MASS designer DaMario Walker-Brown presents the New Lots Library designs to the Brooklyn community on Dec. 7, 2024.
MASS Design Group MASS designer DaMario Walker-Brown presents the New Lots Library designs to the Brooklyn community on Dec. 7, 2024.

Architecture is not merely the act of building—it is an act of leadership. At its core, design is about moving people forward together: from a current state to a future state, from disconnection to trust, from individual aspirations to collective purpose. To achieve this, design must go beyond drawings or visions; it must tell a story—one that inspires, engages, and activates communities toward a shared future.

At MASS Design Group, storytelling is as vital as the bricks and mortar of our work. Narrative is the glue that binds people to a vision, focusing their energy and efforts toward transformation. It starts with listening and research, elevating history, centering diverse voices, and grounding design in context. By inverting the traditional design narrative—one that often starts with presenting a vision—we instead begin by understanding the stories, needs, and aspirations of the people and places we serve. Only then can we co-create a shared vision that inspires action and fosters meaningful change.

Marshall Ganz’s public narrative framework—comprising the "Story of Self," "Story of Us," and "Story of Now"—offers a lens to understand how storytelling drives design leadership. By connecting personal experiences to collective goals, architects can build trust, foster shared purpose, and catalyze action. Through the inversion of narrative, storytelling becomes not just a means of communication, but a foundational process for design.

The Story of Self: From Fellowship to Leadership

In my final year of architecture school, I discovered the term “community architect,” and something inside me lit up. For years, I had been grappling with a question: How can architects work in relationship with communities to advocate for a better future?

The idea of combining design with social justice felt like the answer. This realization shaped my path, from my time as an Enterprise Rose Fellow to my current work at MASS Design Group, where I strive to align personal purpose with collective impact.

Narrative has been central to my evolution as a designer and advocate. It has allowed me to connect deeply to my purpose, reflect on my experiences, listen deeply to others, and articulate the stories that shape my work. Through storytelling, I’ve found the language to bridge the personal and the professional, transforming individual insights into collective vision. This practice has refined my process, grounding my work in empathy and clarity while amplifying the voices of others to create shared meaning.

The act of writing helps me make sense of the complex interplay between architecture and social change, sharpening my focus on the "why" that drives me. It is through this lens of narrative that I continue to explore and embody the role of a community architect, guided by the belief that design can be a powerful tool for justice and equity.

DaMario Walker-Brown’s journey began in Lexington, KY, where public spaces like the Lexington Public Library and the Dunbar Community Center—a former all-Black high school that his great aunt attended—shaped his early experiences growing up in a predominantly Black community. His passion for community spaces deepened during his undergraduate capstone project on the Dunbar Community Center, where he explored how restoring and renovating the building could empower his community.

Later, his master’s thesis focused on the revitalization of Mound Bayou, a historic Black town in the Mississippi Delta, imagining what Black utopias could have been if their histories were fully acknowledged and reclaimed. The link between his past and present became even clearer in his work on the New Lots Library in East New York, Brooklyn. As an African American man, he found a sense of home in East New York, connecting with the community’s shared histories of resilience and cultural identity. The project became an opportunity to apply the lessons of his past, using design to foster healing and belonging.

MASS landscape designer Joe Christa Giraso amidst the Fossey native plant nursery .
MASS Design Group MASS landscape designer Joe Christa Giraso amidst the Fossey native plant nursery .

Joe Christa’s leadership in the creation of the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund is deeply rooted in her personal history with Rwanda’s landscapes. Globally, native landscapes have become increasingly rare. Growing up in a household of plant lovers, she experienced firsthand how tending to plants—especially medicinal species—fostered both health and community.

Watching Joe Christa identify and reintroduce native species on the Dian Fossey Campus was inspiring. Her work demonstrates that regenerative design is not just about rebuilding ecosystems—it’s about restoring a shared sense of place and belonging.

These designers’ stories, alongside my own, highlight how the personal journey of a designer can align with and amplify the collective vision of a community.

The Story of Us: Building Shared Purpose

New Lots Library, Brooklyn Public library, design exterior.
MASS Design Group & Marble Fairbanks Architects New Lots Library, Brooklyn Public library, design exterior.

The story of Us unfolds in the reimagining of the New Lots Library. In partnership with MASS and Marble Fairbanks, the project emerged through deep listening to the community’s needs and aspirations. Residents envisioned the library as more than a repository of books—it was to be a space that acknowledged historical trauma while fostering healing, connection, and celebration.

Drawing from African traditions where communal spaces—such as sacred trees—serve as sites for dialogue and truth-telling, New Lots Library was designed as a modern-day palaver. It would be a place of solidarity, where the community could gather to share stories, confront challenges, and celebrate achievements. By weaving together history, culture, and community needs, this project embodies the power of shared purpose in design.

Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.
Iwan Baan, Courtesy MASS Design Group Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.

Similarly, in Rwanda, the "Story of Us" unfolded in response to urgent shared challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and deforestation—threats impacting both local communities and wildlife. Completed in 2022, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund campus became a living model of regenerative design, addressing these challenges through reforestation, conservation, and sustainable agriculture.

MASS, in collaboration with local botanists, ecologists, and community members, propagated over 250,000 plants, revitalizing habitats for endemic wildlife, laying the foundation for expanding Volcanoes National Park. This effort not only restored landscapes but also deepened community connections to conservation.

The Story of Now: A Call to Action

Leadership in design is realized through the ongoing work of mobilizing action and creating meaningful change through the power of built form. For New Lots Library, the Story of Now is a call to reclaim history and celebrate resilience in a time when communities need spaces of connection and empowerment more than ever.

As its design phase progresses, the library is poised to serve as a place of inspiration and equity—where education, shared experiences, and social gatherings bring the community together. The design was shared with the community in December 2024, and the project is anticipated to break ground this year.

Today, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund campus stands as a testament to the power of regenerative conservation. The "Story of Now" challenges us to expand this vision beyond a single project: How can we integrate regenerative design into more landscapes in need of restoration?

From Ideas to Impact: Design as Leadership

The challenge before us is clear: How will we, as designers, storytellers, and leaders, shape the world we want to live in? Now is the time to move from vision to action.