CAST Press Releases

List all Press Releases

CAST, Inc. Moves to Wakefield, MA : New Office Space Reflects Mission

(Wakefield, Massachusetts) CAST, Inc., a Boston-area non-profit organization known for its innovative approach to teaching and curriculum development, applies its core philosophy to organizational design. Its educational approach, known as Universal Design for Learning, or UDL, strives to serve differences based on how each individual learns, creates, and expresses him or herself. CAST based its design on the knowledge that no one environment works for all styles and preferences. Through its move to new offices in Wakefield, MA, CAST, in cooperation with architectural firm Add Inc., has designed a work environment that supports the variety of ways people, learn, work, and create.

A view down the hallway in the new CAST office.

Located in Wakefield's Harvard Mills Building, the main area of CAST's new office space, at first glance, looks completely open, with gentle curving walls and clusters of visually accessible workstations. On closer examination, a number of private meeting spaces start to reveal themselves around the outer walls. From small telephone rooms, to libraries, cozy lunch spaces, work counters, and large conference areas, there are many environments to fit numerous work demands. The workstations are modular and semi-movable, encouraging employees to re-cluster according to project needs.

The central open seating plan was a crucial element in supporting the goals of the organization. "If people are more aware of their peers around them they will tend to support each other and collaborate more," says Fritz Steele, an organizational consultant and noted author who helped coordinate design efforts for the new space. CAST founders and co-executive directors Anne Meyer and David Rose hope that the new space will help the organization work within core beliefs that were in place when the organization had 8 employees (it has now grown to over 40).

"We always wanted to make sure that people had access to the ideas and feedback of others in the organization," say David Rose, "but we have outgrown our present space. This move will bring our work environment back in line with what we believe is most supportive to producing high quality educational research and technology design."

About CAST
Founded in 1984 as the Center for Applied Special Technology, CAST is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to expand educational opportunities for all individuals, especially those with disabilities, through the development and innovative uses of computer technology. CAST is the creator of Bobby, a Web site accessibility evaluation tool used worldwide, and the educational software programs WiggleWorks® ( co-developed with Scholastic Inc.) and CAST eReader^TM. For more information, please visit www.cast.org.