Furniture Design

Alan is a Founding Principal and the Chief Design Officer of MASS Design Group. He leads strategy and design of the 100-person firm, which has projects in over a dozen countries that range from design to research to policy—a portfolio that continues to expand the role of design in advancing a more just world.

In 2017 Alan and MASS were awarded the National Design Award for Architecture from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. First launched at the White House in 2000 as an official project of the White House Millennium Council, the annual Awards program celebrates design as a vital humanistic tool in shaping the world, and seeks to increase national awareness of the impact of design through education initiatives.

In 2018 he and MASS received the Arts and Letters Award for Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Each year the Academy honors over 70 composers, artists, architects, and writers with awards and prizes. Recipients must be nominated by an Academy member and this year the jury included Annabelle Seldorf, James Polshek, Tod Williams, Billie Tsien, Steven Holl, Kenneth Frampton, and Thom Mayne.

Alan is a member of The Forum of Young Global Leaders with the World Economic Forum, a community of over 800 men and women selected under the age of 40, who operate as a force for good to overcome barriers that elsewhere stand in the way of progress. The community is made up of leaders from all walks of life, from every region of the world, and from every stakeholder group in society.

Currently, he is the William B. and Charlotte Shepherd Davenport Visiting Professor at the Yale School of Architecture and has previously taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He regularly speaks, writes, and creates films focused on the role of architecture in catalyzing social change. Chris Anderson, chief curator of TED, described his TED talk as “a different language about what architecture can aspire to be.”

He has a Bachelor of Arts from Colorado College and a Master of Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Amie Shao is a Principal with MASS Design Group, where she oversees research focusing on health infrastructure planning, design, and evaluation. Amie also leads the MASS.Made team in interior design, including space planning, testing and fabrication, and furniture design for office and healthcare spaces. Her work is aimed at engaging and empowering stakeholders in the design process; creating human-centered environments that are functional, adaptable, and mission-driven; supporting and substantiating the impact of design on health, social, and environmental outcomes; and and translating research into guidelines that can be used to advocate for policy change.

Currently, Amie is supporting the firm’s COVID-19 research and leading Maternal Health projects with IHI and PATH in Africa and South Asia. Blending human-centered design practices with evidence-based research, Amie has collaborated with Ariadne Labs and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to investigate the Impact of Design on Clinical Care in Childbirth, worked with the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital to design for the spatial needs of children with Cerebral Palsy, and coordinated the production of National Health Infrastructure Standards for the Liberian Ministry of Health.

Prior to joining MASS, Amie worked for the Office for Metropolitan Architecture in Beijing, WORK Architecture Company in New York City, and EnSitu, S.A. in Panama. Amie received her Master of Architecture and a Certificate in Urban Policy & Planning from Princeton University.

Chris joined MASS in January 2018 as a Senior Design Associate based in Kigali. Prior to MASS, he was an Associate, Coordinator of the Fabrication Studio, and a member of the Technical Resources Group at Sasaki in Watertown, MA. Chris has researched and lectured on the emergence of digital fabrication and the integration of modern craft in architecture.

He has undergraduate and graduate degrees in architecture from Roger Williams University in Rhode Island. He previously held an adjunct professorship at the Boston Architectural College where he taught design studios. Chris is currently a member of the Education Advisory Council for CSI’s annual conference.

Christelle joined our team in Kigali as a design intern in the summer of 2017. She’s worked on several projects including UGHE Office Expansion, African Leadership University Kigali Heights, our Kigali office renovations, and Butaro Oncology.

Born and raised in Bujumbura, Burundi, Christelle journeyed to Drexel University to receive her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 2007. Thereafter, she graduated in 2018 with her Master of Fine Art in Interior Design, from the New York School of Interior Design, where her thesis focused on the redesign of the Gakinjiro furniture market as a makerspace in Kigali.

Her work experience consists of multiple internship opportunities that allowed her to work closely with other interior designers in regard to space planning and construction, FF&E specifications, sourcing and installation of furniture, lighting, and accessories. Christelle hopes to continue working in interior design as she is passionate about exploring the ways in which designers can utilize local craftsmanship and artistry to create adequate spaces that reflect the identity of the community it is serving.

Taylor joined MASS in August of 2018 as a Designer, supporting the RICA team. Prior to joining MASS, she was a Global Health Corps Fellow working as a Health and Housing Design Officer for ARCHIVE Global in New York City. She executed anti-malaria housing projects in Namibia and Swaziland through the construction and implementation of tactics screening homes. There she expanded on housing’s role in vector-borne diseases while overseeing the implementation of integrated sanitation systems in informal settlements in Delhi.

She received both her Master of Architecture and Bachelor of Environmental Design Degrees from Montana State University.

Born and raised in Rwanda, Theophile’s background has enabled him to garner an immense amount of hands on skills, training and leadership development in the wood working field and forestry. Prior to joining MASS, he worked as a trainer at a secondary school for two years, teaching wood technology related subjects in forestry trade. Following this engagement, he joined Rubengera Technical Secondary School where he specialized in carpentry. He was a trainer of wood technology and workshop management subjects while he simultaneously acted as a workshop manager and technical advisor for the Rubengera Production Unit.

Theophile also worked for GiZ, a German-Rwandan Cooperation as a Technical and Vocational Education and Training Advisor at the national level. He was responsible for the capacity building of carpentry trainers, on the job training for local carpenters and advising different wood-related projects in Rwanda. He also performed other duties like project planning, management, monitoring, evaluation and construction site activities like planning and procurement.

Aside from his career, Theophile enjoys engaging in interesting conversations with his friends and family about the possibilities of the future of Rwanda in terms of development and architecture.