What Sasaki does

Sasaki is a privately held interdisciplinary design consultancy founded in 1953 by Hideo Sasaki, headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts and operating across five offices (Boston, Denver, New York, Los Angeles, and Shanghai). The firm employs over 300 professionals from 30 countries speaking 32 languages and is organized around six core disciplines — architecture, interior design, planning and urban design, space planning, landscape architecture, and civil engineering — supplemented by graphic design and interdisciplinary expertise. Sasaki serves institutional clients in seven sectors: education, civic, arts and culture, commercial development, corporate and office, sports and recreation, and science and technology. Named recent and ongoing clients include Bates College, Brown University, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Rice University, Baylor University, the University of Pittsburgh, Princeton University, UC Berkeley, the City of Boston, Friends of Reggie Wong Memorial Park, and 10 World Trade.

The firm's practice is differentiated by a portfolio of proprietary research tools including Carbon Conscience (carbon impact assessment, ASLA 2024 Award of Excellence in Research), Office Shift Pro (office-to-other-use conversion analysis), Climate.Park.Change. (co-developed with NRPA), Density Atlas (urban density standardization platform), Space Planning Tools for campus utilization, and Permeable Pavers R&D. These sit alongside parametric and computational design methodologies and a fabrication studio. Over its 70+ year history, Sasaki has accumulated more than 1,000 local, regional, national, and international design awards, including a 2007 ASLA Landmark Award, 2025 Holcim Foundation Awards, 2025 ASLA national honors, and 2026 AIA/SCUP recognition.

Sasaki generates revenue through project-based professional fees from design consulting engagements, with pricing determined per project through direct client engagement, RFQs/RFPs, and competitive tender processes. The firm does not disclose pricing publicly and operates a direct enterprise field-sales motion targeting institutional, governmental, corporate, and real estate developer clients globally. The company has no disclosed external funding, no parent company, no public listing, and is presumed to operate under founder/employee ownership with a board of directors led by President Caitlyn Clauson. Marketing relies on a thought-leadership content platform (Voices), quarterly newsletters, active social channels, and industry awards, complemented by the Sasaki Foundation as an industry-advancement initiative.

Name

Sasaki

Legal name

Sasaki Associates, Inc.

Website

https://sasaki.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1953

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Sasaki is a privately held interdisciplinary design consultancy founded in 1953, offering architecture, planning, landscape architecture, civil engineering, and interior design services to universities, municipalities, and developers across offices in the US and Shanghai.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architecture and Planning Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (541310), Landscape Architectural Services (54132), Interior Design Services (54141), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Engagement & Participatory Planning (BPAHAKAO), Lighting Design Services (BPAHAKAJ)

Keywords

• Architecture design services
• Urban planning consulting
• Landscape architecture
• Interior design services
• Space planning consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Watertown

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Design Consulting Services: Professional fees from architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, urban planning, civil engineering, and space planning services. Revenue is project-based, typically for institutional, commercial, civic, and government clients on design and master planning engagements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Sasaki is an interdisciplinary design firm delivering architecture, interior design, planning and urban design, space planning, landscape architecture, civil engineering, and graphic design services for institutional, civic, educational, commercial, and corporate clients worldwide. Engagements range from strategic campus master plans and large-scale urban regeneration to individual buildings, supported by proprietary research tools for space utilization, carbon assessment, and climate resilience. The firm combines artistic expression with evidence-based, community-led methodologies to create authentic, equitable, and inspiring places.

Product overview

Sasaki is a global architecture and design firm offering a comprehensive suite of services organized around six core disciplines: Architecture, Interior Design, Planning & Urban Design, Space Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Civil Engineering, supplemented by Graphic Design and Interdisciplinary Expertise. The practice operates across seven client sectors (Education, Civic, Arts & Culture, Commercial Development, Corporate & Office, Sports & Recreation, Science & Technology) and serves projects ranging from individual buildings to large-scale urban master plans. The firm has over 300 employees across offices in Boston, Denver, New York, Los Angeles, and Shanghai, speaking 32 languages and working globally. Projects span campus planning, waterfront development, parks and public space, sports and recreation facilities, corporate campuses, and urban regeneration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sasaki Foundation: An initiative referenced on the Sasaki website focused on changing the design industry for the better.

Products and services

• Architecture Services Architectural design services creating projects that give mission a physical form, enriching the human spirit and advancing culture and identity in the built environment; serving institutional, civic, educational, and commercial clients worldwide.
• Interior Design Interior design services creating intelligent, bold, and functional places to support the ongoing progression of how people interact, learn, create, and innovate; serving educational, workplace, and cultural clients.
• Planning & Urban Design Planning and urban design services committed to improving the human condition through meaningful collaboration, advocating for community and client needs to advance design excellence, sustainability, and resilience; serving municipalities, universities, and developers.
• Space Planning Space planning services optimizing existing resources through proprietary tools and integrative methodology, linking space planning, design, financial planning, and academic planning; for institutional and campus clients.
• Landscape Architecture Landscape architecture services creating and renewing inspiring landscapes as systems thinkers, ecologists, and researchers implementing resilient solutions for healthy and equitable communities; for civic, campus, and waterfront clients.
• Civil Engineering Civil engineering services supporting the built environment with infrastructure design and engineering solutions; integrated with the firm's architecture and planning disciplines for institutional and civic clients.
• Graphic Design Graphic design services for environmental graphics, signage, and visual identity systems; supporting the firm's architecture, planning, and place-making projects.
• Interdisciplinary Expertise Cross-disciplinary expertise combining sustainability, resilience, ecology, community engagement, data and design tools, fabrication studio, research, and inclusive design; bringing multiple disciplines together for institutional and civic clients.
• Athletics and Recreation Facilities Design Design services for athletic and recreational facilities including field houses, fitness centers, and sports complexes for educational institutions, athletics departments, and municipalities; integrated with Sasaki's architecture, landscape, and planning disciplines.
• Urban Development and Master Planning Large-scale urban planning services for new cities and districts, including residential units, infrastructure, and green space master planning; serving government, developers, and institutional clients.

Quantifiable outcome

• Pingshan River Blueway Landscape project won 2025 Holcim Foundation Award for Sustainable Landscape Design
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Friends of Reggie Wong Memorial ParkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity organization client leading the Reggie Wong Memorial Park renovation project in Boston's Chinatown. The partnership involves community-led design process with extensive resident engagement to transform the underserved sports park.
• Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal organization partnered with for Phillips Square engagement to reach senior residents and youth in Boston's Chinatown community.
• Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner for Chinatown engagement processes, helping reach monolingual residents and youth for the Phillips Square and Reggie Wong Memorial Park projects.
• Greater Boston Chinese Golden Age Center (GBCGAC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for reaching senior residents in Boston's Chinatown during community engagement for public space projects.
• Josiah Quincy Upper SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational partner for youth engagement in Phillips Square project in Boston's Chinatown.
• Pao Arts CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCultural partner in Boston's Chinatown for community engagement on the Phillips Square redesign project.
• National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on Climate.Park.Change. research project - a user-friendly tool for climate change risk and mitigation in parks, awarded ASLA National Award of Excellence in Research.
• Tufts University - Professor MyDung ChuminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic collaboration on Chinatown Heat Equity and Resilience in Open Spaces (HEROS) project studying environmental conditions of 13 open spaces in Boston's Chinatown.
• Harvard UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic collaboration including Harvard ArtLab project (2019 award) and various research initiatives.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Gensler: Largest global architecture and design firm, with deep higher education, civic, and commercial development practices that directly overlap Sasaki's core verticals; competes for the same institutional campus and master-planning commissions.
• HOK: Global architecture, engineering, and planning firm with comparable higher education, civic, and sports/recreation practices; competes for campus, urban design, and large institutional commissions.
• SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill): Global architecture, engineering, and urban planning firm; overlaps with Sasaki on civic, urban design, and large master-planning commissions at the high end of project scale.
• KPF (Kohn Pedersen Fox): International architecture firm with strong urban design and mixed-use development practices; competes for high-profile commercial and waterfront commissions in Sasaki's served markets.

Direct peers

• Perkins&Will: Major interdisciplinary architecture and design firm with strong higher education and healthcare practices; competes head-to-head with Sasaki on university campus and master-planning engagements.
• HKS: Architecture and planning firm with significant higher education, sports, and civic practices; overlaps directly with Sasaki in campus master planning, athletics/recreation design, and urban design.
• SWA Group: Landscape architecture, urban design, and planning firm with parallel emphasis on landscape architecture and master planning; competes for the same waterfront, park, and urban regeneration commissions.
• OLIN: Landscape architecture and urban design studio with comparable elite client roster in civic, cultural, and university projects; competes for the same marquee landscape commissions Sasaki pursues.
• Snøhetta: Interdisciplinary architecture, landscape, and design firm with shared emphasis on sustainability, public realm, and cultural projects; comparable in scale, methodology, and award profile.

Emerging players

• BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group): High-profile interdisciplinary architecture and design firm with growing campus, civic, and master-planning portfolio; competes for marquee institutional commissions where brand and design narrative matter.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sasakidesign
• YouTubevimeo.com/sasakiassociates
• Facebookfacebook.com/sasakiassociates
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sasaki-associates
• Instagraminstagram.com/sasakidesign

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sasaki