A BOSTON ARCHITECTURAL COLLEGE PUBLICATION
PRACTICE magazine
VALUE OF DIVERSITY Dear Friends, Shepley Bulfinch is one of the most gender diverse firms in architecture. Founded by HH Richardson in 1874, we have a long history of training and developing architects. In 2000, our firm was 41 percent women and 10 percent of our Principals were women and 14.6 percent of our employees represented minorities. We deliberately stated diversity as a value in our strategic planning: “We value a differentiated and diverse workforce for the richness it brings to our work.” Eighteen years later, women represent 53 percent of the firm, 23 percent are minorities, and 53 percent of our Principals are women. We became a woman-owned business in 2014. At Shepley Bulfinch, we increasingly reflect the communities we serve. We value diversity because it makes the work of the firm better—and our culture stronger. This diverse work culture has contributed to our success as a firm, and we are ambitious to continue maintaining it across all roles. The BAC has continuously played a key role in this effort. We employ many BAC Alumni, and many of our staff are engaged at the BAC with teaching, thesis advising, and participating on juries. As one of the most diverse schools of architecture and design, we are proud to partner with the BAC, and encourage you to do the same.
PRACTICE MAGAZINE SUMMER 2019
Editors Nancy Finn Julie Raynor
Designer Trevor Warren
Contribruting Writers Bruce Rutter
Photography Stephen Middleton Trevor Warren
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Change may not come fast enough, but our design professions are making progress in the quest to become more diverse. National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) reports in 2016: 40 percent of people starting the pre-licensure Architectural Experience Program (AEP) represented minorities. In addition, women accounted for 36 percent of newly licensed architects and 42 percent of new Architect Registration Examination (ARE) candidates.These statistics are good news, and we have much more to do to achieve design professions that reflect the communities they serve. The BAC is actively addressing diversity in design. Last year, 50 percent of BAC undergraduate enrollment and 39 percent of graduate enrollment represented minority students—with 48 percent of the overall student enrollment representing women. Why do we care so much about diversity? It begins with how we think about design and the importance it holds for our culture. We believe the most effective design work comes from an inclusive process engaging a variety of perspectives. Designers with diverse backgrounds bring new ideas and viewpoints to every enterprise and are vital to the academic community, the design community, and to the community as a whole. BAC students and faculty are involved with the community in many ways and are ambitious to address complex issues that will improve the environment for all. This issue of Practice Magazine celebrates the diversity of the BAC and it’s impact on the design field. In each article you’ll meet a broad range of students, alumni, faculty, and staff, who represent the diversity of the design profession. •In “How Well Do You Know Practice”, learn how our unique integrated work/study model helps a wide range of students get ahead in the profession. •In “Evolution of Sustainability”, discover how challenging “the norm” may lead to a very different future. •In “Designing Women”, meet eight BAC alumnae—from recent graduate Olivia Breytenbach, MDS-HP ’18 to Overseer Emerita Holly Crastley, M.Arch ’84—learn about their passions and how they’re making a mark on the world. •In “Gateway: How Students Turbocharge Their Work Experience”, see how diverse student teams have worked closely with different communities around Boston, New England, and the world to create innovative designs. We hope you find these stories inspiring and they will encourage you to continue supporting the BAC. Sincerely,
the-bac.edu/giving/make-a-gift Every donation makes a difference. Carole Wedge, FAIA CEO
IN THIS ISSUE:
2 7 12 16
HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW PRACTICE?
GATEWAY: HOW STUDENTS TURBOCHARGE THEIR WORK EXPERIENCE
EVOLUTION OF SUSTAINABILITY
DESIGNING WOMEN
PRACTICE • 1
PRACTICE • 2
If you’re part of the BAC community—if you teach at the College, hire our students, got your degree here, or have just started taking courses, you’ve experienced Practice, the school’s integrated approach to academic and real-world learning. But do you know how unique this model is, how it continues to change, and how it puts the BAC on the cutting edge of educational best practices? And, most importantly, do you know how profound its impact can be on those who experience it?
R
eal world learning, often called experiential learning, is all the rage at colleges today— virtually every higher education website features an array of opportunities for internships, research, service, and study abroad. Most of these are treated as supplemental to academic study, nice to have, but up to students to take or leave. For those who take advantage of the programs, there is rarely any formal connection between what’s learned in and out of the classroom. At the BAC, academic and experiential learning are woven closely together, and are designed specifically to complement each other: students are coached on how to put classroom learning into practice outside of school, and then encouraged to use new perspectives gained from these experiences to deepen, connect, and integrate what they learn in the classroom and studio. “Our approach is very intentional,” says Len Charney, dean of Practice at the BAC. “We’ve been evolving our Practice model for over 125 years, and have a good idea of what students need to get the most from their Practice experiences.” Professional advising is one of the key aspects of the BAC Practice model that distinguishes it from other colleges. Unlike the vast majority of schools, at the BAC every candidate for a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Architecture, Interior Architecture, or Landscape Architecture is assigned a Practice examiner, a seasoned practitioner who helps students develop their own personal Practice strategy—what they want to explore, and specific skills and experiences they want to acquire. Through periodic meetings, they help students evaluate what they’ve learned, build their portfolio, and determine what they should do next. This process quickly helps students become better advocates for their own learning, creating a virtuous circle where both academic and Practice experiences become progressively more rewarding.
The BAC’s mentoring process is individualized, with examiners and Practice staff working closely with each student to help them find the best possible employment fit and take maximum advantage of each work opportunity. “Because Len Charney took the time to know me as a person, he became a great sounding board for me as I made decisions and career choices,” says Stephen Messinger, M.Arch ’11. “He helped me see how I could develop skills through Practice experience that would allow me to direct my own career path.” Messinger parlayed his burgeoning digital skills into a job as a Revit manager and then digital design coordinator at one of the area’s leading firms, then gained invaluable experience in sustainable design that allowed him to become a project administrator for multiple LEED projects. He is currently a project architect at Perkins+Will and was featured in the Winter 2018 issue of Practice Magazine for his pro bono work on preserving and developing the Fowler Clark Epstein Farm as a home for the Urban Farming Institute. Reflection is another critical component of the BAC Practice model. Through written and verbal reports, students identify what they’ve learned and how they believe it will apply in the future. “Reflection helps students become more observant,” says Ben Peterson, director of Practice Instruction and Student Support.
“They see the learning value of their work experiences and the wisdom they can draw from them.” -Ben Peterson, Director of Practice Instruction PRACTICE • 3
BAC PRACTICE IS IN THEIR DNA Silverman Trykowski Associates (STA), an architectural and interior design firm known for its innovative work in commercial, retail, and healthcare space, is a big proponent of the BAC Practice model. Not only are its three principals BAC graduates, they have three other alumni, two BAC faculty, and two BAC students working for them. “We like to hire BAC people,” says Felice Silverman, ’92, MID ’14, “because we went through the same program of academic and practice learning, we know we’re getting experienced, highly motivated people.” “I remember how challenging it was to work full time, go to school, and do all the homework,” says Tom Trykowski, B.Arch. ’87. “It was tough, but ultimately, it made me confident and selfdirected. I see those same qualities today in the BAC students we hire.” Luis Araque, who is in his final year at the BAC and works at STA as an interior designer, concurs, “The experience I’ve gotten here at STA has been invaluable,” he says. “Being the project lead as a student, getting direct exposure to clients—these are things I could never learn in the classroom!” Over the past 20 years, STA has hired dozens of BAC students, and the firm’s leaders feel that the close relationship between their firm and the BAC has been positive for all concerned. “Students bring knowledge of the latest digital design and communication tools to us from school,” says Trykowski, “and take back firsthand knowledge of what clients want from design today.” STA’s three principals work with the students they mentor, giving them exposure to a wide range of design work, and helping them identify what they may be best suited for. “Practice gives you the opportunity to find your particular passion,” says David Silverman, B.Arch ’94. “I know it did for me. Because of my Practice experience, I’ll be doing what I love the rest of my life.” PRACTICE • 4
Hands on activities and the reflective sharing of group experiences are very important part of the Practice model.
To help students prepare for and accelerate their individual Practice experiences, the BAC has developed three foundational Practice programs. In their first year, every undergraduate student in one of the three architectural schools starts off with City Lab Intensive, a four-day immersive experience that introduces them to the city around them—its people, systems, and structures—and then follows that with Community Practice, a semester-long course designed to introduce them to the collaborative nature of design practice. A third, optional program, Gateway to Practice, offers students a chance to work in multi-discipline groups to solve real problems for local nonprofit organizations, community groups, and municipal agencies. About a third of degree candidates take advantage of Gateway to Practice, and because of the in-depth, collaborative nature of each project, have even better outcomes. “In the professional world, design can be a very collaborative process,” says Peterson, “and those students who take advantage of Gateway learn early on to respect their peers, have empathy for clients, and work as a group towards shared, common goals.”
Students engaged with each other to explore, discuss, and analyze enviroments surrounding BAC’s immediate neighborhood, as well as a limited number of significant sites accessible via public transportation, within Boston City limits. Pictured in the background is the beautiful Boston Public Library.
PRACTICE IS CONTINUOUSLY EVOLVING The Practice team at the BAC monitors the impact of experiential learning on student outcomes, and looks for ways to make Practice more effective for each student. Recognizing the range of prior experience students bring to their studies, Practice has been expanded to include research, professional competitions, and study abroad. The School of Design Studies, where Practice is strongly recommended but not required, has instituted formal seminars, Practicum 1 and Practicum 2, that give students a foundation in the theories of inquiry and then engage them in hands-on application of these in their own real-world and academic learning experiences. The goal of these courses is for students to see that they have control over what they learn and use that to optimize each experience, developing an ingrained way of questioning and thinking that will make them more adaptive to a rapidly changing world. In 2017, the College was recognized as one of only a handful of professional schools to participate in IPAL— Integrated Path to Architectural Licensure—allowing student Practice experiences to count towards licensing, a significant edge for BAC students, making it possible to become licensed at graduation.
OUR PRACTICE HAS DEEP AND LASTING IMPACT The BAC Practice model is much more than state-ofthe-art learning theory—on virtually every level, it’s transformative: it helps students find the intersection PRACTICE • 5
“My Practice experiences showed me that I could combine my love of planning, design, history, and story-telling to create a unique career path.” -Anastasia Lyons, BDS ‘14
of talent and interest and sets them on career paths they love; it shows them how to take control of their education and optimize their learning; it gives them confidence and maturity; and it provides them with invaluable professional experiences—a huge advantage over their peers at other design schools when they graduate. Before coming to the BAC, Anastasia Lyons, BDS ‘14 worked for a small architectural practice in her hometown that focused on designing green and passive homes. She was attending UMass Amherst when she heard about the BAC’s practice-oriented program and transferred almost immediately. “I loved working in the real world, outside of the ‘student bubble’, and wanted to keep working while studying architecture. I felt the Practice model made the BAC the perfect place for me,” says Lyons. “My Practice experiences showed me that I could combine my love of planning, design, history, and story-telling to create a unique career path.” Lyons is currently marketing and business development manager for Sasaki, focused on civic and commercial markets. Stephen Hopkins, a bachelor of architecture student, has entrepreneurialism in his blood. He publishes an on line magazine, Metropolitan Society, which doubles as an agency doing graphic design, photography, architecture competitions, and interior installations for small businesses. He also designs and markets his own clothing line called part/Whole—and he hasn’t even finished his degree yet! “Diving into the deep end as an entrepreneur,” says Hopkins, “showed me what I could do—it really energized me about realizing my ideas.” Hopkins takes ideas from his businesses and works them into his studio classes, and then takes what he learns there back to his business. This combination of academic learning and real world experience is helping PRACTICE • 6
him evolve his career goals. “I’m thinking now that I want my next Practice experience to be in a traditional architectural firm so that eventually I’ll be able to offer clients a complete package of design services— interiors, packaging, communications—that will support their total brand experience.” Anya Wilczynski, BDS ’16 feels that the BAC’s focus on optimizing Practice experience drove her to turn what might have been throw-away experiences—entry-level office work, elder care, working gala events—into learning opportunities for her career. “I used connections I made from elder care and experience I had working events to land a two-year student job at Preservation Massachusetts,” she says. “I think the motto of Practice should be ‘Learn from and build off of every job!’” With the confidence gained through Practice, she was hired immediately after graduation to run Historic Salem, and now works at Essex Heritage, using her design thinking skills to help develop strategies to propel the organization forward. Working at Silverman Trykowski Associates for four years, an architectural firm founded by three BAC alumni, has given Luis Araque, a bachelor of interior architecture student, a chance to be involved in projects from design through construction. “I’ve learned things here I couldn’t possibly have gotten in school,” says Araque. “It’s been a great opportunity for me to work closely with people from other disciplines—engineers, plumbers, HVAC specialists—and to learn from them the practical aspects of turning design into built environment.” While at the BAC, Araque has been involved in the American Society of Interior Designers New England chapter, and feels through his involvement in real-life projects that he’s had a leg up on students from other schools.
GATEWAY: HOW STUDENTS TURBO-CHARGE THEIR PRACTICE EXPERIENCE
PRACTICE • 7
O
ne of the long-held tenets at the BAC is that practice in a design firm is the very best experience a student can possibly get. It’s easy to see why: working in a firm offers students a chance to apply academic learning in real-world settings, and it gives them exposure to the workings of the profession, develops practical skills, and helps them build a network. These are all advantages BAC students have over graduates of other schools. But what if there were an even better way for students to launch their practice work? What if the BAC had a program that offered them a more complete look at the research, design, and construction process? What if that program also gave them a chance, early in their studies, to experience first-hand the power of collaboration, take on leadership roles, meet clients, make presentations, and witness the tangible impacts of design in the world? Gateway to Practice is this program and has been since its creation in 2008. Initially seen as a temporary solution, Gateway was designed to provide students who couldn’t find professional employment during the Great Recession with practical experience partnering with nonprofits, municipal agencies, and neighborhood organizations to use design for capacity building. “The integration of academic and practical learning is critical to the way we teach here at the BAC,” says Len Charney, the BAC’s dean of Practice. “With design jobs very hard to come by in 2008, we needed to come up with a way for students who couldn’t find paid work to get realworld work experience.” What might have been a stop-gap measure at other schools became a key element in the Practice curriculum at the BAC. “We saw immediately that there were additional benefits to Gateway,” says Charney. “Working in small teams under the guidance of a BAC faculty or staff member, students were exposed to all aspects of work along the design-to-construction continuum, something students rarely experience in entry level professional jobs.” Seeing positive outcomes on many levels, the Practice team expanded and institutionalized PRACTICE • 8
the Gateway program, which now include 6-7 semesterlong or year-long projects. Since its inception ten years ago, almost 2,000 BAC undergraduate and graduate students have taken advantage of Gateway.
“I found working in cross-discipline teams one of the unexpected benefits of Gateway. Seeing how architects and interior designers approach a problem really enhanced my own ways of thinking.” —Liz Lucclowes, MLA student
Projects Include:
Exploring new paradigms for affordable housing on un-built Southwest Corridor parcels
Creating a tool box for economic development in Grove Hall
“One of the greatest benefits of Gateway is its immediacy,” says Ben Peterson, director of Practice Instruction and Student Support, who oversees the program at the BAC. “Student teams learn how to define problems as opportunities for design resolution early in their project engagements.” Peterson has been monitoring the impact of Gateway on students for a number of years. “About 25-30% of BAC students participate, often in their third semester here,” he says. “Gateway is often their first real exposure to working directly with clients, where someone else owns the final work, not them. It teaches them empathy—a critical skill for designers.” Observing hundreds of Gateway students, he believes that the program offers a crash course in collaboration, where students quickly get to see and respect the contributions of others, and understand the benefits of teamwork in design.
“Gateway gave me an opportunity to learn the technical side of construction and how to get people to work together to get something built.” —Qiren Zhao, MLA ’18 Peterson would like to see more students take advantage of Gateway. “We’ve found that those who participate in Gateway are more intentional team players, have higher levels of empathy with clients, more confidence, greater enthusiasm for their work, and a clearer sense of personal direction,” he states. “Through early exposure to other students, mentors, and clients, they’re also better networkers,” adds Charney. “And their portfolios
Collaborating with the Boston Green Academy to build a mini-park in Audubon Circle
demonstrate a sophistication that separates them from other designers.” adds Peterson.
“As a mother of a young child, Gateway gave me the flexibility I needed to study and get real world work experience.” —Mary Burke, MLA student PRACTICE • 9
PROJECT GREEN WAY Building a community in East Boston BAC students worked with the Friends of East Boston Greenway and the Boston Society of Landscape Architects to find solutions to the former Callahan Tunnel toll plaza in East Boston. In the first semester, students researched the historic uses of Porter Street, an artery connecting the disparate sides of the neighborhood. With an idea of what the street might be again, they spent time observing use patterns and speaking with residents about the challenges they faced navigating the toll plaza. “The most rewarding aspect for me,” says Mary Burke, an MLA student, “was meeting local people, hearing what issues they faced, and ideas they had to solve them.” In the second semester, students created a “Tactical Urbanism Catalog”—a compendium of high-impact, low cost solutions that would engage people and bring life to Porter Street, such as small scale “pop-up” commerce, inviting seating, wayfaring signage, attractive lighting, and a variety of art installations. “We believe you can turn construction into fun events where residents are part of the change,” reports Nehir Yildirim, an M.Arch student. Client Gretchen Rabinkin, executive director of the Boston Society of Landscape Architects, was impressed by how a diverse group of BAC students could quickly relate to the many different groups in East Boston. “It gives me hope. We’re training designers who can really understand different perspectives,” she says. The students appreciate the experience as well. “It taught me the importance of social infrastructure,” adds Yildirim. “I’m more aware now of the cultural perspectives of people I’m working with.” Rabinkin reports that the students’ ideas have had widespread impact. “In August, the Friends of the East Boston Greenway took their advice and hosted their first farmers’ market,” she says with pride. Impressed by the response in East Boston, Rabinkin and the BAC’s Peterson presented student ideas at a Tactical Urbanism workshop hosted by Mass Development. “We were pleased to see how well received those ideas were,” says Peterson. “I think we’re going to see Tactical Urbanism solutions like these implemented in communities throughout the region,” adds Rabinkin. Liz Lucclowes, MLA student, is proud to have been part of work that’s having real impact. “Working together, students can gain valuable experience, and East Boston can become a model for community-led development that benefits everyone in the community.” PRACTICE • 10
PRACTICE GOES INTERNATIONAL Cultures of construction: an arts village in Ghana Working with faculty advisor Junko Yamamoto, BAC students researched local construction options, refined the design of an art installation, raised money for their travel, and then went to Ghana to help build the installation. The original winning design for this installation, developed by Yamamoto and two of her classmates from her time at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, was based on three walls painted with the silhouette of Le Corbusier’s Maison Dom-ino. “Our plan for the walls, the negative spaces where the walls’ earth was extracted, and the cutouts from the walls,” says Yamamoto, “would create both a pleasing place for the community to gather and evoke a classic icon of modernity, the Maison Dom-ino, painted onto Africa.” In the first phase of this project, ten BAC students worked on the design and preparation for the installation. In their construction analysis, the students concluded that building the walls of rammed earth would not be possible in the time allowed. They recommended that the locally harvested red earth be mixed with concrete for the rammed-earth walls. This would allow the installation to be constructed quickly, while still keeping to the original design intent. In the second phase of the project, Yamamoto took a teaching assistant, M.Arch student Cenxue Wang, and Qiren Zhao, MLA ‘18 to Ghana where they worked with community members to construct the three walls. Zhao, who helped with construction, was impressed by the team’s ability to build the installation by hand. “In Boston, the work was theoretical—we designed and did simulations on computers,” he says. “In Ghana, we dealt with the reality of turning earth, gravel, and concrete into free-standing structures.” Gloria Asaba Kiiza an MIA student who helped with the materials analysis but didn’t go to Ghana, was excited to see pictures of the wall when first completed. “I’m from Uganda,” says Kiiza, “and I believe this kind of hybrid material could be very effective in rural construction in my country.” The project has inspired her to think about how she can combine design and nonprofit work in her career. “This was much more than a design and construction project,” says Yamamoto. “It was an opportunity for BAC students to share methods and techniques with the community, experience their customs and rituals, and see how diverse cultures could come together to create one work of art.” PRACTICE • 11
EVOLUTION OF
SUSTAINABILITY
T
he way we design everything—from cities to recycling bins—has changed dramatically over the past century and a half. It was a big step from Beaux Arts to Bauhaus. It’s been an equally big step from the idealistic, top-down planning of the International Style to the inclusive, bottom-up approach backed by a growing number of professionals today. While the role of architects and designers continues to evolve, nowhere in the profession has there been such rapid change as sustainable design. “Twenty years ago we were excited about energy savings,” says Eric Corey Freed, a leading thinker in the field and an instructor at the BAC since 2012. “Today we’re looking at the very real possibility of growing buildings through tapping the power of biology.” Since the inception of its first degree programs in sustainable design a decade ago, the BAC has evaluated the role designers should play in the field and the skills it must teach to help its graduates take advantage of, and lead the change. “The field is rapidly growing and changing;” says Michael Fiorillo, the BAC’s director of Sustainable Design, “there are virtually no boundaries, and because of this, it’s a great place to be if you’re a creative person with an entrepreneurial spirit.” To keep up with change, the BAC has added courses that broaden the scope of studies, has expanded the number of electives so that students can personalize their learning path to match their career goals, and PRACTICE • 12
has focused training on problem solving, rather than mastering the technology of the moment. “If you have the right method of thinking about problems,” says Fiorillo, “you can stay abreast of whatever changes occur.” Thinking more broadly about sustainability—questioning everything, looking for new solutions—is one reason the BAC sought out Eric Corey Freed. A self-professed Sustainability Disruptor, Freed, who runs the BAC’s Master’s Thesis program in Sustainable Design, is a vocal advocate for a shift in design thinking. “Architects and designers need to take responsibility for the impact of their work,” he says.
“I want the students in our thesis program to see that they can and should change the world.” For the first decade of his career, Freed was content to design “one green building at a time.” In the early 2000s, he realized that the sustainability movement would never scale up if it didn’t reach a larger audience, and so took on the personal challenge of inspiring a new
generation of activist designers. Since then, he’s taught classes and spoken at hundreds of conferences around the world. His TEDxMarin talk “NATURE BECOMES ARCHITECT: Growing our next generation of buildings” is an eye-opener on how advances in biotechnology may soon change the way we conceive and construct spaces. Freed credits mentors who responded to him when he was a student as the source of his faith that disruptive change is possible. That’s one reason he teaches the thesis program at the BAC—to help students find their personal passion, and prepare to live it. “Getting the right thesis is critical,” he says. “If they haven’t given it a lot of thought, I just keep asking them questions— why they care, who it will impact, what will make a difference—until they’ve found the issue that’s right for them.” Both Freed and Fiorillo are pleased to see how many students come up with theses that lead to great opportunities after graduation. “We really want them to identify a career path, and then reverse-engineer their thesis projects so that they set the stage for their next career moves,” says Fiorillo.
Pictured above is Freed’s Palo Alto House. Located in the beautful Palo Alto valley. This home combines beauty with eco friendly design.
Freed’s work with his students at the BAC has had remarkable results. Take the case of Fred Bourassa, MDS-SD ’18, a Montreal native, whose interest in housing initially led him to explore the issue of affordability in Toronto, where he’s been living for the past two years. Freed helped him see that an issue that large and complex might not yield any workable solutions. Instead, Bourassa looked into housing in First Nation communities, and found that many of these in the far north of Canada were off the power grid, and reliant on expensive, polluting diesel generators. After extensive research, Bourassa determined that a federal sustainable energy program for First Nations would make solar cells affordable in new home construction. “Solar panels on even modest new homes can reduce the need for diesel use by 30 percent or more,” he says. Bourassa is currently working with a consulting firm that helps First Nation communities navigate the government grant process. “It will take time,” says Bourassa, “but I’m convinced we can get First Nations communities on board with this simple solution.”
PRACTICE • 13
Jennifer Stevenson, MDS-SD ’16 got interested in water issues when she did her first intensive project in east Cambridge. “I saw that people weren’t even considering the impact of water in new developments,” she says, “and I knew, living nearby, that there were frequent flash floods in the area that would only get worse as development increased.” Frustrated by what she saw as local municipalities’ fixation on big infrastructure projects, she chose to focus her thesis on small-scale, alternative solutions, such as rain gardens, green roofs, porous parking lots, and bioswales, which are much easier to implement, and can have significant impact on water run-off. Seeing the power of low-impact, distributed solutions from her thesis, Stevenson is now working at Climable, an organization that’s building clean energy, community-led micro-grids for low income neighborhoods. Katie Weeks, MDS-SD ’14, a journalist who covered the architecture and design field, came to the BAC in 2011 to gain first hand technical experience in the field. She quickly realized that designers often don’t know how to communicate the benefits of their work to clients. When it came time for her thesis, Freed encouraged her to think about how her skills as a storyteller could help change the way designers talk about sustainability. In her thesis, she researched successful communication strategies in industries outside of design, identifying ways they tapped powerful emotional undercurrents that motivated key audiences. The project was transformative for her—“I realized I wanted to be part of the solution, not just write about it from the outside!” she says. Weeks is currently the director of Communications at Market Transformation, a Washington D.C. based nonprofit promoting energy efficiency in buildings. “We work with a lot of municipal agencies and corporate real estate owners and managers,” says Weeks. “My biggest challenge is finding ways to value energy efficiency outside of the sustainability lens. Increasing property values, adding jobs, or improving residents’ or building occupants’ health are not benefits people may immediately think of when they consider sustainability, but those are what really resonate with their municipal or corporate goals.” Where Weeks went for emotional, right brain solutions, Keith Burrows, MDS-SD ’13 took a very different tack. With strong analytical skills, he used his thesis project to look at ways to benchmark energy performance in the existing home sector. “The construction industry has been focused on modeled performance and prescriptive requirements for new residential builds, while largely ignoring operational energy consumption,” he says. “Given the size of the existing home market, Eric helped me see that a simple solution there could have a sizeable impact.” Burrows built a regression model using residential survey data that made it easy for homeowners to see, through a short questionnaire, how their property performed against benchmarks for energy use. “My own research has shown that seeing PRACTICE • 14
this gap between expectation and reality increases homeowners’ reported willingness to invest in energy efficiency by up to 12 percent,” he reports. Burrows used his thesis findings to land a job doing energy efficiency research at The Atmospheric Fund, a Toronto-based organization that invests in urban solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. These four students are just the tip of the iceberg. Over the past six years, Freed has worked with scores of promising students who are now out in the world challenging assumptions, and as disruptors themselves, bringing fresh thinking to sustainable design.
ARE WE ENTERING THE
BIOCENE ERA? If the old model of human behavior was to dominate nature, what’s the new one? For the past 50 years, many would say it’s the preservation of nature— reducing pollution and energy consumption, protecting endangered species, saving the last bits of the wild world. But a growing number of sustainability activists— designers among them—are talking about a much more radical change: one where we are working with nature, building the way nature does, even using nature to build for us. They call this era we’re entering the Biocene—a time of rebirth, when we find solutions to the challenges we face through innovation inspired by nature.
zero emissions products to agricultural waste-based products, to bio-based materials. Given the discoveries in biotechnology, living materials are just around the corner.” With living materials, Freed sees a future coming where designers can create living buildings that absorb toxins, glow when light is needed, change colors on demand, and heal themselves.
For some, the answers lie in biomimicry—creating new, more efficient and healthy ways to build by replicating what nature does. Michael Pawlyn, a leading proponent of biomimicry, believes we can use a new generation of 3D printing to create materials that are stronger and lighter, yielding radical savings in construction cost and energy. For others, the answer lies in creating augmented natural systems, such as one recently set up by the Sahara Forest Project that uses sun, seawater, and waste products to generate power and food. On the leading edge is the BAC’s Eric Corey Freed, who believes that we can go even further. Freed wants us to use our knowledge of DNA and gene manipulation to have nature build for us, what he calls Prostruction. “If you look at the recent history of sustainable construction,” says Freed, “you can see that this is inevitable. In just a few years we’ve gone from
Eric Corey Freed instructor at the BAC since 2012 sees a future where designers create living buildings. PRACTICE • 15
DESIGNING WOMEN M aya Bird-Murphy grew up in Oak Park, Illinois, home to legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Surrounded by notable buildings and with parents who encouraged her creative interests and sent her to design camps in the summer, it’s no wonder she wanted to pursue a career in architecture. However, as one of the only African Americans in her design classes at Ball State University, she realized that most African Americans and Latinos are denied the positive influences that propelled her toward a career in architecture. “The design field is still not attracting many minorities,” says Bird-Murphy. “Last year 85% of newly licensed architects were white and 64% were male.” Bird-Murphy thinks she knows why, “If you’re not exposed to design in your formative years like I was, the chances of developing the passion needed to complete 12 years of study and on-the-job-training to become a licensed architect are very, very low.” During her graduate work at the BAC, Bird-Murphy decided it would be her mission to change this. “By 2050 the United States will be a minority majority nation,” she says. “If the design field is going to serve everyone equally, we need designers who come from every community.” Bird-Murphy believes strongly that bringing women and people of color into the field will help reverse the long-standing, top-down approach taken on most large construction projects, and will help foster fresh ideas, and more inclusive, human-scale solutions. “There are so many exciting careers in design, it’s only right that they should be available to all!” she exclaims. Bird-Murphy is the kind of woman who acts on her beliefs. With the help of her thesis professor at the BAC, Jack Cochran—himself a successful entrepreneur—she developed a business plan, made connections in her native Chicago, recruited a Board of Directors and volunteer staff, and was running her own non-profit, Chicago Mobile Makers, shortly after graduation. Chicago Mobile Makers is off to a promising start. Its goal is to engage students at a point in their lives when they are beginning to think about the future—8- to 18-years-old—and plant seeds of interest that will lead PRACTICE • 16
MAYA BIRD-MURPHY, M.ARCH ’17 Maya’s nonprofit Chicago Mobile Makers has already been recognized by Fast Company as a Finalist in the “Urban Design” category of their 2018 World Changing Ideas Awards.
to design careers. The first workshops in 2017-2018 were a success with students, and Bird-Murphy and her team have scheduled in-school workshops, summer camps, and pop-up events to engage more youth in design. With design community and corporate support, BirdMurphy hopes within five years to have a “Hub” to work out of that would include a shop with power/digital tools and a gallery, as well as a Mobile Makers van to go into Chicago’s South and West side neighborhoods to work directly with potential young designers.
OLIVIA BREYTENBACH, MDS-HP ’18 When we think of historic preservation, it’s easy to focus on the big, obvious projects—saving an iconic building like New York’s Grand Central Station from destruction or the adaptive reuse of derelict buildings like Berlin’s Reichstag. But much of the work in the field goes unheralded. The process of repair, protection, and reuse can be slow and painstaking, involving research, documentation, and collaboration with community groups, government agencies, and historic preservation boards. Were it not for people with a passion for preservation who are willing to take on this hard work, like Olivia Breytenbach, MDS-HP ’18, much of our built cultural heritage would be lost. Breytenbach wasn’t interested in history as a child, but had an epiphany during a trip to Berlin. “It was such a vibrant place,” she recounts, “with this amazing mix of old and new.” Inspired by her trip, Breytenbach sought out undergraduate internships that included aspects of adaptive reuse in design, working on a condo conversion that brought a Back Bay townhouse to visually match its next door twin, and a much larger project to update apartments in a Manhattan landmark. “Both projects were eye-openers as to what was involved in getting buy-in from neighbors, community groups, and historical boards,” she says.
OLIVIA BREYTENBACH, MDS-HP ’18 Brings a passion for preserving historical buildings for generations to come.
Immediately after graduating in May 2018, Breytenbach took an internship at Fallingwater in Pennsylvania, one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s most famous creations. “Working on needed maintenance for such a building isn’t very glamorous work,” says Breytenbach, “but it’s been fascinating to see what’s involved in cleaning and scrubbing stonework on a 20th century icon.” Breytenbach is now looking for work in the field of international preservation. “Spending time in Europe gave me a real appreciation for how historic buildings can be successfully incorporated into ever-changing environments,” she says.
BRANDY H.M. BROOKS, BDS ’06 Brandy H.M. Brooks, BDS ’06 works as a community organizer focused on social, economic, and environmental justice. “We’re fighting for progressive change,” says Brooks. “We want to assure people have decision making power over the important things that
Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous ‘Fallingwater’ loacated in Mill Run, Pennsylvania. PRACTICE • 17
impact their lives.” Over the past year, she ran in the Democratic primary for County Council At-Large in Montgomery County, MD, and was also the Leadership Development Organizer for Progressive Maryland, a statewide grassroots organizing nonprofit. Brooks is excited to see that, with encouragement, people are stepping up, organizing their communities, and taking action for what they believe is right. “We’re building a people-powered democracy from the ground up,” she says. For Brooks, the move from socially conscious designer to community organizer was a natural evolution of her career. “The skills you learn as a designer,” says Brooks, “listening to clients, identifying their needs, working through an iterative process to come up with solutions—these are exactly the skills that are needed in community organization and grass roots advocacy.”
BRANDY H.M. BROOKS, BDS ’06 Brooks is a community organizer focused on social, economic, and enviromental justice.
As an undergraduate, Brooks identified closely with the social justice mission of the BAC, and views the inclusive approach to design championed by the school as a very effective tool for community empowerment. In her last year at the BAC, she helped found the Community Design Resource Center, an organization that provides pro bono design and technical assistance to underserved communities in Greater Boston. As its first executive director, she worked with a number of organizations working in urban agriculture, and became deeply interested in issues of land use. “To create a more equitable food system,” says Brooks, “people need control over the land in their communities.” Through organizations like The Food Project and the Dudley Street Neighborhood Association, she helped people fight for that right. Brooks believes designers need to take responsibility for the impact of their designs. “We can perpetuate injustice,” she says, “or, with a deeper view of our role in the world, come to understand the roots of problems, and help people solve those problems from the bottom up.” Her advice for those considering a design education? “I recommend every progressive person interested in design read Designerly Ways of Knowing by Nigel Cross. It will help you see that design isn’t just a profession, it’s an approach to the world!” she exclaims.
Brooks works with many organizations to help others gain control over the land in their communities PRACTICE • 18
“A design degree gives you the perspective and skills needed to become an effective change agent in any field you go into.”
HOLLY CRATSLEY, B.ARCH ’84 In 1978, when Holly Cratsley, B.Arch ’84 decided on a career change, she knew the odds for success were stacked against her. As a wife and mother she’d face an improbable juggling act of home, kids, school, and work. If she got her degree in architecture, she’d be entering a profession that was overwhelmingly male. Forty years later, Cratsley can look back on a career where she proved women are good architects and business owners, and also bring qualities of care, compassion, and cooperation to a field often characterized by ego and self-importance. “If it weren’t for the BAC,” says Cratsley, “I’d never have become an architect. The school gave me the flexibility to modulate my pace of education.” A hard worker, Cratsley knew she’d need flexibility in building her career as well, and after a stint at a small architectural firm in Cambridge, set out on her own in 1988. Her firm, Nashawtuc Architects, Inc., grew organically through local connections Cratsley had in the Concord area. “Turns out a lot of the interest in home construction and design starts with women, and they liked the idea of working with another women,” she says with a smile. She’s deliberately run Nashawtuc as a kinder, gentler firm, offering flexible hours for staff, mentoring young female designers, and building close relationships with her clients. They often see her as a friend they know and trust, returning with new projects and referring her firm to their friends and neighbors.
HOLLY CRATSLEY, B.ARCH ’84 Proves architecture is for anyone while also promoting care, compassion, & cooperation.
Her firm has done pro bono work with local organizations such as the Pine Street Inn, Habitat for Humanity, the Concord Museum, and the Concord Visitor Center, and gives 10% of revenue each year to charities selected by her employees. Cratsley has been a loyal supporter of the BAC, serving as Trustee, receiving the Distinguished Alumni Award in Service in 2006, and the BAC Alumni Association’s Selfless Labor Award in 2012. In 2008, in honor of her firm’s 20th anniversary, her employees donated funds to create the Holly Cratsley, B.Arch ‘84 Scholarship to provide financial aid to female students at the BAC. The staff, as well as clients, made a significant gift to the fund in 2018 in honor of her retirement. “Thankfully, things are changing,” she says with relief. “When I received my state certification in 1988, it stated ‘HE has the rights…’ Imagine—they hadn’t even considered giving licenses to women!” Over the years she’s broken a number of glass ceilings. After being on air for twenty-four years, This Old House tapped her to be their first female architect, and in 2018, she was appointed to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Board of Registration of Architects. “Women still need to support other women in this profession,” she says. “I think the biggest hurdle we still face is being heard. The more women who sit around the table, the more people will listen to us.”
This Old House named Cratsley their first female Architect. PRACTICE • 19
GENEVIEVE MESSINA, BIA ’18 Working as an interior designer at Cambridge architectural firm SMMA, Genevieve Messina, BIA ’18 is acutely aware of how design affects attitude and behavior. “While most of my work is in office space,” says Messina, “I try to consider a range of users, and not design for the stereotypical office worker.” With a strong push to make businesses, especially tech firms, more welcoming to women and minorities, designers with a broader view and greater empathy like Messina are increasingly in demand.
GENEVIEVE MESSINA, BIA ’18 Is helping to the design industry wake up to gender issues.
A course she took at the BAC opened Messina’s eyes to the injustices built into our society, and how designers can inadvertently perpetuate them. Working in retail while studying design, she saw firsthand how the traditional design of clothing stores created an environment that was difficult for LGBTQ+ customers. “Gender specific departments,” she says, “signal to many in the LGBTQ community, especially gender fluid and transgender individuals, that they aren’t welcome.” In a recent survey of young adults, 56% of Generation Z (those born from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s) said they know someone who uses gender-neutral pronouns to describe themselves, so the issue is significant. For her thesis project, Messina created a design for a concept store, You Are Here (YAH)—a gender fluid/ gender neutral clothing store. Through research with gender fluid individuals, Messina focused the store and its merchandise on shape and size, rather than gender stereotypes, including diagrams that helped customers with appropriate sizing. “I used color to code things, rather than label them ‘male’ or ‘female’,” she says, “and created a new lexicon that would avoid using traditional gendered words like blouses/shirts.” Messina also recognized that many LGBTQ+ youth are often rejected by their families, and so struggle to find work and housing. To help them, her store included three levels of merchandise: donated, thrift, and retail. Her concept for YAH was ahead of its time—this spring, a New York designer opened what he called the world’s first gender-free clothing store in Lower Manhattan— The Phluid Project. While it employed some of the design elements of Messina’s YAH, it has been criticized for the pricey merchandise it offers.
You Are Here (YAH) - A gender fluid/gender nuteral clothing store designed by Messina. PRACTICE • 20
The design industry is slowly waking up to the issue of gender, with many architects and interior designers advocating for gender neutral bathrooms. “It’s a good start,” says Messina, “but I think we can do a lot more if we listen and respond to the needs of a more diverse set of users.” Messina received a commendation from BAC faculty and advisors for her final degree project “You Are Here”, recognizing her project as the best of the year. She also received one of the Edwin T. Steffian, ’10 (Hon.) Centennial Awards, and at graduation, the Practice Award.
ADRIENNE OTT, M.Arch ’11 Working at Gehry Partners in Los Angeles is an exciting job for Adrienne Ott, M.Arch ’11. With exceptional computer, as well as design skills, she’s been coordinating the design process for a new campus building for Facebook in Menlo Park, CA. Ott explains that the project, which entails many in-house architects, as well as external consultants, is still in the active design phase. “We’ve been using Navisworks to oversee and coordinate everyone’s designs,” she says. “It helps to speed up the design process, and provides, along with its ‘clash detector’, an important level of quality control.” Ott is excited about the design the Gehry team presented to Facebook, which includes a series of large metal boxes superimposed on a faceted glass structure. “Each box contains one or two conference rooms or offices,” she explains. “It’s been a challenge to come up with ways to provide acoustic dampening, without compromising the metal/glass integrity of the design.” While being an employee at Gehry Partners, Ott and her colleague Dana McKinney, recently co-founded ECCO Studios (Empower, Create, Construct, and Orchestrate) a nonprofit organization that teaches underserved youth and low-income communities education in architecture and sustainable design. Ott had been involved with YouthBuild in Boston, Chicago, and Los Angeles, an organization that helps low income youth gain entry into the construction and design fields. Since Youthbuild and other local youth organizations offer programs only during the week in Los Angeles, Ott and her colleagues were excited to start offering weekend educational studios and workshops to expose more students to careers in architecture and design with a focus on sustainability. Skill training is an important part of the ECCO Studios model with students exposed from the start to hand visualization and computer-based design programs. “Most design jobs today require computer proficiency,” she says. Finding no local computer labs open on weekends, Ott and her family purchased student laptops for the organization. Ott is thankful for the continued support of her coworkers at Gehry Partners. “Many people I work with, especially Black, Latinx and women colleagues, are helping us teach and inspire the students.” She believes that teachers who the students can identify with are an important part of what makes ECCO Studios successful. “Seeing a role model who looks like you, who’s succeeding in the design field, is a great way to help build your confidence and have higher aspirations.” Recently, Ott had a chance to speak Meaghan Lloyd, a partner at Gehry Partners and world-famous architect Frank Gehry, the founder of the firm. They were impressed by what she and her coworkers were doing with ECCO Studios, and offered support from the firm’s charitable foundation. “ECCO Studios has been built on teamwork,”
ADRIENNE OTT, M.Arch ’11 Proves architecture is for anyone while also promoting care, compassion, & cooperation.
Skill training is an important part of the Ecco Studios model. PRACTICE • 21
NAMRATA SHAH, MLA ’17 Namrata Shah, MLA ’17 grew up in the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, India. As a teen she became aware of how little green space there was in her city, and how endangered her neighborhood trees were to the constant pressure of development. Concern for these trees set her on a course to pursue a career in landscape design. After earning an architectural degree in India, she came to the BAC to pursue a Master’s of Landscape Architecture in 2015.
NAMRATA SHAH, MLA ’17 Has strong beliefs about the responsility of designers to protect the natural enviroment.
Concern for neighborhood trees set her on a course to pursue landscape design. PRACTICE • 22
For her thesis, Shah studied the issues facing her native city, and developed a plan that uses the city’s unique qualities to turn its problems into solutions. “Ahmedabad has limited public transportation and virtually no public green spaces,” says Shah. “Water is a very important part of Indian culture. In Gujarat, during the monsoon season, there’s way too much water, and in the rest of the year, the city is dry.” She saw the capture, storage, and distribution of water as a way to tap into the deep cultural connection to water, and solve both the transportation and green space problems. Shah’s plan created a series of corridors that would provide space for transportation, water distribution, and public green space throughout the city. Shah received her Master’s of Landscape Architecture in the fall of 2017, and is currently employed at Paul Finger Associates, a landscape architectural firm in Waltham, MA. She’s excited to be working on the plans for a residential subdivision in Waltham. In planning for this suburban property, she hopes to convince the developers to work around the trees on the site, not remove them and plant new ones afterwards. “I think we can use some of the existing landscape for communal open space that will provide recreation for residents, refuge for wildlife, and enhance the value of each property,” she says. Shah has strong beliefs about the responsibility of designers to protect and enhance the natural environment.
“As a profession,” she says, “we need to change our approach— we need to start with the perspective of environmental preservation first, not create a clean slate and build anew.”
FELICE SILVERMAN, ’92, MID ’14 “I think I’ve always seen architecture and interior design as two closely allied disciplines,” says Felice Silverman, ’92, MID ’14. “That’s why we blur the lines between the two at our firm.” Silverman, her husband David Silverman, B.Arch ’94, and Thomas Trykowski, B.Arch ’87 are the co-founding principals of Silverman Trykowski Associates (STA), a 13-person design firm based in downtown Boston. The design of their own space exemplifies the blurring of disciplines, with a mix of exposed brick and timber, modern furniture, and bold color accents. Open plan design encourages close collaboration between everyone in their firm—not even the partners have offices. “This is the way innovative businesses work today,” says Silverman, “close physical connections help people develop and test ideas.” Silverman and her firm are closely tied to the area’s burgeoning entrepreneurial community. Recently, they completed design and construction administration of a new space in Somerville, MA, for Greentown Labs, a coworking space for start-ups in the clean energy field. The design process began with a series of meetings with Greentown Labs’ member companies. “They’re the ultimate users of the space,” says Silverman, “so it was essential we bring them into the process from the very beginning.” One key insight from member companies was the need for event space that would work for both large and small events. STA’s solution—a “Town Green” with movable furniture that creates a series of seating pods for smaller group meetings on different levels, and balconies and ramps that create one large open area for 500-person events like Greentown Labs’ annual Demo Day.
FELICE SILVERMAN, ’92, MID ’14 Brings the vision and message of the BAC to her design firm Trykowski Associates everyday.
“It’s a very exciting time for designers,” says Silverman. “People are rethinking office spaces, and how architects and interior designers, working closely together, can impact the way people work.” As an interior designer, Silverman is acutely aware of how color and finishes can change people’s attitude and behavior. “We used some very bright accents, like lime green, in the design of Greentown Labs,” she says. “It helps to energize people, especially on dark days in the winter, and as a connective element, encourages them to network and collaborate across companies.” Silverman left a large design firm over 20 years ago so that she could have more one-on-one connection with clients. This personal approach to service permeates her firm—everyone, including interns from the BAC, are given opportunities to be project leads and forge strong relationships with clients. The approach has paid off handsomely. STA is growing through repeat business and referrals from happy clients, including designs for venture firm MedCap Advisors and a new coworking space for MassRobotics. Office space created by Silverman refects the ideas of re-working how work spaces flow. PRACTICE • 23
Congratulations Class of 2019!
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SOMERSET LEADERSHIP SOCIETY The Boston Architectural College gratefully recognizes the generous alumni, faculty, foundations, overseers, staff, trustees, and members of the Boston design community who made gifts of $1,000 or more to the College during fiscal year 2018 (July 1, 2018 - June 30, 2019)
$50,000+ U.S. Department of State Kai Zhao Chleck Family Foundation Richard Martini
$25,000-$49,999 Elkus Manfredi Architects MKG Morgan Stanley John Moriarty & Associates, Inc. Suffolk Construction Turner Construction Company
$10,000-$24,999 Fidelity Charitable Century Bank Donovan Hatem LLP Erland Construction, Inc. Judith Nitsch Marilyn Swartz-Lloyd CBT Architects Arup Commodore Builders NEI General Contracting Sasaki Associates The Architectural Team
$5,000-$9,999 Richard Snyder Robert Haimes The Joan Shafran and Rob Haimes Foundation, Inc. Shepley Bulfinch Longwood Security Services, Inc. Roger Goldstein Dana Rowan AIS Boston Properties Callahan Construction Managers CBRE/New England Exeter Real Estate Advisors The Fallon Company Finegold Alexander Architects Goin Harper Kenneth Himmel Holland & Knight LLP Karas & Karas Glass Lee Kennedy Lee Kennedy Co., Inc. Michael Liu
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David Manfredi NAIOP Massachusetts Inc Perkins+Will Stephen Perry Stephen Ross Silverman Trykowski Associates The Stephen M Ross Foundation Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program
$2,500-$4,999 University of Massachusetts Boston Albert TappĂŠ DiCicco, Gulman & Company, LLP The Designers Lighting Forum of New England Stantec HMFH Architects, Inc. CambridgeSeven Dimeo Construction Company The Druker Company, Ltd. Charles Redmon A. W. Hastings AECOM Tishman Alliant Construction Services Group Archimedia Solutions Group, LLC Architectural Resources Cambridge Lisa Bonneville Bonneville Design Calvert Vaux Preservation Alliance CBIZ Tofias Consigli Construction Co., Inc. Creative Office Pavilion Cushman & Wakefield US, Inc. Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation Elaine Construction Company, Inc. Ellenzweig G. Greene Construction Halvorson Design Partnership ICON Architecture J.C. Cannistraro, LLC Janey Construction Management & Consulting, Inc. KVAssociates, Inc. MASS Design Group Meyer & Meyer Architecture and Interiors Michael Angelo Interbartolo, Jr. A.I.A. North Fork Design Co. Patrick Ahearn Architect LLC Payette Pella Windows & Doors Raymond James Deborah Renzella Ryan Construction Samuels & Associates John Savasta Shawmut Design and Construction Jeffrey Staats Tocci Building Companies
James Vaseff Wells Fargo Advisors William Hodgins Inc.
$1,000-$2,499 Edward Doyle Leers Weinzapfel Associates Mikyoung Kim Design NBBJ Andre Sigourney Jane Weinzapfel Vermont Higher Education Investment Plan Cynthia Smith Eric Adams James Barrett Copley Wolff Design Group Holly Cratsley CRJA-IBI Group The Drew Company, Inc. Mark Feldman Frederick Noyes Architects LPL Financial John Pilling Gerald Pomeroy Steven Weber Yulio Georgia Power Foundation Alex Krieger Allan Robinson Martha Acworth Mark Virello Glen LeRoy Acentech Advantage Marketing AHA Consulting Engineers Meredith Baker BDO USA, LLP John Bradley BrightView Landscape Development, Inc. Deborah J Cohen Colliers International Fiduciary Trust Company Jay Gregory Richard Griswold David Morgan MWI Fiber-Shield Harold Nash Wilson Pollock Jeff Rodger Kathleen Rood The Rust Foundation Hamilton Shepley Chester Shuman Siena Construction Corporation SiteWorks Donald Small Stamats Communications, Inc. studioTYAK Karen Vagts Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. Wilson Butler Architects Gianfranco Zaccai Edward Zuker
DONORS (UNDER $1,000) The Boston Architectural College gratefully recognizes the generous alumni, faculty, foundations, overseers, staff, trustees, and members of the Boston design community who made gifts of up yo $999 to the College during fiscal year 2018 (July 1, 2018 - June 30, 2019)
$999 AND UNDER Aidan Ackerman Robert W. Adams Aesop Albert Costa Architect Zainab Almakzomi Sara Alshankiti AmazonSmile Foundation Peter W. Ambler Brittany Ambruson Esther D. Ames Oliver Ames Patrick J. Amice James Andaralo Matt Andersen-Miller Reed Anthony Architectural Engineers, Inc. Elizabeth D. Armstrong Holly A. Arnold Janna N. Atcheson Atelier Ten Peter E. Atwood Michael Auren Kayla Babineau Maria Isabel Baez Torres George R. Baker Raghed Bakir Adrianne C. Balcom Sebastian M. Baliva James A. Barrett
Charles A. Barry Randolph P. Barton Sean Bataya Beals And Thomas Helen R. Belluschi John Berger Jean N. Berry Richard J. Bertman Tina Binazir William J. Bisson Paul F. Blanchard Gina M. Bleck David C. Bliss Andrew Bognanni Annette L. Born Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation Boston Harbor Distillery Boston Society of Architects Boston Symphony Orchestra Dana Boudreau Sara E. Bourque Berton B. Bremer Walter W. Brewster DeWitt T. Brock Brockway-Smith Company Warren H. Brodie Robert S. Brooks Don R. Brown Elizabeth R. Brown Jameson A. Brown Rodger L. Brown Scott D. Brown
Daniel H. Broyles Margery M. Buckingham Rodney F. Burnett Janet L. Burns Arthur C. Byers Robert Campbell Cantina Italiana Daniel H. Cantwell Angela Capodilupo Raymond C. Captell Rodrigo E. Carvajal Josh W. Castellano CBT Architects Robert J. Celentano Ozben A. Cetin Leonard J. Charney Terence Chauvet David Chilinski Bryan Chou John C. Christopher Mila Chun Citrus & Salt Christopher T. Clocher Di and Jack Clymer cm&b Jodi E. Cohen Frances H. Colburn Gregory L. Colling Commodore Builders Bridget E. Connelly Copley Wolff Design Group Mary L. Couvillon Hilary H. Creighton Richard J. Crispi CRJA-IBI Group Katie M. Crockett James G. Cronburg Crosby Schlessinger Smallridge Angus W. Crowe Karl F. Damitz Andrew Dankwerth
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DONORS UNDER $999 CONTINUED
Peter G. Darlow Darlow Christ Architects Inc. Juan F. De Loera Lucy Dearborn Fay DeAvignon Dell USA LP Paul L. DellaRocca Rodney S. Dennis Designer Bath Griscel A. Diaz Dick Blick Art Materials Bradford S. Dimeo Dimeo Construction Company Kenneth A. Diranian Anya Dobrowolski Dianna Donaghey Coppolo Down The Road Beer Co. Joseph S. Drown Mary E. Drozda The Druker Company, Ltd. Philip S. Dunn Arick J. Dyrdal James P. Edwards George E. Egan Neal K. Emmer Nicole Ezell F.H. Perry Builder Patricia Farino Fastframe William M. Figdor Maurice N. Finegold William G. Finnerty Rose Fiore Scott D. Fiorentino Michael W. Fiorillo Laura E. Fitch Allen W. Fletcher Joe Flynn Nancy Flynn Angeline S. Focht Sasha Francoeur Frederick Noyes Architects Jennifer R. Frost Ken Furutani Andrew C. Fyffe Gabriel S. Garcia Louis F. Giampietro Robert Gillig Nathaniel J. Ginsburg Francesco Gioioso Dik N. Glass Cleo Glekas Dimitri Glekas Eleni E. Glekas Russell T. Glen Bernie J. Goba Seth A. Goldfine Howard E. Goldstein Matthew Gonzales Gorman Richardson Lewis Architects Brian Gourlie Grainger Matching Charitable Gifts Program Greenvale Vineyards Jay S. Gregory Atsu Gunther Greta Gustafson Hacin Architects, LLC Elie G. Haddad Spencer Hadelman Haley & Aldrich, Inc. Anne S. Hall Marion Hall Victoria Hallinan Halvorson Design Partnership W. Easley Hamner Richard A. Hansen Anna Harmison Adam C. Harper David M. Hart Carla M. Haskell Michael Hawver Eric M. Haydel Peter J. Herman Craig W. Herrmann Caroline L. Herter HMFH Architects, Inc. Julia Holland Hope Family Wines
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Mike Horgan Patricia M. Houlihan Robert Y. Hsiung Yu Hsu Ogden Hunnewell Brian Hunsicker Don Hunsicker Margaret Hunsicker Kathy Hunt Barbara Hurst Efe Ince The Institute for Human Centered Design Italian Me Italy Customized Joanna Jackson Mehran Jahedi Nirav Jhaveri Tom H. Jin Kate Garms Massage Therapy Peter Kelly Robert Kelly Thomas Kelly William S. Kenney Blair S. Kershaw Washie Khan Ralph D. Kilfoyle James R. Kimball Francis J. Kirwin Jonathan Klandrud Christopher R. Klinefelter Zofia B. Knowles Constance S. Kolman Alexandra Kontsevaia Peterson Alex Krieger James P. Kukla Mona Kumar Arto V. Kurkjian Peter G. Kuttner Kyle Zick Landscape Architecture, Inc. William C. Lamb Landscape Forms Inc. Landworks Studio, Inc. Matthew Latorella Jean H. Lawrence Sarah Lawson Andrea P. Leers Lemon Brooke The Lenox Hotel Troy A. Leonard Glen S. LeRoy Leslie Saul & Associates, Inc. Ross Levine Brenda E. Lew Daniel M. Lewis Susan A. Lewis Ligne Roset Lion’s Tail Boston Charles Litty Michael Liu Daniel Lloyd-Miller Alejandra V. Lopez George C. Loring Thomas N. Loring Lower Mills Tavern Lucia Lighting & Design Lumbermens Merchandising Corporation Stephen Lyons Hamze Machmouchi William J. Mack David R. MacLean Linda MacLeod Fannon David P. Manfredi John Y. Maroun Bernard R. Martell The Martin Group Paul R. Martinez Richard L. Martini Louise S. Mauran Richard B. McAdoo Samuel McCutcheon Victoria McKay Samuel McMillan Mega Made Woodworks Louis Milinazzo John F. Miller Kyra L. Montagu Luis A. Montalvo Moodz Spa & Salon Boutique Montigue Morris
Henry Moss David M. Mullen Joseph I. Mulligan Pedro R. Munoz Joseph R. Murphy John L. Myers Andrew Nasser Bhagchand D. Nayak Karen L. Nelson Alan E. Ness Network For Good New Balance Athletics, Inc. Brian Newberry Nitsch Engineering Northeastern Retail Lumber Association, Inc. O’Connor & Drew, P.C. O’Hara’s Food & Spirits Joseph O’Koren O’Neill and Associates, LLC Ed O’Rourke Angela M. Odom Paul A. Oliveira Christina B. Oliver Jack Oram Daniel J. Overbey Robert F. Pahl Jin Pak Rajeev Pandey Michael F. Panetta Nicholas B. Park Parker Cote Elite Fitness Kishan Patel Herve E. Pelland Silvi Petani Benjamin Peterson Angelo Petrozzelli Marnie Phillips Jay J. Philomena John H. Pilling Deirdre L. Pio Samuel S. Plimpton Antonia M. Pollak Wilson F. Pollock Pomodoro Poole Professional Ltd. Laura M. Portney Prellwitz Chilinski Associates, Inc. William A. Previdi Andrew Putnam Brent Putnam Ronald M. Quicquaro R.W. Sullivan Engineering Eric M. Ramsay RDK Engineers James B. Re charles F. redmon Richard Reilly John L. Reutlinger Scott P. Richardson James C. Risch Ristorante Fiore Sarah E. Ritch Liz Roache Ronald R. Roberge Allan Robinson Cedric M. Robinson Janet E. Roche John E. Roche George A. Roman Jason Rosati Michael Ross Dana C. Rowan Thomas D. Sabin Douglas A. Sacra Fernando Salecedo Natalia Salkewicz Saloniki Greek Anita Sandberg Dorothy Savarese Karen L. Schacht Kenneth A. Schwartz Bill Seaver Selma Swartz Bromberg Sensational Foods Catering Beverly Shadley Elizabeth A. Shanahan Paxton Sheldahl Mary W. Shepley
Philip F. Shepley Shepley Bulfinch Kathleen Sherbrooke Sandi W. Silk David J. Silverman Felice L. Silverman Patrick J. Slattery Malcolm Smiley Charles E. Smith Cynthia W. Smith Darien Smith Deborah L. Smith Peter H. Smith Richard C. Smith Steven Snider Richard J. Snyder Kirsten L. Soderlund Joseph P. Spang Michael Spicher Peter J. Springsteel Andrew St. John Jeffrey L. Staats John B. Stanbury Gregory Steele Sylvia C. Stern David Stirling Stow Greenhouses - Field & Vase Ricky R. Sturgis David M. Sturm Jane W. Sullivan Ruth M. Super Marilyn Swartz-Lloyd Dale L. Taglienti Emily M. Talcott Harvey D. Tananbaum Heather Taylor Donald J. Tellalian The Elephant Walk South End The Turner Corporation Collin Thomas Susan W. Thorne Thoughtforms Corporation Gary S. Tondorf-Dick Charles N. Tseckares Paul F. Twohig Donald F. Vahrenkamp Domenic F. Valente Eric E. Van Loon Peter D. Vanderwarker Kishore Varanasi James R. Vaseff Patti M. Vaughn Mark Virello Anne E. Walker Steven Wallace Mark Walsh-Cooke Waterworks Carole C. Wedge Nicholas D. Weidemann James & Virginia Welch Foundation Laura A. Wernick Geoffrey C. Whaley Theresa L Whiteside Deena Whitfield Anne M. Whitney Whole Foods Market Herbert P. Wilkins Janice T. Wilkos-Greenberg Oliver Wolcott Wolfsong Wolfsong Vernon V. Woodworth World Education Services Wozny/Barbar and Associates Jessy Yang Ashley B. Yeats Yellow Door Taqueria Brenda L. Young Anthony M. Zane Frank T. Zaremba Kai Zhao Gerrit W. Zwart
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