MASS Design Group: Seeking Abundance

The U.S.- and Rwanda-based nonprofit collective shares its innovative practice model and design methodology.

December 16, 2022

Recorded on November 29, 2022.

Current Work is a lecture series featuring leading figures in the worlds of architecture, urbanism, design, and art.

MASS (Model of Architecture Serving Society) Design Group was founded in 2008 as a nonprofit organization with the mission to research, design, build, and advocate for architecture that promotes justice and human dignity. In this video, seven of MASS’s project leaders present the firm’s new and ongoing initiatives.

The presenters and projects include:

Jean Paul Sebuhayi Uwase, Butaro District Hospital and other healthcare initiatives. 

Patricia Gruits, Education projects and The Purpose Built Series.

Jonathan Evans, Affordable housing projects.

Jha D Amazi, Public Memory and Memorials Lab.

Jeffrey Mansfield, Deaf Space and Disability Justice Lab.

Caitlin Taylor, Food Systems Design Lab.

Christian Benimana, Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture.

The presentations are followed by a discussion moderated by Quilian Riano, interim dean of Pratt Institute’s School of Architecture and the founder and lead designer of DSGN AGNC. The conversation touches on how the nonprofit operates at such a large scale and the personal stories behind each project leader’s relationship with the firm.

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