Episode 137: MASS Design Group Business Evolution

Why do we need a non-profit architecture business model?

A Model of Architecture for Society (MASS) Design Group was founded in 2008 as a non-profit organization with the mission to research, design, build, and advocate for architecture that promotes justice and human dignity. On this episode of Practice Disrupted, we sit down with Patricia Gruits, AIA, Co-Executive Director and Ashley Marsh, Senior Director to learn about how MASS has experienced and moved towards growth in recent years.

Patricia and Ashley share why MASS is a nonprofit architecture firm and how their specific business model challenges others to think differently.

“Being a nonprofit allows us to challenge policymakers, challenge developers, challenge communities to think more radically, more equitably, more sustainably, about what the potential of the built environment is. That space for failure and learning is something nonprofits are very, very interested in.” - Ashley Marsh

To wrap up the episode, Patricia notes the ways the MASS continues to evolve and adapt through challenges. Plus, Patricia and Ashley share their perspective about the reality and reward of the profession — including the significant impact relationships have on each individual’s experience at work.

Tune in next week for an episode on a new report titled “New Realities: Employee Wellness and Organizational Culture in Design Firms.”

Guests:

Patricia Gruits, AIA, the Co-Executive Director of MASS Design Group believes that design is a tool to envision a better world — one that is just and beautiful for all people and our shared planet. Patricia also supports the strategy, development, operations and design practice across the North America studios. She works in concert with studio principals, lab leaders and designers, to navigate how architecture can address critical issues of Public Memory, Disability Justice, Food Systems, Native Communities, Climate Resilience, and Restorative Justice.

In recognition of her outstanding contributions to architecture, Patricia received the 2020 Flansburgh Young Designer Award by the Boston Society for Architecture. Patricia also frequently speaks at national and local AIA events, including the AIA 2022 National Convention where MASS received the Architecture Firm Award.

Ashley Marsh, RA, is a Senior Director of MASS Design Group and is responsible for securing strategically-aligned partners, supports, and funding to advance the mission and secure the long-term health of the organization. She guides the stewardship of existing relationships as well as the identification, qualification and cultivation of new ones. Ashley serves the North American studios by developing and driving earned income strategy and tactics, and has been with MASS Design Group since 2018.

Ashley’s early career specialized in consulting on the upstream stages of project and owner readiness, advising a spectrum of education, technology, creative and nonprofit organizations in design, strategy and change management capacities. She helped a public school in Oakland, California win a $10 million XQ Super School grant, was named ‘40 under 40’ by the San Francisco Business Times, and was part of the team that wrote The Third Teacher–one of Fast Company’s best design books of 2010. Ashley is a recipient of the Design Futures Council Emerging Leader award and serves on the Advisory Board of the Boston Architectural College.

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