MASS Design Group

For too long, there has been a disconnect between people, places, and the impact of our built environment. At the Bio-Based Materials Collective (BBMC) 2026 Summit in the Hudson Valley, home to the MASS Fringe Cities Design Lab and office in Poughkeepsie, our goal was to strengthen those relationships.

Bound by a culture of collaboration and generosity, 150+ leaders across agriculture, forestry, finance, and design gathered to bridge the gap between fields and finished buildings.

The BBMC 2026 Summit just wrapped, and the momentum is palpable. We spent our days:
Learning on-site at organic farms, within experimental forests and inside wonderful architecture.
Listening to a dozen organizations share their latest insights.

Contributing to ongoing initiatives to scale up the use of bio-based materials in North America.

A huge thank you to Scenic Hudson for hosting us at the newly opened Northside Hub, and our speakers and attendees for contributing their collective intelligence. We aren’t just talking about a plant-based building industry; we’re growing it.

Ready to be part of the solution?
👉 biobasedcollective.org/about

Cover Image:
Summit Imagery:

MASS, in partnership with the City of Poughkeepsie, is hosting a special Open House for the public at the Cistern in College Hill Park, Poughkeepsie, on Saturday, May 9th, from 1-8:30 pm.

The Cistern is a massive underground space with a 14-second reverberation time. Because the echo lasts so long, the space functions as its own instrument—allowing you to harmonize with your own voice or instrument in real-time.

A lineup of performers will partake in an improvised experiment in reverberation within this unique space using both acoustic and electronic instrumentation, with a focus on long sustaining tones and resonant frequencies.

Between sets, the floor is yours, and we invite you to “play the Cistern,” to experiment with the acoustics.

The official line up will be announced May 7th. Stay tuned!

Photos by , from “Dance Fragments” a November 2024 performance by , music by and , lighting by Sam Stubblefield Studios and Ethan Rainbolt

Solimine House, an affordable senior housing development in Lynn, Massachusetts, is scheduled to open in the fall of 2027.

When North Shore Medical Center closed the former Union Hospital, the Solimine family purchased the property to meet the need for affordable senior housing in the community. In partnership with 2Life, MASS designed Solimine House as senior social housing integrated with a PACE healthcare center to form a trauma-informed, community-focused ecosystem, supporting aging in community through connected living, care, and therapeutic environments.