Why we chose Michael as a Fellow

An architect by training, Michael is committed to the idea that excellent design can improve the health, education and wellbeing of those who need it most. When he visited Rwanda during architecture school, Michael decided that each building could have a mission, and pursued impact-driven architecture by co-founding MASS Design.

Buildings in poor counties -- hospitals, clinics, schools, administration units -- are not designed with quality and impact in mind, if they are thoughtfully designed at all. MASS Design is built around the idea that all buildings should have a mission. MASS Design's landmark Butaro Hospital in Rwanda reduces infection rates and improves mortality and recovery time -- by design. MASS is at the cutting edge of a new wave of impact-focused architecture, and it's innovations are starting to go big: in Liberia, the government has asked MASS Design to write the national health infrastructure policy for the entire country.