Architects and industry allies provide $58,000 in grants

Eleven public education programs throughout Massachusetts are receiving $58,000 in grants this month from the Massachusetts design and construction industry. Architects, engineers, contractors, developers, civic leaders and allied professionals awarded this 18th annual round of grants through the Boston Foundation for Architecture — in an alliance with The Engineering Center Education Trust (TECET) and the Boston District Council of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) — to help underwrite community-based public education programs that focus on the built environment and environmental awareness.

This year, the Foundation — created in 1984 by the Boston Society of Architects and now in its fourth annual collaboration with TECET and second annual collaboration with ULI — solicited proposals for programs that focused on ³investments in the next generation² and on ways in which communities throughout Massachusetts could strengthen awareness among young people of ³the importance of well-designed buildings, public spaces, cities and their infrastructures². Forty-four proposals were received from communities, schoolteachers, institutions and other applicants throughout the state. This yearıs grants are summarized here and include the names and telephone numbers/e-mail addresses of the individuals to call/write in each case for additional details.

Boston Architectural Center — $5,000 to enhance substantially efforts to increase public awareness of the broad range of free exhibits, lectures and other programming that the BAC administers for community residents, high-school students and other residents of Boston (Barbara Shenker, 617-585-0281/ barbara.shenker@the-bac.edu)

Boston Arts Academy — $5,000 to help this pilot schoolıs math faculty develop a new mathematics curriculum on the built environment by teaching 160 students the importance of architectural design, of accuracy in mathematics, and of the impact of built structures on the city and other communities (Laura Chesson, 617-635-6470x101/ lchesson@artsacad.boston.k12.ma.us)

Boston By Foot — $3,000 to help this architectural tour program develop a 90-minute guided walk for 800 young people from diverse socio-economic backgrounds highlighting the architecture and engineering of the Charles River Basin including the Big Dig, bridges, locks, buildings, sculpture and the landscape (Polly Flansburgh, 617-367-2345)

Charles River Conservancy — $5,000 to help fund the development of an urban design and parklands resource by improving existing curricula and by developing additional materials useful to Boston-area students and teachers (Renata von Tscharner and Fritz Nelson, 617-641-9131/ fn@charlesriverconservancy.org)

The Childrenıs Museum — $5,000 to help this Boston institution research, develop and pilot a hands-on curriculum to promote Boston elementary school studentsı understanding of and appreciation for Boston Harborıs built environment (Dr. Virginia Zanger, 617-426-6500x284/ zanger@bostonkids.org)

Citizen Schools — $6,000 to help engage 120 students and 45 volunteers in hands-on architecture and design apprenticeships and to create a ³best practices² guide for future volunteers and a related city-wide event designed to showcase the work of the apprentices (Anuradha Desai, 617-695-2300x112/ anuradhadesai@citizenschools.org)

Historic Neighborhoods Foundation — $4,500 to help underwrite the development of curriculum materials focusing on architecture and history in Boston neighborhoods in support of existing school programs and efforts to disseminate the curriculum materials to a wide audience (Liz Kosturko, 617-426-1885/ liz@historic-neighborhoods.org)

Learning By Design in Massachusetts — $7,000 to develop, pilot and disseminate a model architecture curriculum for after-school youth in underserved communities while focusing on contemporary community design projects (Jan Ham, 508-528-4517/ lbd@architects.org)

Massachusetts Pre-Engineering Program (MassPEP) — $7,500 to help support the National Engineers Week ³Future City Competition² program for middle-school students throughout Massachusetts (Lisa Ackerman P.E., 781-275-0494/ dlackerman@earthlink.net)

Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MassMoCA) — $5,000 to help underwrite the development of a specialized architecture education curriculum centering on MassMoCAıs unique resources and a 10-month installation by Boston architects Sheila Kennedy and Frano Violich, which is part of a larger exhibition showcasing the historic collections of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (Blair Benjamin, 413-664-4481x8104/ blairb@massmoca.org)

WGBH Educational Foundation — $5,000 to help underwrite this public television stationıs ³Walking Boston² series of six 30-minute television programs celebrating Bostonıs rich history and cultural diversity through its physical spaces in neighborhoods such as the Boston waterfront, the North End, Roxbury and others (Elaine Laughlin, 617-300-3432/ elaine_laughlin@wgbh.org)

The Foundation was established in 1984 by the Boston Society of Architects to help enhance public understanding and public awareness of citizensı crucial roles in shaping our physical environment. Chaired by Cambridge architect Richard Green FAIA (The Stubbins Associates), the Board of Trustees of the Foundation also includes general contractor and civic leader Jim Ansara (Shawmut Design and Construction), non-profit housing developer Robert Kuehn (Keen Development Corporation), financial advisor Susan Leff (Keybank), civic leaders Kyra Montagu, Susan Paine, and Rob Radloff, real-estate investment advisor Sam Plimpton, structural engineer Mysore Ravindra P.E. (Le Messurier Consultants), educational administrator Linda Snyder (Massachusetts State College Building Authority), and architects and architectural educators Robert Brannen FAIA (Jung/Brannen Associates), Ted Landsmark, Assoc. AIA (Boston Architectural Center), Peter Madsen FAIA (Pembroke Real Estate), Lisa Reindorf AIA (Goldman Reindorf Architects) and Colin Smith FAIA (Architectural Resources Cambridge).

The Engineering Center Education Trust is represented in this grant-making program by Ron Coler of Coler & Colantonio and Lisa Hamilton (Massachusetts Water Resources Authority). The Trust fosters the education of engineers, surveyors and allied professionals and is sponsored by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts, the Boston Society of Civil Engineers, and the Massachusetts Association of Land Surveyors and Civil Engineers. The Boston District Council of the Urban Land Institute is represented by Dick Reynolds (Spaulding & Slye Colliers).

For information on how to contribute to the Foundation to support community programs such as those described here or with other questions, write/call Foundation executive director Richard Fitzgerald at rfitzgerald@architects.org/617-951-1433x232.