#  Sachiko Kirby 

 



   ![Sachiko Kirby](/sites/g/files/omnuum9166/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-07/Kirby%20Headshot.jpeg?itok=9A8IU0eb) 

 

Sachiko Kirby, a proud graduate of Lowell House, graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College with a degree in History of Art and Architecture on the Architecture Studies Track. Raised between Tokyo, Japan, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, her dual-cultural background shaped her interests in Japanese design aesthetics, architectural history, and the role of design in fostering care across cultures. She received two grants from Harvard’s Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, supporting both her summer study abroad in Japan through Princeton University and her thesis research on Japanese lantern craft.

Her senior thesis, Akiko Hospice: Diffusing the Terminator Line, explored how light, materiality, and atmosphere can reframe experiences of death and dying. Drawing on visits to, and interviews with, lantern artisans and the Yokohama Children’s Hospice, the project investigated architecture’s potential to lessen fear and anxiety at the end of life through illumination and diffusive materials.

Sachiko is passionate about the intersection of art and science and completed her secondary in Integrative Biology. Her interests in landscape, biophilic design, and celestial imagery inform her photography and studio art practice. She also participated in the Radcliffe Research Partnership Program, working with photographer Arthur Ou on a project exploring photography and light.

A dedicated dancer throughout her time at Harvard, Sachiko served as co-director of the Harvard Contemporary Collective, was a member with the Harvard Ballet Company for four years, guest performed in Eleganza, and danced the lead role of Juliet in the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club’s contemporary dance adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.

As the John Eliot Scholar at Jesus College, Cambridge, Sachiko will pursue an MPhil in Architecture and Urban Studies. She looks forward to continuing her exploration of design’s capacity to support health, well-being, and community at the end of life.



 



 

 See also:- [ Jesus ](/page-categories/jesus)
- [ Eliot ](/page-categories/eliot)
- [ 2026-27 ](/page-categories/2026-27)