Sasaki is a design firm specializing in

Architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

Interior Design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a Creativity, creative flair, an ...

Urban Design Urban design is an approach to the design of buildings and the spaces between them that focuses on specific design processes and outcomes based on geographical location. In addition to designing and shaping the physical features of towns, city, ...

, Space Planning,

Landscape Architecture Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor areas, landmarks, and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioural, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic design and general engineering of various structures for constructio ...

Ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

Civil Engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

, and Place Branding. The firm is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, but practices on an international scale, with offices in Shanghai, and Denver, Colorado, and clients and projects globally.

History

Sasaki was founded in 1953 by

landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manage ...

Hideo Sasaki while he served as a professor and landscape architecture chair at the

Harvard Graduate School of Design The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) is the graduate school of design at Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It offers master's and doctoral programs in architecture, landscape architecture, urba ...

. Sasaki was founded upon collaborative, interdisciplinary design, unprecedented in design practice at the time, and an emphasis on the integration of land, buildings, people, and their contexts. Through the mid- to late-1900s, Sasaki designed plazas (including Copley Square), corporate parks, college campuses, and master plans, among other projects. The firm includes a team of in house designers, software developers, and data analysts who support the practice. As of 2019, Sasaki had over 300 employees across its diverse practice areas and between its two offices. The firm engages in a wide variety of project types, across its many disciplines.

Milestones

In 2000, in honor of the passing of the firm's founder, the family of Hideo Sasaki together with Sasaki and other financial supporters, established the Sasaki Foundation. The foundation, which is a separate entity from Sasaki, gives yearly grants, supporting community-led research at Sasaki. In 2012, Sasaki opened an office in Shanghai to support the firm's work in China and the larger Asia Pacific region. In 2018, Sasaki opened the Incubator, a

coworking Coworking is an arrangement in which workers for different companies share an office space. It allows cost savings and convenience through the use of common infrastructures, such as equipment, utilities and receptionist and custodial services, a ...

space designed by and located within the Sasaki campus, which houses the Sasaki Foundation as curator of programming. The 5,000 square-foot space is home to several like-minded non-profits, organizations, and individuals. In 2020, Sasaki established a new office in Denver, Colorado, marking the firm's third physical studio location. Opening an office in Denver, a region where Sasaki has been working since the 1960s, positions Sasaki to deliver on projects across western North America.

Awards and recognition

In 2007, Sasaki was honored as the

American Society of Landscape Architects The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) is a professional association for landscape architects in the United States. The ASLA's mission is to advance landscape architecture through advocacy, communication, education, and fellowship. ...

firm of the year. In 2012, Sasaki won the

American Planning Association The American Planning Association (APA) is a professional organization representing the field of urban planning in the United States. APA was formed in 1978, when two separate professional planning organizations, the American Institute of Pla ...

firm of the year award. Sasaki has earned numerous consecutive

Pierre L'Enfant Pierre "Peter" Charles L'Enfant (; August 2, 1754June 14, 1825) was a French-American artist, professor, and military engineer. In 1791, L'Enfant designed the baroque-styled plan for the development of Washington, D.C., after it was designated ...

International Planning awards from the American Planning Association. In 2017, two of the five annual finalists for the Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence were Sasaki projects: the Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building (Boston, MA) and the Chicago Riverwalk both were recognized as silver medalists. Sasaki has been named a top 50 firm by

Architect Magazine ''Architect Magazine'' is the successor to ''Architecture'', one of a series of periodicals published from before World War I by the American Institute of Architects. Overview This is the sixth iteration of a magazine about the field associate ...

numerous times. The firm has been recognized by the Boston Society of Landscape Architects (BSLA), Boston Society of Architects (BSA),

(APA), American Institute of Architecture (AIA),

Society for College and University Planning The Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) is a professional association for the integration of planning in higher education institutions. It is headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michiga ...

(SCUP), Urban Land Initiative (ULI), Dezeen, and

Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is an American business magazine published monthly in print and online, focusing on technology, business, and design. It releases six print issues annually. History ''Fast Company'' was founded in November 1995 by Alan Webb ...

, among others.

Research

Notable Sasaki-sponsored research projects include Sea-Change Boston (2016 ASLA Honor Award), Shifting Gears: An Urbanist's take on autonomous vehicles (2019 Fast Company honorable mention), Understanding Homelessness, and Where Design Meets Play.

Select projects

Sasaki has a large portfolio of work, which includes: * Charleston Waterfront Park; Charleston, SC * 2008 Beijing Olympic Green; Beijing, China * Bruce C. Bolling Building (with Mecanoo Architecten); Boston, MA * Chicago Riverwalk; Chicago, IL (Phases 2 and 3) * Universidad de Lima Masterplan; Lima, Peru * Nord Family Greenway; Cleveland, OH * Zidell Yards Masterplan; Portland, OR *

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists, Middlebury w ...

Virtue Fieldhouse; Middlebury, VT *

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

New England Research and Development Center (NERD); Cambridge, MA * Chengdu Panda Reserve; Chengdu, China * Bonnet Springs Park; Lakeland, FL * Tecnologico de Monterrey new main library; Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico * Wuhan

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

Riverfront Park; Wuhan, China *

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

Core Campus Dining Facility; Clemson, SC * Wolverine Worldwide; Waltham, MA *

Virginia Polytechnic Institute The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

and State University Master Plan Update; Blacksburg, VA *

Sacred Heart University Sacred Heart University (SHU) is a private, Roman Catholic university in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1963 by Walter W. Curtis, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Sacred Heart was the first Catholi ...

Martire Business and Communications Center; Fairfield, CT * The Lawn on D; Boston, MA *

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

Campus Master Plan and Innovation District Framework; Seattle, WA * Smale Riverfront Park; Cincinnati, OH *

Salisbury University Salisbury University is a public university in Salisbury, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1925, Salisbury University is a member of the University System of Maryland, with a fall 2022 enrollment of 7,123. Salisbury University offers unde ...

Patricia R Guerrieri Academic Commons; Salisbury, MD * Dar Ul-aman and Massoud Corridor Districts; Kabul, Afghanistan * The Incubator at Sasaki; Watertown, MA *

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

Pedro Arrupe, S.J. Hall; Washington D.C. *

Boston City Hall Plaza City Hall Plaza in Boston, Massachusetts, is a large, open, public space in the Government Center, Boston, Government Center area of the city. The architectural firm Kallmann McKinnell & Knowles designed the plaza in 1962 to accompany Boston's ...

; Boston, MA * Denver Airport Strategic Plan; Denver, CO * Lincoln Memorial Landscape and Reflecting Pool; Washington D.C. * Greenwich Academy Masterplan; Greenwich, CT * 798 Arts District Plan; Beijing, China * The Lawrenceville School Masterplan and Implementation; Lawrenceville NJ * 401 Congress Street; Boston, MA

Gallery

File:Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building, Boston, US 03.jpg, Bruce C Bolling Building (with Mecanoo Architecten); Boston, MA File:Looking northeast - new Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool - 2012-09-13 (7984298087).jpg, Lincoln Memorial Landscape and Reflecting Pool; Washington D.C. File:Bonnet Springs Park Design.jpg, Bonnet Springs Park; Lakeland, FL File:Chengdu Panda Reserve Rendering.jpg, Chengdu Panda Reserve; Chengdu, China File:Universidad de Lima Sasaki Masterplan.jpg, Universidad de Lima Masterplan; Lima, Peru File:Wuhan Yangtze Riverfront Park Design.jpg, Wuhan Yangtze Riverfront Park; Wuhan, China File:Waterfront Park, Charleston 2.jpg, Charleston Waterfront Park; Charleston, SC

References

{{Authority control Landscape architecture firms Planning Urban design Interior design Ecology