Architects and industry allies provide $54,000 in grants

Twelve public-education programs throughout Massachusetts are receiving a total of $54,000 in grants this month from the Massachusetts design and construction industry. Architects, engineers, contractors, developers, civic leaders, and allied professionals awarded this 19th 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). Each of these grants helps underwrite community-based public-education programs that focus on design and construction of the built environment, environmental awareness, and community-building.

This year, the Foundation — created by the Boston Society of Architects in 1984 and now in its fifth annual collaboration with TECET and third annual collaboration with ULI — solicited proposals for programs that focused on “investments in the next generation” and on ways in which communities throughout Massachusetts could strengthen awareness among young people of “the importance of well-designed buildings, public spaces, cities and their infrastructures.” Fifty proposals were received from communities, school teachers, institutions, and other individual and organizational applicants throughout the state. This year’s 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.

The Revolving Museum — $5,000 to support “Building Vision: Industry and Art in Downtown Lowell”, a youth program involving architects, artists and city planners in urban appreciation and revitalization efforts (Jerry Beck, 978-937-2788/ jbeck@revolvingmuseum.org).

Multicultural Youth Tour of What’s Now, Inc./MYTOWN — $5,000 to support the acquisition of curriculum materials, training and coaching for five youth-serving organizations seeking to implement MYTOWN’s “Brick” curriculum to help encourage neighborhood exploration of local history and the built environment (Marinell Rousmaniere, 617-536-8696/marousmaniere@ mytowninc.com).

Massachusetts Pre-Engineering Program (MassPEP) — $7,500 to support the establishment of an architectural segment in MassPEP’s Summer Residential High School (Lisa Ackerman P.E., 781-275-0494/dlackerman@earthlink.net).

Learning By Design in Massachusetts — $5,000 to help support this statewide program that engages volunteer architects, civil engineers and urban planners in contemporary community awareness and design projects focusing on youth and educators (Jan Ham, 508-528-4517/ lbd@architects.org).

Lawrence Community Works — $3,000 to support the design, development and piloting of the architecture and design module of a larger, multi-media, design-centered curriculum for elementary and middle-school students in Lawrence (Jessica Andors, 978-685-3115x21/jandors@lawrencecommunityworks.org).

Girls Inc. of Worcester — $2,128 to support the development and implementation of the organization’s “Material Girls” curriculum that introduces young women to architecture and construction and enhances their skills in math, engineering and the design process as they participate in hands-on building projects (Anne Sadick, 508-755-6455x21/ asadick.worcester@girls-inc.org).

James Michael Curley Elementary School — $5,000 to support the development of a model for an integrated curriculum of the visual and language arts, technology and community service that would support the Boston Public Schools frameworks in social studies and science through architectural design (Lambros Alex Pappas, lpappas@boston.k12.ma.us/ 617-635-8239).

Citizen Schools — $7,000 to support “Kids Design the Future of Boston”, 15 hands-on apprenticeships that will introduce Boston middle-school students to the disciplines of architecture and design and will result in projects that add value to the community such as tours of historic neighborhoods and proposed new designs for public spaces and also includes high-profile “WOW!” events that showcase the work of the young apprentices and celebrate the contributions of volunteer architects and designers (Anuradha Desai, 617-695-2300x112/anuradhadesai@citizenschools.org).

Charles River Conservancy — $3,500 to support the participation of Boston’s youth in formal and informal settings focusing on the design and engineering of the New Basin Skatepark, a world-class skateboarding facility to be built at the base of the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge (Fritz Nelson and Renata von Tscharner, 617-641-9131/fn@charlesriverconservancy.org).

Center for Technology and Environment/Harvard Design School — $4,000 to support an interactive technology and site-documentation initiative for students in Lowell that focuses on the renewal processes required to transform urban brownfields into vibrant and healthy civic districts, a project that will result in a new brownfields renewal technology curriculum for high-school students, a student documentary project and a project website (Chris Reed, 617-832-0660/ cr@stoss.net).

Boston By Foot — $3,500 to support the development of a 90-minute guided walk for secondary-school students highlighting the architecture and engineering of the Charles River Basin including the Big Dig, several bridges, locks, buildings, sculpture and landscape sites (Polly Flansburgh, 617-367-2345).

Asian Community Development Corporation — $3,500 to support the organization, training and empowerment of Youth Leader Network members who will work with the neighborhood in major planning initiatives in Boston’s Chinatown (Jeremy Liu, 617-482-2380x204/jeremy@asiancdc.org).

The Foundation was established almost 20 years ago to help enhance public understanding and public awareness of citizens’ crucial roles in shaping our physical environment. Chaired by Cambridge architect Richard Green FAIA (The Stubbins Associates), the Foundation’s board of trustees also includes Ron Ancrum (Associated Grant Makers), Ena Fox (Institute of Contemporary Art), Robert Kuehn (Keen Development Corp.), Susan Leff (KeyBank), Mysore Ravindra P.E. (LeMessurier Consultants), Linda Synder (Massachusetts State College Building Authority), civic leaders Kyra Montagu, Sam Plimpton and Rob Radloff, and architects and architectural educators Roger Goldstein FAIA (Goody, Clancy & Associates), Peter Kuttner FAIA (Cambridge Seven Associates), Ted Landsmark, Assoc. AIA (Boston Architectural Center), Peter Madsen FAIA (Pembroke Real Estate), and Lisa Reindorf AIA (Goldman Reindorf Architects).

The Engineering Center Education Trust is represented in this grant-making program by Lisa Hamilton P.E. (Massachusetts Water Resources Authority) and Carlos Peña P.E. (CLE Engineering). The Trust is a collaboration of 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.