Boston Society for Architecture Will Host a Housing Innovation Symposium to Explore How Innovative Design Can Create Inclusive, Livable, and Lasting Housing Solutions

The two-day symposium will take place in Boston from November 6-7, 2025 and feature panels of innovative designers, policymakers and advocates covering what's possible when we put design back at the center of housing.

BOSTON, Oct. 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Massachusetts, like much of the United States, is in the midst of an urgent housing challenge. From the vibrant urban fabrics of Greater Boston, to the Cape and the Islands, cities and towns across the state face rising costs, constrained supply, and a growing demand for homes. While municipalities are setting ambitious goals to preserve and produce more housing, great design, an essential tool for creative, inclusive, and livable solutions, is too often sidelined and overshadowed by financial, regulatory, and legal constraints, or dismissed altogether in the process.

On November 6–7, 2025, the Boston Society for Architecture (BSA) Housing Innovation Symposium will bring together architects and designers, community residents, developers, policymakers, students, and advocates in Boston to explore how to embrace design innovation amid financial, regulatory, and social constraints. There will be dialogue, collaboration, and exploration of what's possible when design is back at the center of housing.

"Through panels, case studies, and cross-regional dialogues, this symposium will showcase bold design strategies that not only operate within current systems, but also have the potential to shift them," said Wandy Pascoal, Program Manager, Housing Innovation & Awards for the BSA. "By looking across and beyond municipal boundaries, as well as understanding housing as a regional issue, we will aim to inspire collaboration and creativity that transcends silos and brings us closer to building the dignified and beautiful homes people need and deserve."

The panels and discussion will include topics such as how elevated design is a critical and creative tool in addressing the region's housing crisis; new construction technologies, policy tools, and financing mechanisms that support design innovation; and center community-driven approaches to housing form, tenure, and culture.

The panel will include distinguished guest speakers such as:

• Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Ed Augustus will open the Symposium with remarks and a special announcement.
  
  
• Kenzie Bok, Administrator of the Boston Housing Authority and former Boston City Council Member, will speak on a panel about shared models of living.
  
  
• A panel including Paul Karakusevic, UK architect and founder of Karakusevic Carson Architects, Gail Sullivan, Founder and Managing Principal of Studio G, Tom Chung, Principal at Leers Weinzapfel Associates, and Fatima Ali-Salaam, Chair of the Greater Mattapan Neighborhood Council, will discuss what is blocking bold, innovative housing design.
  
  
• A panel including Katie Swenson, Senior Principal, Advocacy, MASS Design Group; Brian Swett, City of Boston Chief Climate Officer; Aaron Gornstein, President and CEO, Preservation of Affordable Housing; and Jerome DuVal, Executive Director, Housing Navigator MA offer thoughts on turning ideas into action, spotlighting key mechanisms such as design practices, policy levers, funding and technology tools, and partnerships that enable innovation to scale.

For more information about the BSA Housing Innovation Symposium, visit https://www.architects.org/housing-symposium-2025, or to register for the event, please visit https://bsa.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/bsa/eventRegistration.jsp?event=2674&.

ABOUT THE BOSTON SOCIETY FOR ARCHITECTURE

The Boston Society for Architecture (BSA) is focused on improving the quality of life for Boston-area residents by championing innovation in the built environment, with particular emphasis on sustainability and social equity. We achieve this by connecting our diverse and passionate network of over 4,500 architects, firms and allied members through collaborative initiatives that create solutions towards a more equitable and sustainable future. We extend and deepen these efforts philanthropically through donations and hands-on work in our community. The BSA is one of the oldest and largest chapters of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). For more information about the BSA and the BSA Foundation, visit architects.org.

SOURCE Boston Society for Architecture