MASS Design Group Expands Community Development and Housing Expertise with Hire of Katie Swenson
Swenson Named MASS Senior Principal, Joins the Firm’s Senior Leadership February 1, 2020
BOSTON, Feb. 3, 2020 -- MASS Design Group, a design collective dedicated to delivering architecture that promotes justice and human dignity, is hiring the nationally recognized design leader, researcher, writer, and educator Katie Swenson to expand the expertise of their senior leadership team, consisting of 11 design principals and four senior directors. Previously the vice president of Design & Sustainability at Enterprise Community Partners, Inc., a national nonprofit that invested over $43.6 billion in community development, Swenson is an expert in affordable housing, community development, and leadership cultivation. Swenson joins MASS on February 1, 2020, as a Senior Principal.
“We are committed to delivering maximum impact to our partners and their communities, which includes affordable and dignified housing, based on sustainable design practices,” said Michael Murphy, founding principal and executive director of MASS Design Group. “Katie’s addition to our leadership team provides us with the expertise and opportunity to provide our partners not just design intervention, but sophisticated, scalable and innovative means to create healthier and more livable communities. Her mentorship expertise will help us invest in the next generation of architects who will fight for social change and innovation in all community design.”
Swenson founded Enterprise’s National Design Initiative, directing the Affordable Housing Design Leadership Institute, the Pre-Development Design Grant, and the Rose Fellowship. The Rose Fellowship partners emerging architectural designers and cultural practitioners with local community development organizations to facilitate an inclusive approach to development resulting in sustainable and affordable communities. During the process, she managed and nurtured hundreds of diverse design leaders. Under her leadership, the prestigious community development-focused fellowship quadrupled in size. The Enterprise Rose Fellowship work was showcased at the Museum of Modern Art, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, the New York Center for Architecture, and the National Building Museum and recognized by the American Institute of Architects for its groundbreaking work.
A 2001 Rose Fellow herself, Swenson spent her three-year fellowship in Charlottesville, Virginia, at Piedmont Housing, a regional nonprofit that creates housing and community development opportunities for very low to moderate income families and individuals. The organization taught financial literacy, home-buying, and homeownership skills, and advocated for affordable housing policies and programs. She was responsible for the design and construction of the 10th and Page Street Neighborhood Revitalization Project, adding 31 new and restored affordable homes to a neighborhood between the University of Virginia and downtown Charlottesville.
Following her fellowship, Swenson founded the Charlottesville Community Design Center in Charlottesville and, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, led it to establish an international design competition. Based on the innovations that emerged from the competition and work, she co-authored, “Growing Urban Habitats: Seeking a New Housing Development Model,” with William Morrish and Susanne Schindler.
Swenson was a Harvard University Graduate School of Design Loeb Fellow in 2018-2019. She joined MASS Design Group’s Board of Directors in 2017 to provide insights on how design practice promotes economic and social equity, environmental sustainability, and healthy communities.
“As a board member, I’ve watched, admired, and helped cultivate MASS’s strategic direction on projects that make a difference in people’s lives, providing a better present and hope for the future,” said Swenson. “Now is the time to spearhead new healthy housing and community initiatives, tackling economic and culture divides in our cities. We have much to do, but we also have much to gain by leveraging our partnerships, momentum, talent, and expertise. I am thankful for the colleagues I’ve worked with and for the experience that brought me to this moment. I look forward to the work ahead with my new team.”
Swenson taught at the Boston Architectural College and Parsons School of Design at The New School, and lectured extensively on sustainable community development and affordable housing. She holds a bachelor’s degree in comparative literature from the University of California-Berkeley and a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Virginia.
She is the author of the forthcoming publication, “Design With Love,” stories from 20 years of the Enterprise Community Partners Rose Fellowship, with photography by Harry Connolly. The book will be published in August 2020 by Schiffer Publishing.