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About the BFA
The Boston Foundation for Architecture was created by the Boston Society of Architects in 1984 to support public education programs in Massachusetts related to the built environment. Over the years, the BFA has supported film and video productions, community-based programs, exhibitions and tours, in-school educational programs, research projects, conferences, lectures, symposiums, and other community activities.
Through 2007, the BFA has distributed more than $800,000 in grants to public- and private-sector groups. These include the Asian CDC, UrbanArts, Boston By Foot, the Boston Public Library, the Historic Neighborhoods Foundation, Codman Academy Charter School, Hawthorne Youth and Community Center/Roxbury, Umana Barnes Middle School, Worcester Arts Magnet School, Preservation Worcester, Citizen Schools, Nueva Esperanza, Artists for Humanity, the Architectural Education Resource Center, Nuestras Raices, Paige Academy, The Children’s Museum, Madison Park Development Corp., Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, MYTOWN, Girls Inc., Dorcester Gardenlands, Auburndale Community Association, Quincy Historical Society, many public schools, CDCs, and other organizations and individuals committed to enhancing public awareness of the built environment.
While many of the BFA’s grants support programs serving Massachusetts schoolchildren, Massachusetts residents of all ages are the BFA’s constituencies.
To apply, return the 2008 Request for Proposals.
Teaching By Design conference
On July 11, 2007, Learning By Design and the Boston Foundation for Architecture (BFA) hosted their third biennial Teaching By Design conference. Fifty designers, teachers, and professionals from community organizations gathered at Massachusetts College of Art to hear a keynote address by David Sobel, project director for Antioch New England Institute’s Center for Place-based Education.Many attendees presented overviews of successful K–12 programs funded by grants from the BFA, and the conference attracted professionals throughout New England, thanks to additional sponsorship by A+DEN (the Architecture + Design Education Network) and the National Endowment for the Arts. In a hands-on design activity, architects and educators worked in teams to create drawings and models for a community space in the park adjacent to MassArt.
One theme emerged: Even in a world of standardized testing, place-based education serves as a meaningful source of inspiration and life-long learning. |
