Can a well-designed school enhance learning? Can the floor plan of a hospital improve health outcomes? Can a memorial promote healing within society?

MASS Design Group is a nonprofit architecture firm whose work seeks to answer questions such as these, committed to the idea that architecture is never neutral—it either heals or hurts. Founded in 2008 by six students at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, the name of the firm is derived from the motto “A Model of Architecture Serving Society.” MASS Design Group’s body of work reflects the belief that design can, and should, improve people’s lives.

The 3,000-square-foot exhibition introduces MASS Design Group’s extraordinary portfolio, including completed buildings, proposed projects, and applied research initiatives. Photographs, videos, renderings, and models convey the firm’s groundbreaking approach to its architectural projects examining how the firm’s nonprofit status enables it to take on ambitious projects that traditional design firms might not, and how its collective organizational structure supports its mission to address society’s most challenging problems through socially conscious design strategies.