Watertown’s Sasaki Assoc. Inc. has been awarded the 2012 American Planning Association’s (APA) National Planning Excellence Award for a planning firm.
The award recognizes a firm for its body of distinguished work influencing the planning profession. APA’s national awards program, the profession’s highest honor, is a tradition established more than 50 years ago to recognize outstanding community plans, planning programs and initiatives, public education efforts, and individuals for their leadership on planning issues, according to a statement.
"Sasaki Assoc. was a pioneer in creating a collaborative practice that brings together planners, urban designers, architects, landscape architects, interior designers and engineers to achieve extraordinary results," said Marie L. York, APA board director and 2012 awards jury co-chair. "The firm continues to evolve to solve complex problems and improve the quality of life."
Examples of Sasaki’s diverse portfolio include the on-going "Tomorrow Plan," a HUD-funded effort to develop a regional plan for sustainable development in Central Iowa; the "One Ohio State" Framework Plan for The Ohio State University; and the design of the master plan for the main site of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
"We are honored to be recognized with the 2012 National Planning Excellence Award from the American Planning Association," said James Miner, a managing principal at Sasaki Assoc. "While the award is a testament to Sasaki’s long and storied history, the award also recognizes our leading role in shaping the future of the discipline of planning through our ideas and use of innovative technologies and our approach to helping clients make smart, long-term decisions that result in greater value in their markets."
Sasaki’s ongoing and completed projects across the country include the Brighton / Guest Street Planning Study with the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA).; a Parks Master Plan in Bridgeport, Conn.; the Providence 2020 Master Plan in Rhode Island; the Buffalo Riverbend Site Development Plan in Upstate New York; the Greater Hill District Master Plan in Pittsburgh, Penn.; the rehabilitation of the Lincoln Memorial Landscape and Reflecting Pool on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.; the "Penn Connects" Development Plan at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia; ongoing strategic master planning services for the University System of Georgia; the Charleston Waterfront Park in South Carolina; and continuing work with the Reston Town Center in Virginia.
Sasaki Assoc. will receive its award at a luncheon on April 16, during APA’s National Planning Conference in Los Angeles. The firm will also be featured in an upcoming issue of Planning magazine, APA’s flagship publication.
