How SCAD is shaping the next generation of coastal designers
Words by Paige Townley
In the South, creativity is often shaped as much by place as by people. Few institutions understand that better than the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), where history, landscape, and forward-thinking design meet at the edge of the coast. With programs that encourage students to engage deeply with their surroundings, SCAD has become a proving ground for designers who aren’t just imagining the future—they’re responding to it.
One of those designers is Hazen Soucy, a Savannah College of Art and Design alum and architectural designer at Court Atkins Group in Bluffton, South Carolina, whose award-winning concept, MAST, is drawing national attention for how architecture can restore, protect, and reconnect coastal communities.
Hazen’s path to climate-focused design began far from the South. “Although I’ve lived in Savannah for nearly seven years, I’m a New Englander at heart,” he says. “I grew up in New Hampshire and spent my summers along the coast of Maine, where unpredictable weather and seasonal change are nearly impossible to ignore.”
That early exposure to nature’s power shaped his curiosity about how communities interact with their environments—an interest that fully took shape during his time at SCAD.
At SCAD, Hazen found an approach to architecture that emphasized collaboration, experimentation, and context. “Here at SCAD, we are taught to explore the ways in which architecture functions and interacts with people and environmental context, rather than solely focusing on aesthetics alone,” he explains.
That mindset became central to MAST, his capstone project and now a nationally recognized model for coastal resilience.
Designed for Brunswick, Georgia, MAST—short for Marshland Adaptive Systems Terminal—addresses the reality that many smaller port cities lack access to large-scale federal support when climate impacts strike. Hazen’s proposal centers on two interconnected elements: the MAST itself and the surrounding BASIN. The architectural structure uses a closed-loop recycling system, transforming reclaimed steel and discarded building materials into storm shutters, repair resources, and tools for recovery after severe weather. “Shouldn’t a recycling center be built with recycled materials?” Hazen asks, noting the project’s commitment to utilizing repurposed materials.
The BASIN extends the project’s impact into the landscape, using tidal basins and artificial oyster reefs to filter polluted waters and support the native salt marsh ecosystem. With every tide, debris is captured and water quality improves—an elegant partnership between natural systems and the built environment. Together, the architecture and landscape create what Hazen describes as “a microcosm for how our relationship with the coast can mitigate the effects of an increasingly unpredictable climate.”
MAST’s power lies not only in its environmental performance but in its transferability. Port cities across the South—from Georgia to Alabama—face similar challenges: aging industrial waterfronts, rising seas, and communities that depend on working coastlines. The principles behind MAST could resonate deeply in places like Mobile, where shipping channels, marshlands, and neighborhoods intersect every day.
Here at SCAD, we are taught to explore the ways in which architecture functions and interacts with people and environmental context, rather than solely focusing on aesthetics alone.
National recognition soon followed. MAST earned an Excellence Award from the American Institute of Architects, a Best of Design award from Architects Newspaper, and the AIA Aspire Award. Still, Hazen remains grounded. “The amount of recognition I’ve received for the design was completely unexpected,” he says. “I hope the recognition I have received can show others that sustainability, utility, and performance can be beautiful.”
Now practicing professionally in the Lowcountry, Hazen continues to draw from the foundation built during his time at SCAD. The university’s emphasis on collaboration, context, and critical thinking still guides his work today, encouraging an approach rooted less in statements and more in understanding—of place, people, and process. “With little steps, like passive solar and natural ventilation strategies, I would like to see a future where what was once considered a ‘green initiative’ becomes the default,” he says.
Looking ahead, he hopes the next generation of SCAD designers continue to feel empowered to question assumptions and explore ideas that may initially seem unconventional, reexamining what already exists and imagining new ways forward. “With proper research and experimentation, even the most radical ideas can become plausible; there’s no way to know until somebody tries it out,” he says. “Restoration and reinvention can be just as, if not more effective and impactful as innovation.”
