Housing
Creating inclusive communities that promote well-being, stability, and connection
Affordable housing shortages are intensifying across North America, leaving millions without safe, stable, or dignified homes. Longstanding inequities in housing policies, rising costs, and discriminatory practices have disproportionately impacted marginalized communities, exacerbating cycles of poverty, displacement, and social isolation. Too often, housing is treated as a commodity, failing to support health, social cohesion, or environmental sustainability.
West End Library and Housing, Boston, MA
Solimine House, Lynn, MA
Maple Street Housing
Kingsborough Senior Housing
Housing is a cornerstone of public health, social equity, and economic opportunity. By designing homes that are deeply connected to the lives of those they serve, we can go beyond shelter to build places of belonging, resilience, and care.
When rooted in community, housing becomes a foundation for aging with dignity, raising families, and building intergenerational wealth. Our work shows that housing can be a catalyst for thriving communities and a more just future.
We partner with mission-driven developers, community-based organizations, and residents to design housing that reflects local culture, encourages mutual support, and enhances quality of life.
Case Study: JJ Carroll House
Boston’s aging population is growing rapidly, and with it, the gap between income and the cost of living. Older adults face compounding risks of housing instability, declining health, and a growing epidemic of loneliness and social isolation. Yet the conventional approach to housing prioritizes design efficiency over well-being, reinforcing environments that undermine physical and mental health. Long, dark central hallways create isolating conditions that perpetuate the invisibility many older adults experience.
Alan Ricks
Alan Ricks
In response, MASS partnered with 2Life Communities to reimagine the J.J. Carroll site in Brighton as a model for aging in community. Through a participatory process with residents, MASS developed a new approach to high-density housing that breaks down corridors and groups apartments into “neighborhoods” connected by common areas and courtyards. The design supports wellness at multiple scales—from natural light and intuitive wayfinding to spaces for gathering, belonging, and cultural expression. A PACE Center on the ground floor integrates medical and social services, reinforcing the link between housing and health. A new front park opens the building to the neighborhood, including an intergenerational play area designed to foster meaningful interaction.
Opened in 2024, the 142-unit, Passive House-certified building is one of the largest of its kind in Massachusetts. The project not only doubles the affordable housing on site, but redefines what senior housing can be: healthy, connected, and beautiful. An ongoing post-occupancy study with Autodesk Research is assessing the building’s impact on social cohesion—advancing MASS’s research on how design can reduce isolation and improve quality of life for older adults.
