With the recent rail advancements in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, the northern end of the Northeast Corridor (NEC) between Boston and Washington (Bos–Wash) is a straight modern line...
Advocacy
Brian Swett visits BSA Space, discusses Disclosure Ordinance
At a joint meeting of the BSA Legislative Affairs Committee and the Committee for the Advancement of Sustainability held on September 11, 2012, at BSA Space, Boston’s new chief of...
Restoring historic public spaces in the age of sustainability—and heightened security
Hidden in the heart of Boston are some amazing interiors that you would never know were there, sequestered behind brick and stone facades, they are worlds unto themselves. Who would guess that the...
Why punish Rhode Island?
Beginning in the 1980s, Rhode Island devised an aggressive reversal of its urban decay and shrinking rail network as Boston’s 1970s reinventions started to take hold. The state pushed ahead...
Members go to Washington
Several BSA members recently traveled to Washington, DC, to advocate on behalf of the architecture and design industry, particularly as it pertains to national economic recovery.
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BSA Space and Chapter 91
Given how the slow economic recovery has affected building and design industry professionals, it is easy to wonder how the Boston Society of Architects (BSA) managed to move to stylish new digs on...
The resourceful city, part 4: Reprogramming possibilities
“What if…?” is the moment of departure from the present to a possible future.
Every city has a similar stock of buildings, spaces and physical infrastructure. As they age...
Urban state—suburban state
Over the last 15 years, the various states within the Boston-Washington, DC, megalopolis (BosWash) have dramatically improved their urban infrastructure and inner-city development patterns. States...
The Massachusetts “prompt pay law” and what it means for architects
On August 10, 2010, the Massachusetts legislature and Governor Deval Patrick enacted House Bill 4271, titled “An Act Promoting Fairness in Private Construction Contracts.” The...
The resourceful city, part 3: Reprogramming infrastructure
Potential for reuse is a hard thing to quantify. The Dutch Pavilion of last year’s Venice Architecture Biennale exhibited a vast fictional...
The resourceful city, part 2: Reprogramming space
A piece of chalk in a child’s hands is a powerful tool. With it, that child has the power to transform a city’s sidewalks, parking lots and alleys into platforms of possibilities....
The resourceful city, part 1: Reprogramming buildings
Referring to someone as resourceful is high praise. The word very succinctly creates a narrative of character for the individual, communicating agility, ingenuity and ability. Resourceful is not a...
Common Boston: Peeling back the layers of urban life
We each build our own little city to live in out of the bricks and mortar of our daily routines. They tend to reduce the infinite possibilities of urban life to a familiar circle of people and...
Community engagement 2.0
We’ve all been to the public meetings with endless Powerpoints and a few very vocal citizen-activists who dominate the conversation. Perhaps you even presented at one such forum or sat in...
New law grants Massachusetts architects mechanic’s lien rights
On January 5, 2011, Governor Deval Patrick signed into law amendments to Massachusetts’ Mechanic’s Lien Act (M.G.L. c. 254, § 1, et seq.) that provide design...
Beyond the branding: Designing a 21st-century Innovation District
“Innovation district” is an oxymoron. Today many innovators could be anywhere as long as they have a laptop and a place to get a good cup of coffee. But creativity does have a spatial...
The key to sustainable farming: Cities
When people talk about being conscious of where their food comes from, they most likely are thinking of farms, and, for some, the zeal for local food leads to dreams of urban agriculture. But...
Maine’s building and energy code: So goes the nation. But which way?
As architects, we rarely see ourselves on the front line of foreign policy. Well, we are now, and to deploy our responsibility, as for any conflict worth engaging, requires long and complicated...
Greening Government Center
Boston has been selected as one of five U.S. cities to receive an EPA Smart Growth grant called Greening America’s...
Thoughts on tiny houses
It’s impossible to escape the fact that tiny houses are cute. Little roofs, little windows—even the two-word term is diminutive. “Tiny houses” instantly brings to mind the...
Improving downtown Boston through BID
If taking part in the new Downtown Boston Business Improvement District (BID) didn’t make BSA members’ New Year’s...
Ten questions for Chris Walsh AIA of Massachusetts
In November, Democrat Chris Walsh AIA won the 6th Middlesex District seat on the Massachusetts House of Representatives. As one of three AIA members nationwide to win election to their state...
Ten questions for Jim Nielson AIA of Utah
In November, Jim Nielson AIA of Utah won the District 19 seat on the Utah State House of Representatives. As one of three AIA members nationwide to win election to their state legislature for the...
Ten questions for Lonnie Laffen AIA of North Dakota
In November, Republican Lonnie Laffen AIA of North Dakota won the 43rd District (Grand Forks) seat on the North Dakota State Senate. As one of three AIA members nationwide to win election to their...
Designed for action
With climate change, the recent earthquake in Haiti, the Rhode Island floods and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) undertaking the remapping of flood zones, preparing for disasters is...
Legislative landslide
On July 31, the 2009-2010 Formal Sessions of the Massachusetts State Legislature came to close. It was an especially busy session for the AIA Massachusetts Government Affairs Committee (GAC),...
A new cycle of street life in Boston
Shauna Gillies-Smith ASLA, LEED AP, principal of Ground Inc., and Mark Pasnik RA, LEED AP, principal of over,under, gave a recent talk co-hosted by the BSA and LivableStreets Alliance. We caught...
