Boston Architectural College, also known as The BAC, is New England's largest private college of

spatial design Spatial design is a relatively new conceptual design discipline that crosses the boundaries of traditional design specialisms such as architecture, landscape architecture, landscape design, interior design, urban design and service design as well as ...

. It offers first-professional bachelor's and master's degrees in

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

, interior architecture, landscape architecture, and non-professional design studies including

real estate development Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to other ...

and

historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

. The college offers continuing education credits and certificates and also hosts the BAC Summer Academy for high school students, as well as a variety of other ways for the general public to explore

. It hosts spatial design exhibits and exhibits student and alumni work in its McCormick Gallery and frequently hosts conferences and symposia on spatial design. The BAC is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC),

National Architectural Accrediting Board The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), established in 1940, is the oldest accrediting agency for architectural education in the United States. The NAAB accredits professional degrees in architecture offered by institutions with U.S. r ...

(NAAB),

Council for Interior Design Accreditation A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

(CIDA, formerly FIDER) and the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB). The BAC is a member of the ProArts Consortium.

History

Boston Architectural Club (1889–1944)

Boston Architectural Club was established on December 11, 1889. The certificate of incorporation explains that the club was formed "for the purpose of associating those interested in the profession of architecture with a view to mutual encouragement and help in studies, and acquiring and maintaining suitable premises, property, etc., necessary to a social club... and...for public lectures, exhibitions, classes, and entertainment." Members of the Club provided evening instruction for drafters employed in their offices. From this interchange, an informal

atelier An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or ...

developed in the tradition of France's

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centur ...

. The Club held annual public exhibitions and published illustrated catalogs. Bertrand E. Taylor was a charter member. The BAC began its formal educational program under the joint leadership of H. Langford Warren and

Clarence Blackall Clarence Howard Blackall (February 3, 1857 – March 5, 1942) was an American architect who is estimated to have designed 300 theatres. Life and career Blackall was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1857. He attended college at the University of Ill ...

. The school was organized to offer an evening education in drawing, design, history, and structures. Like its informal predecessor, the BAC soon developed into an atelier affiliated with the Society of the École des Beaux-Arts in New York. The BAC's design curriculum, teaching methods, and philosophy closely resembled those of the

. In 1911, the Club acquired a building at 16 Somerset Street on Beacon Hill. The BAC building contained a two-story Great Hall – designed by Ralph Adams Cram – as well as other spaces used for lectures, meetings and exhibitions, a library, and several studios. The newer facilities attracted more students, and the course of instruction became increasingly defined and formal. In the 1930s most American schools of architecture broke away from the Beaux-Arts tradition and began to establish their own curricula and teaching methods. Without the support of a university structure, The Club struggled with the pains of growth and adjustment. The BAC appointed

Arcangelo Cascieri Arcangelo "Angelo" Cascieri (February 22, 1902 – January 14, 1997)
''

teaching method. The BAC began to draw its faculty from nearby architectural schools and the extended local community of related professionals.

Boston Architectural Center (1944–2006)

Boston Architectural College, United States

The Club reorganized in 1944 as the Boston Architectural Center, with the mission "to provide instruction in architecture and related fields for draftsmen and others interested in the practice of architecture or the allied arts, especially those whose employment might interfere with such education in day schools and universities." By 1965, the BAC had developed a continuing education program to serve the broader community. By the mid-1960s, the Somerset Street building no longer sufficed to serve the needs of the growing school, and the BAC purchased a brick building at 320

Newbury Street Newbury Street is located in the Back Bay area of Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. It runs roughly east–west, from the Boston Public Garden to Brookline Avenue. The road crosses many major arteries along its path, with an entran ...

. A national design competition was held in 1964, and the winning entry, a Brutalist structure designed by Ashley, Myer & Associates, houses the BAC to this day.

Boston Architectural College (2006–present)

On July 1, 2006, The Boston Architectural Center formally adopted the new name Boston Architectural College in an effort to more readily identify as a college of higher education awarding accredited professional degrees in architecture and design. In 2007, The BAC acquired 951/955 Boylston Street – the former home of the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston – for $7.22 million. The complex currently houses studios on the second and third floors and a lecture hall on the ground level. The first floor contains flexible gallery and lecture space. The former Back Bay Police Station Division 16 was built in 1887 and subsequently served as home to Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art. The building now includes student meeting spaces, studios, a lecture hall and a gallery. It also features, for the first time, a universally accessible entrance through the front doors of the building."

Schools and programs

The Boston Architectural College consists of four schools: School of Architecture, School of Interior Architecture, School of Landscape Architecture, and School of Design Studies. The College also offers classes through the Sustainable Design Institute (SDI) and the Continuing Education program.

Sustainable Design Institute

The Sustainable Design Institute (SDI) offers a completely online program of graduate-level courses, developed with Building Green, conferring certificates in sustainable design. Many courses are accepted for AIA Sustainable Design/Health, Safety, Welfare Learning Continuing Education Units; many have been approved as part of the

US Green Building Council The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), co-founded by Mike Italiano, David Gottfried and Rick Fedrizzi in 1993, is a private 501(c)3, membership-based non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in building design, construction, and op ...

's Education Providers Program, and offer continuing education credits for LEED APs, and most are accepted by the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supp ...

for Continuing Professional Development.

Landscape Institute

The Landscape Institute offers continuing education courses in

landscape design Landscape design is an independent profession and a design and art tradition, practiced by landscape designers, combining nature and culture. In contemporary practice, landscape design bridges the space between landscape architecture and gard ...

, landscape design history, landscape preservation, and planting design and is the longest running program of its kind. The Landscape Design Program was established through the Radcliffe Seminars in 1970. It was the result of positive feedback from a 1968 lecture at Radcliffe, "The Intellectual History of Garden Art." The institute moved to Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum in 2002 and would later become a part of the BAC in 2009. Though now an institute of the BAC, the Landscape Institute curriculum still involves partnerships with the Arnold Arboretum in addition to partnerships with The Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation,

Historic New England Historic New England, previously known as the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA), is a charitable, non-profit, historic preservation organization headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is focused on New England ...

, and the Wakefield Trust.

Continuing Education Program

The BAC offers continuing education course in a range of design fields. The BAC is a registered AIA provider for Continuing Education.

Academic-Only First Year Program (AOP)

The Academic-Only First Year Program is an optional first-year foundation studies program offered across the four schools of the BAC.

Accreditation

The BAC is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), and the BAC's first-professional degrees are professionally accredited by the

(NAAB),

(CIDA, formerly FIDER) and the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB). The BAC is a member of the ProArts Consortium.

Graduation rates

According to the BAC's website, the college's 2015 graduation rates, based on 150% of BAC program length, are: *Undergraduate: 23% *Graduate: 37%

Campus

Facilities at The BAC are referred to by their addresses. The college purchased 951/955 Boylston Street, which was vacated by the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, when it moved to the Boston waterfront in 2006. The college is planning major work on the 320/322 Newbury and 951/955 Boylston properties towards the goal of making both properties and the surrounding cityscape more sustainable by reducing rainwater runoff and powering the campus facilities with a geothermal well. The current plan also calls for improvements on the public alley between 320/322 Newbury and 951/955 Boylston. With the exception of access-regulated thesis studios in 100 Massachusetts Avenue, there are no 24-hour access spaces at The BAC. Administrators have also explored, at various times, the idea of investing in student

dormitories A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

320 / 322 Newbury Street

320

is a Brutalist building designed by the firm of Ashley, Myer & Associates in 1966 and renovated in 2000 by Silverman Trykowski Associates. The design intended for the building "... not to depend on a sense of weight to achieve importance but rather, through the energy of form, to evoke a sense of aliveness and contending." The design uses cantilevered, suspended masonry masses and accentuated vertical "slits" in the exterior by which some of the building's core functions can be seen from the outside. Open studio floors allow students to look in on one another's classes and studios, and the ground floor, open to

, invites the general public into the McCormick Gallery. The program for the new building originally had specified capacity for 200 students with 30 to of space allocated to each student. Several floors were designed to be rented until the school required them. Growth of the student body, however, proceeded more rapidly than anticipated, and the number of students gradually increased to as many as 650 in 1974. The "extra floors" were never rented, and the expanding student body and staff needed to support them quickly placed demands on all existing space. In 1987, to accommodate its growth, the BAC purchased the adjoining building at 322 Newbury Street, a former

carriage house A carriage house, also called a remise or coach house, is an outbuilding which was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and the related tack. In Great Britain the farm building was called a cart shed. These typically were open ...

built in 1899. The interior of the carriage house was renovating into administrative office space. The west elevation of the building is articulated with a mural by the artist Richard Haas, which was completed in 1975. The ''

trompe-l'œil ''Trompe-l'œil'' ( , ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. ''Trompe l'oeil'', which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into ...

'' mural of a Classical-style building and dome provides a contrast to the Brutalist style of the building.

McCormick Gallery

The BAC operates a gallery on the main level of its 320 Newbury Street building. McCormick Gallery features student work as well as themed spatial design exhibits. The gallery is free and open to the public, and is prominently located at the corner of Newbury Street and Hereford.

Student life

Student organizations

* AIAS: "The BAC is one of more than 125 schools of architecture to maintain a local chapter of AIAS, an independent and non-profit student-run organization. This grassroots association is a cooperative between thousands of students committed to helping each other and sharing differing views. Membership is open to all architecture students and provides opportunities such as lectures, field trips, social and networking events, community service projects, and conferences." * Student Government Association (SGA): "The Student Government Association's mission is to foster communication between the BAC administration and the student body, to emphasize and promote professional and social aspects of student activities on and off campus, and to foster fellowship, cooperation, and unity between and among BAC students and organizations. SGA is one of the best ways to get involved in the school's happenings, connect with other students, and learn the inner workings of the school and of your education." * Interior Architecture Collaborative): Slogan: "'Bringing ASID & IIDA to you!' The BAC Interior Design Society facilitates the needs of BAC interior architecture students by enhancing their educational experience and networking opportunities. It also functions as a bridge and network between ASID (American Society of Interior Designers), IIDA (International Interior Design Association), the BAC, and the students. It provides interior architecture students at the BAC a community in which to find creative and professional support, offering opportunities for education outside the classroom and interaction with other designers. In addition, it returns the support to the community through volunteer events. To join the BAC Interior Architecture Collaborative, students must become a student member of ASID and/or IIDA." * NOMAS: "NOMAS is an increasingly influential voice, promoting diversity in architecture and the quality and excellence of future design professionals. The local chapter, BACNOMAS, is committed to being active in the design community, participating in national design competitions, mentoring local high school students, and participating in a variety of other educational and recreational activities. The BAC Chapter of NOMAS is about the spirit of inclusion, and participation is welcomed whether you consider yourself a minority or not. Get involved! In addition, all members of NOMAS receive free membership to the Boston Society of Architects." * Photo Club: "The Photo Club is here to support students' growth as a design professional by providing workshops, trips to galleries, and resources to enhance BAC students' ability to photograph their work on-site or at a studio." * SASLA: "The BAC's SASLA Chapter connects landscape architecture students to each other, to the local community and nationally as well. Participate to learn more about the field of landscape architecture, understand related skills, and be involved in a forum for landscape architecture students." * Studio Q: "Your resource to the BAC's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender & questioning community. Studio Q's mission is to strengthen the LGBT community within the BAC and throughout Boston through various social events and political activism."

Traditions

*The Bee: The bee is somewhat of an informal mascot of the BAC, the roots of which can be traced to the "Cascieri Beehive", a nickname for a sculpture by Dean

Arcangelo Cascieri Arcangelo "Angelo" Cascieri (February 22, 1902 – January 14, 1997)
''

beehive A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus '' Apis'' live and raise their young. Though the word ''beehive'' is commonly used to describe the nest of any bee colony, scientific and professional literature ...

. It is featured on the BAC class ring, the Selfless Labor Award (awarded to Cascieri Lecturers), and has become the name of the BAC's weekly running club, the BAC Bees.

Notable people

* Walter Atherton, architect *

Arcangelo Cascieri Arcangelo "Angelo" Cascieri (February 22, 1902 – January 14, 1997)
''

Charles L. Fletcher, architect and interior designer; owner of Charles Fletcher Design * Glenn Gissler, award-winning American interior designer and president of Glenn Gissler Design, Inc. * William Sutherland Maxwell, Canadian architect, Hand of the Cause in the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the ...

* Louis Skidmore, co-founder of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and recipient of the AIA Gold Medal * Edward Durell Stone, 20th century American architect * Stewart Wurtz, studio furniture maker based in Seattle *

Wallace Harrison Wallace Kirkman Harrison (September 28, 1895 – December 2, 1981) was an American architect. Harrison started his professional career with the firm of Corbett, Harrison & MacMurray, participating in the construction of Rockefeller Center. He i ...

, 20th century American architect *

Buckminster Fuller Richard Buckminster Fuller (; July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster Fuller in his writings, publishing mo ...

, American architect, systems theorist, author, designer, inventor and futurist.

References

External links

The Boston Architectural College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boston Architectural College Architecture in Massachusetts Architecture schools in Massachusetts Back Bay, Boston Brutalist architecture in Massachusetts Cultural history of Boston Design schools in the United States Educational institutions established in 1889 Landscape architecture schools Modernist architecture in Massachusetts Universities and colleges in Boston Private universities and colleges in Massachusetts 1889 establishments in Massachusetts

History

Boston Architectural Club (1889–1944)

Boston Architectural Center (1944–2006)

Boston Architectural College (2006–present)

Schools and programs

Sustainable Design Institute

Landscape Institute

Continuing Education Program

Academic-Only First Year Program (AOP)

Accreditation

Graduation rates

Campus

320 / 322 Newbury Street

McCormick Gallery

Student life

Student organizations

Traditions

Notable people

See also

References

External links