Boston-based design and planning firm Sasaki has been at the forefront of the maker movement in the AEC market. We’re not referring to designing maker spaces for their clients, although Sasaki does that, too.

We’re talking about applying the principles and practices of the maker movement to the traditional design firm; Using hands-on exercises, prototyping, and digital design to help extract the best solutions and ideas from everyone in the organization.

Pablo Savid-Buteler, LEED AP, Managing Principal, and Brad Prestbo, AIA, Senior Associate, are leading Sasaki’s maker culture initiatives.

In this 15-minute talk at BD+C’s Accelerate Live! conference (May 11, 2017, Chicago), Savid-Buteler and Prestbo talk about how this movement is changing the way Sasaki goes to market, and how it is helping the firm win new business.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Pablo Savid-Buteler, LEED AP, is a Managing Principal with Sasaki. As head of the architecture and interior design practice, Pablo is a member of the Executive Committee. He also leads the Campus Studio's international efforts, with a particular focus on work in Central and South America. His experience encompasses both urban and campus environments. Within an urban context, Pablo has expertise with mixed-use environments and on campuses he focuses on student life and learning environments. His commissions are characterized by sensitivity to materiality, attentiveness to the relationship between buildings and surrounding landscapes, and making places that respond to their unique culture and context. His approach involves close dialogue with clients, interactive working sessions, and hands-on, collaborative design and production. Pablo is certified as LEED AP. He holds a diploma of architecture from the Universidad Católica de Cordoba, Argentina, and a master of architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Brad Prestbo, AIA, Senior Associate with Sasaki, is an architect with over nineteen years of experience working on some of the nation's most prestigious campuses. A problem-solver with great technical skill, he has been part of several award-winning project teams. As chair of Sasaki's Technical Resource Group, Brad shares his knowledge of design and detailing with the rest of firm to promote better practices in architecture. Brad enjoys exploring what is possible. In his practice, he finds that researching "what if..." is more rewarding when collaborating with colleagues from various disciplines. He takes an active role in mentoring, sharing his knowledge of 100-year building design principles with colleagues inside and outside the office. A registered architect in Massachusetts, Brad attended Syracuse University School of Architecture where he received the Dean's Citation for Outstanding Thesis Super Jury Award. He currently serves as a design critic and thesis mentor at Suffolk University. Brad is actively involved in the the Construction Specifier's Institute. He frequently lectures on detailing and working drawings, and is currently writing a series of books on contract documents.