AIA, LEED AP, Nancy Freedman, AIA, LEED AP, and Russell Stevens, RIBA will speak on sustainable recreation center planning and design at the annual National Recreation Facilities Institute being held in Fort Worth, Texas, October 18–22. On the morning of October 19, Bill and Russell will present "The Zero Carbon Footprint Recreation Center," followed by Nancy and Bill with "Beyond LEED� to 2030: Planning Your Rec Center to Meet Environmental and Financial Goals."

Visit www.nirsa.org for more details and to register.

Sasaki Sweeps Annual BSA Campus Planning Awards

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki's campus master plans for Portland State University in Oregon, the University of Maine, Orono, and Khalifa University of Science, Engineering and Technology (KUSTAR) in Abu Dhabi all received recognition in the annual BSA/SCUP Campus Planning Awards Program. The Portland State master plan (shown) earned the only Honor Award bestowed, with the University of Maine and KUSTAR plans receiving Merit Awards.

Philip Parsons to Present at AICUM Symposium

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Philip Parsons, Director of Sasaki Strategies, will present "Beyond the Delta Cost Project: Opportunities for Doing Better with Less" at this fall's AICUM Symposium on October 26.

Former Dean for Planning in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University and a consultant to more than seventy colleges and universities, Philip will give a no-holds-barred interpretation of multiple data sources on the history of college costs and the opportunities for improvement in education that emerge from analysis at individual institutions.

Euclid Avenue BRT Receives IDA Merit Award

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki's streetscape design for the Euclid Avenue Bus Rapid Transit project was recognized by the International Downtown Association with a Merit Award in their Achievement Awards program which celebrates the most successful and innovative efforts in worldwide downtown development.

Sacred Heart University Chapel Wins AIA New England Award

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki's design for the new Chapel of the Holy Spirit at Sacred Heart University has received an Honor Award from the AIA New England chapter. The program reviewed over 190 submissions and recognized 18 projects with awards for design excellence.

The chapel, completed in fall 2009, has a striking presence on the main campus quadrangle complementing the new library, humanities center, and other academic buildings. For students, faculty, and staff, the chapel is an important crossroads at the heart of the campus, sited midway between the academic world and the athletic and residential life district.

Rink Magazine features PSU Welcome Center and Ice Arena

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

In the Rink Magazine article "Skating on 'Green' Ice at Plymouth State University," Bruce Lyndes writes on how the Sasaki designed PSU ALLWell Welcome Center and Ice Arena is a showcase for energy efficiency and green building technology.

Download the PDF to read the full story.

The Waterfront Center honors Wilkes-Barre Riverfront Park

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

In the annual awards program recognizing top-quality urban waterfront projects, The Waterfront Center has selected the Wilkes-Barre Riverfront Park for an Honor Award.

Sasaki contributed to the social and economic revitalization of Wilkes-Barre by transforming the existing riverfront open spaces located along the east bank of the Susquehanna River into a vibrant waterfront landscape that reconnects the natural resource of the river and its banks with the downtown.

The WFC will confer awards at the annual conference on November 5 in Baltimore, Maryland.

IIDA of New England Recognizes Two Local Sasaki Projects

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The International Interior Design Association of New England recently recognized the University of Massachusetts Venture Development Center (shown) with a Best Research/Lab Design Award and the National Grid New England Corporate Offices with a Best Office Design Over 80,000 Square Feet Award. The awards are given annually and recognize design excellence and outstanding teamwork.

Fred Merrill speaks at City Manager's Seminar

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki principal Fred Merrill, AICP was the featured speaker at this year's St. Louis Area City Managers Association's professional development seminar.

Fred presented Sasaki's final downtown Clayton master plan update and retail strategy which recommends specific strategies for future development in the six downtown districts. The plan identifies sites for future infill development that will better utilize the land and create a diversity of uses.

The Ohio State University Adopts Framework Plan

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The Ohio State University Board of Trustees recently approved adopting the planning principles laid out in the One Ohio State Framework Plan developed by Sasaki.

This plan represents the needed major shift to a unified planning culture based on ideas, information, and implementation. It creates an agile university that uses data to make wise decisions, is able to prioritize its capital allocations in alignment with institutional priorities, and is physically organized around big ideas that ensure a vibrant 24/7 campus experience and act as an engine for regenerating the City of Columbus.

BAC recognizes Jim Moses for Teaching Excellence

Sat, 29 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000

At the Boston Architectural College's 2010 commencement, Sasaki architect Jim Moses and his teaching partner, Adam Mitchell of Cambridge Seven Associates received the Boston Society of Architects' Excellence in Teaching Award. Moses and Mitchell have taught advanced Master's design studios at the BAC since 1998.

UC Davis Graduate School of Management earns more awards

Mon, 10 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki's University of California, Davis, Graduate School of Management has received an Honorable Mention from the AIA TAP Building Information Model Awards. The award recognizes outstanding sustainable design for projects that employed BIM.

The GSM also won an Award of Merit in Sustainable Design from the SEAONC Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards Program. The project is pending LEED� Gold certification.

Dan Kenney and Greg Havens Lead seminar at GSD

Thu, 06 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000

On July 20 and 21, Sasaki principals Dan Kenney and Greg Havens will lead a two-day Executive Education seminar at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design entitled "Planning and Building Sustainable Campuses."

This seminar will focus on how to develop an integrated framework that includes an overview of campus sustainability, systems best practices, planning for a reduced carbon footprint, making sustainable communities, and sustainable planning in an international context.

Sasaki Principals Talk Sustainable Cities at GSD

Thu, 06 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000

In the seminar "Master Planning: Moving Toward a Sustainable City" Sasaki principals Dave Hirzel, Fred Merrill, and Dennis Pieprz will lead a discussion on the complex and continually evolving process for planning sustainable cities.

This Harvard University Graduate School of Design Executive Education course includes case studies ranging from new cities in emerging and urbanizing countries to mixed-use urban infill of American cities. The two-day seminar will be held July 12 and 13.

National Grid Receives USGBC Award

Mon, 03 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The National Grid New England Corporate Headquarters wins another award. For the second year in a row, the USGBC Massachusetts Chapter has awarded Sasaki with an Innovation in Green Design Award. The project was praised for providing a sustainability model that others can apply to their own buildings.

Last year Sasaki received the award for Chase Mills, our Watertown, Massachusetts office.

Sasaki Team Leads SCUP Pre-Conference Workshop

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

On July 10, The Society for College and University Planning workshop "Integrating Sustainability in the Master Planning Process" will be led by a team of experts including Sasaki principals Dan Kenney, Stephen Benz, and Greg Havens, Sasaki Director of Sustainable Planning Nathalie Beauvais, and AEI Sustainability Practice Leader Mike Walters. The pre-conference workshop will focus on emerging methodologies for evaluating environmental performance indicators and for integrating sustainability in a comprehensive master plan.

Perry Chapman Becomes AICP Fellow

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

In April, Sasaki planner Perry Chapman was inducted into The American Institute of Certified Planners College of Fellows at a ceremony held during the American Planning Association's 2010 National Planning Conference in New Orleans.

AICP President Paul Inghram said, "the Fellows have devoted their careers to excellence in planning and they set the highest standards for professional planners today."

Perry has developed master plans for over 85 campuses and has written extensively about campus planning.

UC Davis Building is Autodesk Revit Case Study

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The Graduate School of Management at University of California, Davis, has been published as an Autodesk case study. Using Revit, the team was able to design and construct the building to reach sustainability and cost goals while also delivering the completed project a month ahead of schedule.

"BIM provided deep insights into the project's characteristics from the very beginning, completely transforming traditional expectations about how quickly and cost-effectively we could deliver a noteworthy project," said Strachan Forgan, Director of Digital Design at Sasaki.

Two Sasaki Teams Present at National NIRSA Conference

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Two Sasaki teams presented at the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association National Conference in Anaheim, California April 21-23. Architects Nancy Freedman and Bill Massey discussed sustainable design for recreation centers for "Beyond LEED� to 2030: Transforming your Rec. Center to meet Environmental and Financial Goals." Interior designer Julie Houghton Sheridan and architect Russell Stevens presented "Living in a Material World: Facility Planning & Design" which focused on sustainable materials.

Cleveland Journalist Believes City Can Learn from Indianapolis

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

On a recent visit to Indianapolis, journalist Steven Litt of the Cleveland Plain Dealer looked at the city's development over the past few decades and believes that "there is a lot for us to learn."

In his article, "Indianapolis offers impressive urban planning lessons for Cleveland," he praises the city's riverfront development for which Sasaki did the master plan as well as landscape design, urban design, civil engineering and environmental permitting. The project has received awards from the American Society of Landscape Architects, the US Army Corps of Engineers, Boston Society of Landscape Architects, as well as recognition as the best project in Indianapolis in 25 years by the people of Indianapolis themselves.

Lynn Hoffman Carlton Engages ULI Young Leaders

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

As part of her work as co-chair of the Local Arrangements Committee for the Urban Land Institute's Spring Meeting, Lynn Hoffman Carlton successfully lobbied to have local Young Leaders invited as guests to all of the US Product Councils. The spring meeting was held in Boston April 14-16. She and her co-chair also organized the YLG Leadership Summit.

CSU, Chico, Wildcat Recreation Center Wins Three Awards

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The recently completed Wildcat Recreation Center at California State University, Chico, has received three awards: Outstanding Sports Facilities Award, National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association, 2010; Innovative Architecture & Design Award, Recreation Management, 2010; and Honorable Mention for "High Res Impact," 3 Form Best Installation Contest, 2010.

Seen as the family room of the campus, the new building augments its recreational facilities with generous social space. The emphasis on sustainability makes it a very healthy space housing healthy activities.

Michael Grove Speaks at Cornell on Recent Sasaki Work in China

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Landscape architecture principal Michael Grove will speak at Cornell University on April 16 as part of the "Contemporary Asian Design" lecture series, sponsored by the Department of Landscape Architecture. The focus is on recent work in China, with an emphasis on cultural considerations in urban design and landscape, urban transformation, and ecological restoration.

Portland State presented at APA and SCUP Pacific Conferences

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki principals Janne Corneil and Beth Foster presented the Portland State University Master Plan at the Society for College and University Planning Pacific conference in La Jolla, California. Janne and Dan Kenney then presented the project at the national American Planning Association conference in New Orleans on April 13.

The plan is the result of a strong partnership between the City of Portland, Oregon, and the University. The talk explores the strengths created from this partnership, specifically sustainability, livability, and economic benefits.

Greg Havens discusses Economics of Campus Sustainability

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

On April 23, Sasaki principal Greg Havens will be speaking on a panel at New England Board of Higher Education Sustainability Summit 2010. The panel will be discussing "The Economic Dynamics of Sustainability on Campus."

Intrinsic to Greg's extensive planning work with campuses is a highly sustainable ethic. His work at the University of Maine and other institutions has garnered much recognition for integrated sustainable visions.

Schenley Plaza selected as ULI Urban Open Space Award finalist

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Schenley Plaza has been selected as one of eight finalists for the Urban Land Institute's inaugural Amanda Burden Urban Open Space Award. This new award celebrates spaces that demonstrate a significant impact on the enrichment and revitalization of its surrounding community.

All finalists will be displayed on April 16 at the ULI Spring Council Forum and Awards Ceremony in Boston.

Dennis Pieprz presents new university designs at NYU lecture

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

On April 26, Sasaki President Dennis Pieprz will present two Sasaki projects as part of the NYU Abu Dhabi Lecture Series. The new universities, in Singapore and Abu Dhabi (shown), are examples of contemporary thinking for new educational environments in these evolving regions. Both projects have a completed master plan and are moving forward toward implementation.

The series is cosponsored by the Academy of Arts and Sciences and the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Dennis Pieprz lectures at the University of Illinois

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki President Dennis Pieprz spoke at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. In his lecture "Intersection and Convergence: Sasaki Works in Interdisciplinary Design," Pieprz discussed a wide range of firm projects located in the United States and across the globe. The lecture was part of the Hideo Sasaki Lecture Series, established in honor of Sasaki's founder.

The Commons at Bates College Wins ACUI Excellence Award

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The Commons at Bates College won the 2010 Association of College Unions International Facility Design Award of Excellence. ACUI Facility Design Awards recognize excellence in the design of student-centered facilities that support campus community building and student learning.

The Commons is one of the first capital projects at Bates College in over a decade and reflects Bates College's commitment to environmentally responsible policies. Working collaboratively with faculty, staff, and students, the design team focused its efforts on reducing energy consumption, careful materials selection, and an innovative waste management plan.

Perry Chapman Turns Over Reins at University of Missouri

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

After 12 years as the Principal in Charge of Sasaki's work at the University of Missouri, Perry Chapman turns over the reins to Sasaki principal Linda Eastley. In an article for The Missourian, "2010 MU Campus Master Plan emphasizes density," Chapman and Eastley discuss a sustainable future for the campus.

As a permanent display of gratitude for Chapman's work, a tree has been planted in his honor.

Alan Ward Presents Final Design for Lincoln Memorial

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

On March 18, the federal Commission of Fine Arts gave final approval for Sasaki's work on the Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool landscape in Washington, DC. This culminates seven years of effort by the CFA to resolve the many issues plaguing the aging site.

Sasaki principal Alan Ward presented the design for the prominent landscape including new pedestrian circulation integrated with security measures, as well as sustainability initiatives for the Reflecting Pool.

Ridley Intercollegiate Athletic Complex Opens at Loyola

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki designed the new Ridley Intercollegiate Athletic Complex at Loyola University, which recently celebrated its opening.

Loyola men's lacrosse coach Charlie Toomey said, "We talked about it a bit in the pre-game that we feel like we've got the nicest facility in Division I," in The Baltimore Sun. "Recruits drive up the hill, and you can see their eyes just pop."

The project is also highly sustainable. The facility is built on a reclaimed landfill, made possible because of a highly sophisticated, yet economical, design for site infrastructure, mechanical systems and landscape.

SEGD Magazine article highlights National Harbor

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki environmental graphic designer Brian Pearce was interviewed for the article "On The Waterfront" in the 2010 number 27 issue of SEGD Magazine, the publication of the Society for Environmental Graphic Design.

Brian discusses the interdisciplinary work at National Harbor and how important it was to integrate streetscape, EGD, and public art to create a real and enduring sense of place.

Varoujan Hagopian Lends His Expertise to ASCE Manual

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

As part of the National Ports and Harbor Committee for the American Society of Civil Engineers, Principal Varoujan Hagopian worked on the book "Planning and Design Guidelines for Small Craft Harbors."

The 200 page manual will be published and available at the Ports 2010 Conference in Jacksonville, Florida on April 25. These guides are designed to advance the knowledge, skills, and sense of civic responsibility among civil engineers.

Blair Academy Tennis Courts Win Award

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki's work at the Blair Academy in Blairstown, New Jersey, has been awarded a 2009 Facility of the Year by Racquet Sports Industry magazine. The award specifically recognizes the built tennis court design, however, Sasaki also did the athletic master plan and is currently at work on the design for the renovation and expansion of the sports and recreation center.

Fred Merrill presents at AAAS convention in San Diego

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Planning principal Fred Merrill presented "Embracing Nature: Ecological Planning and Trends in Sustainable Community Design" at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual convention in San Diego, California. The panel explored the current state and future of sustainability in community planning.

APWA Reporter Features Cedar Rapids

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The American Public Works Association's publication, the APWA Reporter, features an article on Sasaki's work for Cedar Rapids.

Written by Sasaki principal Jason Hellendrung and landscape architect Laura Marett, "Cedar Rapids: Repositioning a City Post-Disaster" describes the public process and close collaboration between the leadership of the City of Cedar Rapids, Department of Public Works, and Sasaki. The project's success is in great part due to an overwhelming commitment to collaboration between consultant and client.

National Grid Earns LEED� Platinum certification

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki's interior design for National Grid's New England Corporate Headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts, was certified LEED� for Commercial Interiors Platinum by the US Green Building Council on January 6, 2010.

The new Sasaki designed space is a model of efficiency and sustainability. It is only the second single-tenant facility in the world to earn LEED� Platinum certifications for both a corporate interior and a core/shell base building. The state-of-the-art workplace reflects National Grid's commitment to develop innovative energy efficiency and conservation initiatives and provides education, through example, of technologies that can be implemented by National Grid's customers.

Chico Statements Praises New Wildcat Recreation Center

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000

In the fall issue of Chico Statements, the California State University, Chico, campus publication, the new Wildcat Recreation Center is praised as a highly successful project. Immediately embraced by the students, over 2000 students use the facility each day. The Wildcat Recreation Center is seen as a "family room" for the campus. The building is more than just a recreation facility. It is the new hub for campus activity.

"It's amazing to be here at eight at night and to realize that there isn't a machine that isn't being utilized, that the courts are full, that people are in all the rooms," says Kimberly Scott, Director of Recreational Sports.

Elizabeth Meek calls for the end of dead end offices

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Colleges and universities are examining their real estate portfolios, which have grown exponentially over the last ten years. Harvard University built 3.2 million square feet of new space between 1980 and 2000, then added an additional 6.2 million square feet at a cost of $4.3 billion from 2000 through 2008. Ohio State University now has a total of 18.7 million square feet in its portfolio on its main campus in Columbus, Ohio. Even smaller private colleges and public community colleges have a significant amount of square feet in real estate.

While six to eight percent of these buildings are actual classrooms, a whopping 20-23% is private offices for faculty and staff. The older the school, the more pronounced this is. Institutions grow organically; found space is claimed by faculty and temporary space becomes permanent.

The private office has been a powerful lure to academics for researching, writing, and meeting with students, as well as for the status. Yet the cost of giving faculty space for their books and papers is significant, seen in the need to revitalize and maintain older buildings and the cost to build new academic buildings. For new buildings this ranges from $285 to $500 per square foot.

In an age of discussion about open doors and multi-disciplinary collaboration, many faculty are squirreled away in dead-end enclaves with narrow corridors and closed doors.

The corporate world has embraced new thinking about working environments. The work is said to happen in the white space – meaning anything from transparent enclosed offices to open collaborative spaces to the Starbucks downstairs. Even law firms now understand that large private offices are neither fiscally prudent nor conducive to creative problem solving.

What are the opportunities for innovation in housing full-time faculty as well as adjuncts? If we look to the corporate world for inspiration, we learn the goals around offices are really the same:
- Lower real estate costs
- Lower construction costs
- Flexible layouts so future moves are "box moves" with minimal renovations
- Increased collaboration
- Greater visibility
- Departmental identity/branding

Just as there has been no true paperless office, there will always be books in faculty offices. However, the attachment is proving to be generational. Older faculty with miles of books now are accessing journals online. Younger faculty are reading journals and books online. The office laden with overflowing bookshelves might be disappearing to allow more flexible planning and construction standards.

Colleges and universities that capture excess office space and convert it to student space stand to save significant capital and operating dollars. If they can take dead-end faculty spaces and transform them into lively, collaborative spaces, they can become a magnet for innovative educators and happy, engaged students.

Michael Grove presents Regenerative Landscapes in China

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Sasaki principal Michael Grove and Albert Chan with Shui On Land, Ltd. presented "Regenerative Landscapes in China: Ecological Stewardship in the World's Fastest Urbanizing Society" at Greenbuild 2009. The focus is stewardship in China, currently the world's fastest urbanizing society, and the presentation covered Caohai North Shore in Kunming, Lashihai Basin in Lijiang, and Qinhuangdao Waterfront in Qinhuangdao.

Greenbuild is the world's largest conference and expo dedicated to green building. Thousands of building professionals from all over the world come together at Greenbuild for three days of outstanding educational sessions, renowned speakers, green building tours, special seminars, and networking events.

Download the presentation here.

Michael Grove explores case studies in China

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0000

There is no doubt the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was China's coming out party—a grand spectacle on the world's center stage. The question, however, is what will China's post-Olympic legacy be? Will China become a world leader in sustainability, implementing stronger policies on ecological protection, and advancing environmental technologies? Will it continue to embrace the new social realities of an emerging middle class, reflecting changes in human habitation, lifestyle, and culture?

This paper will explore three significant urban design projects which are representative of China's progressive attitude to ecological restoration, cultural expression, and contemporary place-making in the post-Olympic era.

Download the white paper: "Social, Cultural, and Ecological Stewardship in the World's Fastest Urbanizing Society."

Leslie Katzman looks at an anti-pollution building material

Wed, 20 Dec 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Even though air pollution poses a significant risk to human health and the environment, selecting appropriate materials in architecture and landscape architecture can reduce its negative effects. One new class of materials permits the treatment of pollutants close to their source, in the city and on the street. For the last four years, European and Japanese research centers have been investigating the pollution-reducing capability of photocatalytic* compounds. One such compound, titanium dioxide (TiO2), is widely used in consumer products. In the presence of sun or artificial light, photocatalytic TiO2 reacts with air pollutants, converting them into molecules that have a relatively benign impact on the environment.

Incorporating cutting-edge technologies such as these smart anti-pollution materials is an integral part of Sasaki's approach to sustainable design. However the major drawback of photocatalytic building materials is their premium cost and sparse commercial availability in the United States. At the time of this writing, Essroc (a North American subsidiary of Italcementi Group) and Green Millennium (based in California) are the best sources of TiO2 products specifically formulated to reduce air pollution. It has yet to be determined whether clients are willing to pay for such innovative products, but the long-term results may be well worth the initial costs.

Download the white paper: "Building Toward a Cleaner Environment."

Mark Reaves and Peter Hedlund explore turfgrass alternatives

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 00:00:00 +0000

The topic of alternatives to conventional lawns is a recurring theme among Sasaki's landscape architects interested in sustainability. Traditional, high-input turfgrass has long been recognized as having the potential for negative environmental impacts. These impacts come largely from excessive water consumption, nutrient runoff, pesticide and herbicide use, and equipment emissions.

Increasingly, there is a need for an alternative to traditional turfgrass that requires reduced inputs of resources and labor. This report summarizes current developments in low-input, low-maintenance turfgrass and turfgrass alternatives to support Sasaki designers attempting to incorporate these concepts into their work. Details of species composition, cultural requirements, maintenance regimes, and appearance of turf blends and meadow mixes are the focus of this report.

Download the white paper: "Alternatives to the Great American Lawn."