Patricia Gruits
Design Critic in Urban Planning and Design
Visiting Faculty
Patricia Gruits, AIA, is Co-Executive Director of MASS, a non-profit architecture firm advancing a model of practice that promotes justice and human dignity through design. An architect and strategic leader, Patricia brings two decades of experience guiding transformative projects around the world — from health and education campuses to housing, memorials, and public landscapes.
She is a champion of trauma-informed design and regenerative systems, leading interdisciplinary teams that embed research, equity, and community voice into every phase of the design process. Her decade-long tenure has seen her working at MASS’s Boston Studio and in the Africa Studio, where she led design teams on acclaimed projects, including the African Leadership University, the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, and the Maternity Waiting Village.
Under Patricia’s leadership, MASS has expanded its global reach and influence, helping shape the field through built work, advocacy, and research. The organization has been recognized with the National Design Award for Architecture from the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, Firm of the Year by the American Institute of Architects, and Innovator of the Year by the Wall Street Journal. MASS has also received the Architecture Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, was named an Emerging Voice by the Architectural League of New York, and has been featured in Architectural Digest, Fast Company, The New York Times, CNN, and CBS 60 Minutes.
She is a co-author of the Purpose Built series, resources and tools to help funders and non-profits implement a mission-driven design process. Patricia is an educator and frequent speaker on the role of design in advancing equity, public health, and systems change. She currently serves on the Board of the Boston Society for Architecture Foundation.