Alan is President and Co-Executive Director of the non-profit architecture and design organization MASS (Model of Architecture Serving Society). Under his leadership, MASS has garnered international acclaim for its innovative approach to addressing global challenges through design. He continues to collaborate on and lead a diverse range of projects and oversees a group of interdisciplinary teams that support projects and research across the practice.

MASS Design Group has received the National Design Award for Architecture from the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum and was named Firm of the Year by the American Institute of Architects. The organization was recognized as Innovator of the Year by the Wall Street Journal, the Architecture Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, as an Emerging Voice by Architectural League New York, and has been featured in hundreds of publications, including Architectural Digest, Fast Company, the New York Times, CNN, and on CBS 60 Minutes.

Alan regularly teaches advanced architecture studios, including at Harvard and Yale, where he was most recently the Louis I. Khan Visiting Professor. As a sought-after speaker, Alan has presented at universities, conferences, and events around the globe. He has authored books, op-eds, and essays, as well as produced films, focused on the role of architecture in catalyzing social change. Chris Anderson, chief curator of TED, described his TED talk as “a different language about what architecture can aspire to be.”

Alan was honored with an International Fellowship from the Royal Institute of British Architects in appreciation of his significant contributions to the field. The governor of Massachusetts appointed him to the Designer Selection Board to select firms for state-funded work, and during his two terms, he also served as chair. He is also a member of the Harvard University Design Advisory Council.

He lives in a house he designed in Cambridge, MA, with his wife Cristina and three children, Siena, Sage, and Sloan, who continue to provide him with regular design critiques. Before architecture, he tried many other fields but is mainly asked to tell stories about a stint as a commercial fisherman in Alaska.

Alan holds a Master of Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor of Arts from Colorado College, where he was also bestowed an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree.