To support @childfund’s goal of launching a model for pre-primary education in Rwanda, MASS adapted age-appropriate programming to a steep hillside location when designing Jabana Preschool. Beginning with an immersion study focused on addressing the needs of local parents and children, MASS, ChildFund, and the Government of Rwanda collaborated to develop a space that could provide solutions to family planning and nutritional issues, as well as pre-primary education needs. The design focuses on child-friendliness, accessibility, safety, and cultivating a holistic sense of ownership among stakeholders for early childhood development. The resulting space has flexi-classrooms that adapt to the school’s experiential learning approach, facilitating teacher-child engagement and individualized learning. “Design embeds curiosity, uniqueness, or specialness,” says MASS Principal Sarah Mohland. “Spaces conceived to spark curiosity and individuality will, ideally, lead to improved educational outcomes.” Learn more by following the link in bio.

The Maple Street Housing project in Poughkeepsie, New York, is organized around a new north-south public pedestrian street that seeks to reconnect downtown to the rest of the city. Multiple shared entries along the new street promote safety and community. The site is adjacent to the 1757 Glebe House, the oldest house in the city, and the inspiration for the Maple Street’s defining saltbox roof. Maple Street creatively approaches city redevelopment by reimagining an interior “flagpole” lot. It creates density and encourages a reconsideration of awkward parcels as part of an affordable housing development agenda. Learn more about the project using the link in the bio. 📷: @iwanbaan

We are not architects to design buildings— We are architects to protect and save our planet, to improve the communities in which we live, and to awaken the links that bind us inextricably to one another; in what Martin Luther King called the ‘inescapable network of mutuality’. MASS is proud to be a signatory of the COP26 Communiqué: The climate and biodiversity crisis is much more complex and intertwined with many injustices and social inequities, affecting vulnerable communities the most. We need to create a future that not only conserves and stewards our resources, but is regenerative, healing our environment for generations to come. We believe that changing the culture of how we build can leverage this asset to become one of our most effective tools for planetary survival and social justice. We need to ask why we build to change how we build. Ecological protection, purposefully designed places, inextricable mutuality – these three potentialities, and human needs, are what the design professions can and will produce. As an interdisciplinary design collective we will use our skills towards delivering a climate positive future, to protect and enhance biodiversity, where all can thrive. Learn more by following the link in bio. 📷 1-2: Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture, Gashora, Bugesera District, Rwanda. 3-4: Butaro District Hospital, Butaro, Burera District, Rwanda.

“There was always a sense that we could do better and that we would work within the environment to create a structure that would be adapted to the needs of the people—and that would provide some kind of dignity that is fully Haitian. I saw this from day one because of the collaboration with local labor and local culture.” - Dr. Jean William Pape Based in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Les Centres GHESKIO is a nonprofit organization founded by Dr. Jean William Pape in 1982 as the first institution in the world dedicated to the study and treatment of HIV/AIDS and related infectious diseases. By 2010, GHESKIO was treating more than 600,000 patients annually, caring for individuals with HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and other medical conditions. MASS partnered with GHESKIO to build The Cholera Treatment Center and the GHESKIO Tuberculosis Hospital in 2015, both of which serve the city of Port-au-Prince to treat patients with dignity.  For those who are looking to support a local organization in Haiti responding to the recent earthquake, @gheskio_haiti continues to provide critical relief. Link in bio to learn more.  📷: @iwanbaan #haitirelief #haitiearthquake

MASS deploys locally fabricated (Lo-Fab) design to scale local innovation and ideas; bolster and develop local crafts; hire local labor; invest in capacity building and job training; and reduce the building’s carbon-footprint. At African Leadership University's (ALU) campus in Kigali, Rwanda, the building is a concrete frame infilled with compressed stabilized earth blocks (CSEB) fabricated on site, with a light-colored clay brick facade. Made in Muhanga 1.5 hours outside of Kigali, the bricks are design-inspired, energy-efficient, low-maintenance, relatively weather-proof, and sustainable. Lo-Fab methodology was also deployed in designing and building part of ALU's furnishings, including tables and benches for common spaces, as well as built-ins, lighting, signage, and lockers. Painted by local artists, Afrofuturist murals, branded wall graphics, and provocative quotes from African leaders, are distributed throughout the campus providing moments of inspiration and reflection. To learn more about ALU (@alueducation), visit our website using the link in bio.

We are so honored to be among the recipients of the 2021 RIBA International Awards for Excellence! #Repost @riba: 📢 We are delighted to announce 16 exceptional projects have been awarded the 2021 RIBA International Awards for Excellence. . The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, Alabama, USA by MASS Design Group for Equal Justice Initiative Image: MASS Design Group . #RIBAInternationalAwards #RIBA #Architecture #RIBAAwards

African Leadership University's (ALU) fundamental learning model helped to inform the design of its campus in Kigali, Rwanda as a place of inspiration, access, and networking, combined with space for individual study and exploration. The model enabled MASS to think about the building in smaller increments, stacking and nesting cohorts of learning labs and work hives, and linking them together around shared commons. “We want to break down the barrier between those who are serving, the students - faculty and staff - and the students themselves,” says African Leadership Group’s founder Fred Swaniker, “These spaces help make the academic community very accessible, to encourage a wide exchange of ideas. Physical design is just one way in which we are reimagining learning." To learn more about ALU, visit our website using the link in bio. 📷: @iwanbaan

We’re honored to receive this year’s @aianational Collaborative Achievement Award, and hope you will join our conversation on leveraging the power of collaborations with nonprofits, activists, and communities around the globe. AIA's webinar "Architects as Worldwide Collaborators for MASS-ive Change" takes place tomorrow, July 14 at 1:00pm EDT. Link in bio to register. Moderated by MASS Senior Principal Katie Swenson (@kt_swen), speakers will include: Michael Murphy (@michaelpmurphyjr), Founding Principal & Executive Director, MASS Design Group; Amie Shao (@amieshao), Principal, MASS Design Group; Joseph Kunkel (@jfkunkel), Principal & Director of the Sustainable Native Communities Design Lab, MASS Design Group; Neel Shah (@neel_t_shah), M.D., MPP, FACOG, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Harvard Medical School, Director of the Delivery Decisions Initiative, Ariadne Labs; Pardis Sabeti (@pardis_sabeti), M.D., D.Phil., Professor, Harvard University and T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Institute Member, The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; and Chef Jody Adams (@jodyadams), TRADE, Saloniki, and Porto restaurants. 📷: @chris.schwagga

Join us in celebrating and thanking Prosper Uwingeli, Chief Park Warden of Volcanoes National Park, for his dedication to both gorilla conservation and strengthening partnerships with the local community. MASS is partnering with @savinggorillas and @theellenfund to design and build a new campus that will amplify The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund’s mission to protect mountain gorillas and train the next generation of African conservationists. #gorillagamechangers #weneedgorillas

The African Leadership University (ALU) campus in Kigali, Rwanda, opened its doors this year. Designed in partnership with ALU founder, Fred Swaniker, and university faculty, staff, and students, the campus will provide a new affordable higher education model on the African continent. The flagship site accommodates a mix of in-person and remote learning, and will serve 1,200 undergraduate students with the aim to develop 3 million leaders for Africa and the world by 2035. To learn more about ALU, visit our website using the link in bio. 📷: Iwan Baan

In honor of International Women in Engineering Day, women on MASS’s engineering team share what inspires their career path. We celebrate their incredible work today and every day! #INWED21

Haiti is a land of beauty, resilience, and challenges. At the forefront of the AIDS crisis, natural disasters, and epidemics from Cholera to COVID, our partners at Les Centres GHESKIO (@gheskio_haiti) are driving innovative healthcare solutions and providing dignified, long term patient care. They are doggedly optimistic, exceedingly realistic, pioneering, and hopeful. While COVID-19 remains a global challenge, GHESKIO is facing a unique battle and needs more support. If you're able, please consider donating using the link in bio.