Tamar Warburg: Making Boston More Resilient in the Face of Climate Change

Sasaki’s Director of Sustainability & Resilience wins the 2022 Excellence in Green & Sustainability Design Award

BOSTON- In an era of rapid climate change, Sasaki’s Associate Principal and Director of Sustainability and Resilience, Tamar Warburg, AIA, LEED AP BD+C believes that every project is an opportunity to make a healthy and resilient contribution to her clients, the community, and the planet.

Warburg leads the firm’s partnership with the City of Boston/Mayor Wu on the Heat Resilience Solutions for Boston plan, also known as The Heat Plan. This robust plan has 26 strategies to build a more equitable and resilient Boston, which has been experiencing increasingly hot summers. Sasaki was instrumental in this plan, including developing solutions such as cooling centers, increased tree shade and other nature-based cooling solutions. The project will provide millions of dollars of funding to help bolster the City’s resilience to inclement weather and is the first of its kind for a major US city. The Heat Plan is holistically alleviating constraints on Bostonians through incredible strategies and solutions that expand the sustainability of crucial systems and facilities.

Warburg works with Sasaki teams to develop sustainability and resilience goals appropriate for each project and access critical resources to reach those goals. Her work spans all Sasaki disciplines, on projects as varied as net-zero campus buildings, resilience and sustainability strategies for cities and corporate clients, and minimizing carbon emissions from buildings and landscape projects. She enjoys collaborating to integrate sustainability considerations throughout the design process, from preliminary programming through construction management practices. She directs Sasaki’s Sustainable Leaders, training the individuals embedded in each project team responsible for project sustainability metrics and goals.

Warburg came to Sasaki with 25 years of experience designing educational and community buildings, both in the U.S. and with the Green Architecture Studio that she founded in Israel. She completed her M.Arch and BA at Harvard.

For more than 65 years, Sasaki has been guided by the commitment to a collaborative style of design. Its way of working brings together diverse perspectives, blended disciplines, open exchange, and deep engagement with clients and the communities they serve. The firm creates authentic, equitable, inspiring places that have a lasting positive impact on humanity.

Sasaki’s recent projects include the Two Freedom Square Building Repositioning in Reston, VA and the University of Rhode Island’s Brookside Apartments and Landscape Restoration, a 204,000 SF project including a 500-bed residence hall and surrounding landscape terraces, and to restore a historic brook and wetlands at the northwest end of the school’s Kingston, RI campus on the west bank of White Horn Brook.

Today, Sasaki is a 350-person global practice with offices in Boston, Denver, New York, and Shanghai. Its experience includes award-winning work across a range of scales, disciplines, geographies, and industries – from the planning of large-scale international commercial, office, and cultural districts, to new campuses for higher education, to dynamic and inclusive public realm, to the detailing of individual workspaces for leading corporations. This breadth of experience across client and project types enables Sasaki to attack problems multi-dimensionally and develop full-spectrum solutions.

The core tenets of Sasaki’s work include data-driven analysis; transformation through visionary planning and design; a commitment to advancing equity, resilience, and access; and well-defined implementation strategies to see projects realized.

When asked about its five-year growth plan by the Boston Real Estate Times, Sasaki said its future includes “continuing [the firm’s] thought leadership in design for a changing climate, in community engagement and equity, and in design excellence.” Sasaki’s continued development and use of innovative design tools, such the Carbon Conscience app, will empower designers to shape a more sustainable future. Its new headquarters at 110 Chauncy Street in Boston will connect Sasaki team members, partners, clients, and home city in more meaningful ways.

“We’re defining for our clients, and ourselves, the future of work. Our offices in New York, Denver, and Shanghai continue to support and grow our global community. Our people are our greatest resource, and our commitment to and investment in the Sasaki community will continue to be our top priority.”