MASS Design Group

Bamboo isn’t just fast-growing - it’s constantly renewing itself.

For centuries, it has shaped buildings, tools, landscapes, and cultural traditions across Asia, South America, and other regions where it grows abundantly. Emerging from an underground rhizome network, it can be selectively harvested without replanting - supporting continuous growth while improving soil health. It reaches full height in just a few months and can be harvested within a few years, making it one of the fastest-renewing building materials available. Its versatility spans flooring to lightweight structural systems. Projects like the Arc at Green School in Bali; Madrid-Barajas Airport Terminal 4 in Spain; Bambu Atmosfera in Brazil, and the Brown House in Washington, D.C. demonstrate the breadth of possibilities; from thoughtful interior applications to expressive structural forms to large-scale commercial applications.

At the same time, bamboo also reminds us that biological materials perform best when designed with their natural properties in mind. Its sugar content can attract insects, and untreated bamboo is vulnerable to moisture, making detailing, preservation, and appropriate use essential.

Ultimately, bamboo shows that durability and regeneration aren’t opposing goals. With the right design approach, this rapidly renewable materials can deliver both performance and beauty.
For more information, see the full Bio- & Mineral-Based Materials Primer at the link in our bio.

This is a collaboration between Bio-Based Materials Collective, MASS, and Perkins&Will

Authored by James Kitchin, Haorong Lee, Jesce Walz, and Kendall Claus.

Join us THIS Thursday, June 18th in San Francisco at William Stout Architectural Books to celebrate the launch of MASS’s new book: Seeking Abundance: Design, Ecology, and a Flourishing Planet!

The evening will include remarks from Seeking Abundance co-authors Alan Ricks and Sierra Bainbridge, plus a very special performance by Richard Reed Parry, the Canadian multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer best known as a core member of Arcade Fire. Richard will play an original piece built off the themes of the publication, paired with immersive place-based projections drawn from the ecological zones of Seeking Abundance.

We hope to see you there!

DATE: Thursday, June 18th
TIME: 5-7pm
LOCATION: William Stout Architectural Books
804 Montgomery St, San Francisco, CA

Around the world, maternal and newborn health systems are increasingly recognizing a simple but transformative idea: mothers and newborns should remain together throughout care whenever possible.

This model — known as Zero Separation — has been shown to improve bonding, breastfeeding, developmental outcomes, and newborn survival. But while healthcare systems are shifting toward more family-centered care, very little guidance exists for what these environments should actually look like spatially.

How should neonatal units change when parents are no longer treated as visitors, but as essential participants in care?

Through MASS’s Maternal & Newborn Health Lab, we recently released new design principles for Zero Separation newborn care as part of the expanded Delivering More toolkit, developed with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. The resource translates emerging care models into practical spatial guidance for maternal and newborn health facilities.

At the same time, Principal Amie Shao joined collaborators from IHI and the World Bank in a new Devex article exploring why healthcare infrastructure must be treated as a core component of global health investments.

Together, these efforts reflect a growing recognition that care models cannot fully succeed without environments designed to support them.

Explore the article and toolkit at the links in bio.

Construction is soon approaching on the New Lots Branch Library in Brooklyn — a new educational and cultural space that honors the site’s history as a formerly-underacknowledged African Burial Ground in East New York. The team recently completed performance testing on the facade mock-up, simulating a range of weather conditions as construction kicks off.

Developed with the Brooklyn Public Library, Marble Fairbanks Architects, and a host of partners, the project reimagines the public library as a palaver in the tradition of West Africa - a civic resource and a place of remembrance, healing, and community connection. The design honors buried ancestors while supporting cultural, historical, and civc learning in East New York.