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Urban Design

CBT’s urban design team has played an important role in a broad range of projects in diverse urban settings, focusing on the rejuvenation of downtowns, waterfronts, neighborhoods, brownfield sites, planning for urban campuses and transformation of complex infrastructure and transportation elements into livable communities. Our designs build on the unique qualities and character of each context while successfully supporting the economic potential of each place. With each project, our constant focus on environmental sustainability, unique design sensibility, strategic consensus-building approach, and communication and presentation methods have led to the creation of great new communities. Today, CBT’s Urban Design Studio is an ever-accelerating and evolving center of knowledge and research around the imperatives that are affecting global development and we dedicate our practice to creating and improving durable, smart, connected, and resilient places for today and far into the future.

David Nagahiro, AIA, LEED AP
Principal
Kishore Varanasi, AICP
Principal, Director of Urban Design
Devanshi Purohit, AICP
Principal
Robin Fitzgerald-Green, AIA
Principal
Sae Kim, AIA
Principal
Talitha Fabricius
Principal, Middle East Regional Director
Aditya Deshmukh, AIA, LEED GA
Associate Principal
David Nagahiro, AIA, LEED AP
Principal

David Nagahiro, Principal and President of CBT, is the driving force and inspiration behind CBT’s vision, design ethos and advancement of practice into the next generation. He leads the firm’s most ground-breaking projects, often resulting in the revitalization of undeveloped and underutilized urban sites which create places and buildings that enrich urban and community life.

David is intimately involved in all aspects of design and is recognized for his tireless pursuit of innovation in professional practice, his insistence on design excellence, and his passion for building strong, sustainable, and resilient places and communities. His passion for the profession is matched by his commitment to the advancement of individuals around him, which makes him an extraordinary agent of change both through his projects and his collaboration with others.

A stalwart supporter of the civic fabric of the community, David serves on the Board of Artists for Humanity, the Board of the Boston Preservation Alliance, and the Editorial Board of Architecture Boston. He is an active collaborator in HubWeek, Boston’s annual innovation festival, and is a leader in pushing the limits of innovation in art, science, and technology.

David holds a Bachelor of Architecture and Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Washington State University and attended the Architectural Studies Program at the AA / Architectural Association School of Architecture, London. He has been the recipient of the National AIA Young Architects Award, and is a past Rotch Traveling Scholar.

 

 

Kishore Varanasi, AICP
Principal, Director of Urban Design

Kishore Varanasi is an urban designer, strategist, and educator who specializes in developing authentic design solutions for cities at all scales that address human connection, social equity, and climate resilience. 

For 25 years, Kishore has worked to shape cities and communities globally through sustainable and holistic solutions in both the public and private sectors. Kishore’s innovative contributions to communities stem from his ability to inspire creative collaborations among individuals, governments, and businesses while simultaneously creating fresh perspectives and approaches to sustainable city-building and living. As a principal and Director of Urban Design at Boston-based CBT, his recent work includes the Masdar City Master Plan, Lincoln Yards in Chicago, the Blueway at the New England Aquarium, Cambridge Crossing, Boston University Master Plan, Suffolk Downs Master Plan, Hudayriyat Island Master Plan, Bhavani Islands Master Plan, The Riverline in Buffalo, NY, and Ghadan21 Climate Interventions. 

Kishore is a regular critic and teacher at various institutions including MIT, Harvard University, Yale University and the Boston Architectural College (BAC). He serves on the Van Alen Institute Climate Council, BAC’s Board of Trustees, and Boston Harbor Now and Emerald Network Board of Advisors. Kishore's work has been recognized by various awards and organizations including the American Institute of Architects, Rethinking the Future, World Architecture News and Urban Land Institute. He holds a Master of Science in Urbanism from MIT; a Master of Architecture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and received his Bachelor of Architecture from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in Hyderabad, India. 

Devanshi Purohit, AICP
Principal

Devanshi is a widely-recognized urban designer, planner, and resiliency strategist. Highly skilled at generating innovative approaches and urban design solutions, she brings energetic conceptual vision to her work, resulting in active placemaking and smart design. Her ongoing study of the interplay among societies, infrastructure, and our ever-changing climate drives her work, and she is a widely-sought speaker on the effects of urban heat islands and resiliency in the face of global climate change. She is the 2023 recipient of the prestigious Pinnacle Award for Emerging Executive, given by the Boston Chamber of Commerce; and she is a champion of CBT's robust Women in Design initiative. Devanshi holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from M.S. University in India and a Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, from Columbia University.

Robin Fitzgerald-Green, AIA
Principal

Robin Fitzgerald-Green is a Principal at CBT with over 15 years of experience as a designer and project manager, with a particular focus on the successful delivery of large and challenging urban infill projects. Robin is involved in projects from the early planning stages through to final delivery and across all scales, working on some of CBT’s more complex urban design projects.

Sae Kim, AIA
Principal

Sae Kim is an Associate Principal at CBT, with over 10 years of experience as an architect and designer focusing on multi-scaled and experiential design and concepts. With particularly keen understanding of creative processes on both national and international levels, Sae is deeply involved in complex, award-winning projects from large urban master plans to architecture and exhibition design. His creative process is founded on the generation and evaluation of multiple design solutions through the lens of problem-solving, storytelling, and value-creation. Recently, he was honored as the 2022 recipient of the Boston Society for Architecture's prestigious Earl R. Flansburgh Young Designers Award, which recognizes design excellence by an architect under 40. Sae holds a Master of Architecture in Urban Design from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor of Architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design.

Talitha Fabricius
Principal, Middle East Regional Director

Talitha is an established senior project manager, having overseen high-profile and large-scale projects around the world. Her professional experience lends her expertise from both the client and consultant side on large scale projects including commercial/mixed-use, educational, institutional and government-sector projects. Her extensive work in the USA and in the UAE has provided Talitha with deep knowledge and skills in strategic, feasibility, and budget planning, as well as long-range capital planning.

Aditya Deshmukh, AIA, LEED GA
Associate Principal

An integral member of CBT’s award-winning Urban Design Group, Aditya Deshmukh is a leading force in CBT’s Abu Dhabi office, providing invaluable design and management expertise to the firm’s clients in the Middle East. An urban designer and architect, Aditya is particularly adept at delivering comprehensive urban visions that respond in equal measure to vital sociological, environmental, and economic development goals. With a Masters in Urban Design and Planning from Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands, and a Bachelor of Architecture from BKPS College of Architecture in Pune, India, Aditya’s project work ranges from large-scale master plan development for new, walkable ,and environmentally sustainable urban districts to establishing city-wide planning frameworks for multi-year strategies.

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