News
MARCH 22, 2024 - SHIRLEY AVENUE FOREST POCKET PARK, REvere, MA
We visited our new project site in Revere with our clients the City of Revere and MassDevelopment. It is going to be a great pocket park in the near future! Our first community engagement event will be May 4, 2024 from 10AM - 12PM. Stop on by and tell us what you would like to see in the Forest Pocket Park.
October 19, 2023 - cardinal o’connell patio, lowell, MA
We met with Studio 26 Associates and MassDevelopment to review our design for the new patio at Nibbana Cafe and Tasty Dumpling in Lowell, MA. It was a beautiful day, and we are looking forward to seeing this space transform into an oasis in the City of Lowell. Look for construction to start in spring 2024!
Photo by Kirt Rieder
SUMMER 2023 - GARDENS ILLUSTrATED
North Meadow on The Greenway was featured in the Summer 2023 Gardens Illustrated magazine The Wild Issue. We are thrilled to be a part of such a great group of projects and designers!
MAY 24, 2023 - north meadow on the greenway WINS WLA AWARD
Alongside Unknown Studio and The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, we are thrilled to announce another prestigious awards for North Meadow on the Greenway!
The World Landscape Architecture Awards has awarded North Meadow a 2023 WLA Awards - Award of Excellence in the Small Built Category. The 2023 World Landscape Architecture Awards celebrate the best landscape architecture from around the world. These prestigious international awards attract the most innovative and creative design firms, and this year was no exception, with over 250 entrants. This year’s awards showcase the exceptional work of landscape architects who have used their expertise and imagination to transform ordinary landscapes into extraordinary environments that inspire and delight.
For all the winners, click here.
Congrats to all!
©Jane Messinger Photography
MAY 11, 2023 - north meadow on the greenway WINS BSLA AWARD
ASK+ with Unknown Studio and The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy are excited to announce that the North Meadow on The Greenway has won a Boston Society of Landscape Architects (BSLA) Design Award. The project was recognized in the General Design category with a Merit Award.
Through their annual award program, the BSLA “seeks to recognize excellence in the diverse practices of landscape architecture”. Submitted projects should demonstrate “innovation and creativity in approach, environmental sensitivity and sustainability”, and demonstrate “design value provided to the client, the public, and to the profession of landscape architecture”. ASK+ is honored to be among this year’s honorees.
“Landscape Architecture as a field has the ability to thoughtfully address climate resiliency, history, connectivity and equity all within a single design,” shared Chris Cook, Executive Director of the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy. "The ASK+ design of North Meadow on the Greenway does all of this and enhances The Greenway's ability to connect people and neighborhoods through ecological horticulture, public art and programming."
©Jane Messinger Photography
North Meadow on The Greenway is located between the North and West Ends of Boston; two neighborhoods lacking green space. The site is small, 9000 square feet, and exposed to intense traffic noise. It has the additional constraint of very restrictive loads given its location over the Central Artery/Tunnel. Before the design team began work, it was fenced and overgrown, and had most recently served as a construction staging area. With the site’s constraints and pressures, the design team approached the park design as an opportunity for a simple, powerful gesture—a green oasis in an historically hardscaped area of Boston.
Research into the site’s history revealed a fascinating evolution over Boston’s centuries of development. The site was once open water and mudflat within the Charles River Estuary, then dammed to become an industrial era “Mill Pond,” and eventually filled as part of Boston’s 19th Century downtown development. In the 20th Century, it was overshadowed by the elevated Interstate 93 highway, and after years of planning and construction, the famed ‘Big Dig’, I-93 was buried and, in its place, the Central Artery/Tunnel Project delivered The Rose Kennedy Greenway.
This history and a strong public engagement process drove the Park’s principles and concept designs. Over the summer and fall of 2019, the design team in conjunction with the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA), the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), and The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, facilitated a series of workshops with the adjacent neighborhoods. These workshops revealed community priorities to maximize nature, to create a place for serenity, and to showcase the site’s history.
The resulting park is a tribute to the Charles River’s estuarine ecology, in its identity, planting, and atmosphere. The park’s concept, “This Was Once a Pond,” is a direct response to the neighbors’ desires for nature, calm and biodiversity in the heart of the City. The design abstracts the historic water’s edge into a place of tranquility, with native meadow plantings and a boomerang-shaped boardwalk inviting neighbors to traverse through the meadow with percussive footsteps and shifting views. At its southern bend, the boardwalk’s alignment maximizes the magnificent view of The Greenway’s north-south corridor and frames the iconic Boston Custom House Tower. The park introduces a new green foreground and a sense of playfulness that changes Bostonians’ relationship to this familiar skyline.
North Meadow on The Greenway delivers a small but mighty ecosystem offering seasonal change, habitat value, and a respite for people. Working with a premier client, this space will be stewarded for generations to come as a verdant oasis on a site of constant change in Downtown Boston.
Click here to see all the 2023 honorees.
summer 2022 - north meadow on the greenway
ASK + is so amped that this 9,000sf jewel of a park will be opening in July. It has already had some pollinator visitors!
MARCH 30, 2021 - BSLA design awardS JURY
ASK + is excited to announce that Sara will be serving on 2021 BSLA Design Awards Jury!
Find more information here and look for award announcements in June.
March 10, 2021 - CITY OF CAMBRIDGE, MA Public planting committee
Sara is a new member of the City of Cambridge’s Public Planting Committee. Her first meeting was on March 10, 2021 (pictured above). There are a lot of new projects happening in the City! Sara is looking forward to the lively Committee discussions and having an impact on our local landscape. Want to join the next meeting? Everyone’s welcome! Check out the City’s calendar for the next meeting: https://www.cambridgema.gov/citycalendar
©Jane Messinger Photography
JANUARY 21, 2021 - BSA HONOR award FOR DESIGN EXCELLENCE - CITATION
ASK + is excited to share that Dartmouth College House Center Pilots won a 2020 BSA Honor Award for Design Excellence - Citation. Sara was the landscape architect for this project during her time at Sasaki. Congrats all! Read more here and here.
AUGUST 12, 2020 - NIBBLE KITCHEN IN THE boston globe
We were happy to see the Nibble Kitchen profiled in the Wednesday Food Section of the Boston Globe. Click here to read the full article.
(Yes, we still get a print edition delivered everyday.)
JULY 14, 2020 - CONSERVATORY LAB CHARTER SCHOOL DESIGN WRAP-up
ASK+ wrapped up concept design for the Conservatory Lab Charter School (CLCS) Lower Campus. This work was a volunteer effort as a part of the COG Design Community Outreach for Landscape Design. We enjoyed working with the CLCS team and learning about their community. We are looking forward to seeing some hexagonal planters go in this summer!
Click here to learn more about COG Design.
Photo courtesy of Somerville Arts Council
DECEMBER 3, 2019 - NIBBLE KITCHEN OPENING
ASK+ were amped to attend the opening of the Nibble Kitchen at Bow Market in Union Square. It was wonderful to see the brick and mortar space in full effect and we are thrilled to have played a small role in the effort! Congratulations to the Nibble Entrepreneurs, the Somerville Arts Council, and the City of Somerville.
Click here to learn more about the Nibble Kitchen and the Somerville Arts Council.
JULY 22, 2019 - PARCEL 2 Park design
ASK + and Unknown Studio are thrilled to have been selected for the design of Parcel 2— a critical node and open space on the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. We look forward to working with Boston Planning and Development Agency, Mass DOT, the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, and the community on the design of this keystone site.
Great things come in small packages. Parcel 2’s project goals, its future identity and its location at the convergence of the greenway, the historic North End, and Bulfinch Triangle, give this park potential beyond its size.
Our team includes Tetra Tech, Hovercraft Studio, Lumen Studio, and Pine & Swallow Environmental.
Click here to read more.
JANUARY 17, 2019 - BSA Hospitality design award
We won a citation award in the Hospitality category from the Boston Society of Architects for Lamplighter Brewery & Taproom. We were pretty amped and enjoyed the party with our clients AC Jones and Cayla Marvil of Lamplighter. Thanks for the recognition, BSA! And congratulations to all the award winners! (We also very much enjoyed Ann Beha’s acceptance speech and seeing all our Boston architecture pals.)
november 12, 2018 - lamp after dark
ASK + enjoyed a few beers and celebrated the 2-year anniversary of Lamplighter Brewery & Taproom. Lots of fun was had. And a few beers.
OCTOber 18, 2018 - ASLA DESIGN award
ASK + can’t wait for the ASLA convention this weekend in Philadelphia. During her tenure at Sasaki, Sara was the Project Landscape Architect for the Chicago Riverwalk which has received a 2018 ASLA Honor Award in Design!! Congrats to the whole team - can’t wait to see you in Philly! Above is an image from construction of the (in)famous Cove joint.
Read more about the project here:
©Jane Messinger Photography
SEptember 14, 2018 - BSA Hospitality design award
ASK + is super amped to share that we won an Boston Society of Architects award for Hospitality Design for our Lamplighter Brewing Co. project. We will follow up with more information soon.