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Boston Architectural College

Coordinates: 42°20′53″N 71°05′09″W / 42.34792°N 71.08585°W / 42.34792; -71.08585
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Boston Architectural College
The BAC
File:BAC logo.svg
Former names
Boston Architectural Club (1889-1944)
Boston Architectural Center (1944-2006)
TypePrivate college of spatial design
EstablishedDecember 11, 1889
(as the Boston Architectural Club)


NAAB accredited since 1979.[1].
NEASC accredited since 1991.[2]


Endowment$6.7 million[3]
PresidentTheodore C. Landsmark M.Ev.D, J.D., D.F.A. (Hon.), Ph.D.
ProvostJulia Halevy Dott. Ped
DeanJeffrey Stein AIA
Academic staff
300 educators and professional practitioners
Students1,000 degree students
300 continuing education students
Location
Boston
,
Massachusetts
,
USA

(Back Bay, Boston)
CampusUrban, non-residential
AccreditationNew England Association of Schools and Colleges, National Architectural Accrediting Board, Council for Interior Design Accreditation, Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (candidacy status; review in 2010)
Colors       
AffiliationsProfessional Arts Consortium
Websitehttp://www.the-bac.edu/

Boston Architectural College (also known as The BAC), formerly known as the Boston Architectural Center, is New England's largest independent college of spatial design. It offers first-professional bachelor's and master's degrees in architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, and design studies (non-professional). The college offers continuing education credits and certificates through the BAC Continuing Education (CE) Program, The Landscape Institute (LI) at the BAC (formerly affiliated with Arnold Arboretum), and The Sustainable Design Institute (SDI) at the BAC (online graduate-level courses). It also hosts the BAC Summer Academy (for high school students) as well as a variety of other ways for the general public to explore spatial design. It exhibits student work in its McCormick Gallery and frequently hosts conferences and symposiums on spatial design.

The BAC is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA, formerly FIDER) and the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB, candidacy status; review in 2010). The BAC is a member of the ProArts Consortium.

Overview

The school was founded in 1889 as the Boston Architectural Club, and evolved over time into a fully accredited degree granting institution. Since its founding as a club for architects in the Boston area who needed to educate their apprentices, the BAC has maintained close ties to the professional design community throughout its history. Those ties exist in the BAC's faculty of practicing professionals.[citation needed]

Concurrent Practice Curriculum

Boston Architectural College is the only degree-granting design college in the United States to comprehensively integrate classroom instruction and practice-based learning into each segment of its first-professional degree programs. The Concurrent Practice Curriculum (commonly known as "Practice") comprises approximately one-third of the credits needed for graduation for first professional degree programs.

Open Admissions Policy

"The BAC is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities."

— Mission Statement, Boston Architectural College[4]

The BAC maintains a policy of "accessibility and modest tuition" based on the premise that, "design education ought to be accessible to all who are capable of and committed to pursuing it." To this end, the BAC does not require a portfolio or standardized tests for admission and requires no specific background in design for all of its degree programs. As a consequence of this policy and in response to increases in student enrollment (particularly of students with no prior background in design), the BAC established its Academic-Only First Year Program.

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 developed in the tradition of France's Ecole des Beaux-Arts. The Club held annual public exhibitions and published illustrated catalogs.

File:BAC ID Card.jpg
Boston Architectural Club Membership Card belonging to Architect William J. Edwards, a close friend of Arcangelo Cascieri and a BAC member from 1925 to 1932[5]
This file may be deleted after Sunday, October 24, 2010.

The BAC began its formal educational program under the joint leadership of H. Langford Warren and Clarence Blackall. 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 Ecole des Beaux-Arts in New York. The BAC's design curriculum, teaching methods, and philosophy closely resembled those of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts.

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 to serve as dean. Cascieri brought the BAC through its philosophical transition without sacrificing the atelier 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)

The Club reorganized in 1944 as the Boston Architectural Center, "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-60's, 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. A national design competition was held in 1964, and the winning entry, by Ashley, Myer & Associates, houses the BAC to this day.

The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) made a formal visit in 1971. In an unprecedented decision, the BAC 's concurrent learning program (which made working in the architectural profession a formal and concurrent part of the program) was accredited in accordance with the standards used for traditional degree-granting institutions. The report read in part, "The BAC shall receive accreditation as a professional school of architecture, based on the proven worth of its programs over many years, the spirit of the administration, faculty and students, and the attainments of distinguished graduates."

Boston Architectural College (2006 - present)

On July 1, 2006, The Boston Architectural Center formally adopted the new name Boston Architectual College in an effort to more readily identify as a college of higher education awarding accredited professional degrees in design.

In 2007, The BAC acquired 951/955 Boylston Street — the former home of the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston — for $7.22 million.[6] The 25,423-square-foot complex currently houses studios on the second and third floors and a lecture hall on the ground level. Work continues on the first floor which will house a gallery.

Schools and Programs

Boston Architectural College is divided into four schools of spatial design, the Landscape Institute (LI) at the Boston Architectural College, and the Sustainable Design Institute (SDI) at the Boston Architectural College, and the Continuing Education (CE) Program.

Schools of Spatial Design

Template:Multicol

School of Architecture

Degree Programs

Accreditation:New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB)
Head of School: Jeffrey Stein, AIA

School of Interior Design

Degree Programs

  • Bachelor of Interior Design (BID)
  • Master of Interior Design (MID).

Accreditation:New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA)
Head of School: David B. Harrison, ASID, IIDA, IDEC

School of Landscape Architecture

Degree Programs

Accreditation:New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB, candidacy status; review in 2010)
Head of School: Kevin Benham

| class="col-break " |

School of Design Studies

Degree Programs

*Design Studies students concentrate in one of the fields listed.

Accreditation:New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC)
Head of School: Don Hunsicker Template:Multicol-end

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.

Introduction to Design Communication (IDC)

In recent years, more students have matriculated at the BAC directly from secondary school. The Introduction to Design Communication course was established to provide additional support and a smoother transition into college for students in need of such a track.

The Landscape Institute (LI) at the Boston Architectural College

The Landscape Institute (not to be confused with the School of Landscape Architecture) offers courses and certificates in landscape design (CLD), landscape design history (CLH), landscape preservation (CLP), and planting design (CPD) and is the longest running certificate 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 a 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, and the Wakefield Trust. In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Landscape Institute, the BAC will host a landscape symposium on November 5, 2010. The current director of the Institute is Heather D. Heimarck, ASLA.[7]

Sustainable Design Institute (SDI) at the Boston Architectural College

The Sustainable Design Institute (SDI) offers a completely online program of graduate-level courses, developed with Building Green, conferring certificates in sustainable design, sustainable community planning and design, sustainable building design and construction, and sustainable residential 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’s Education Providers Program, and offer continuing education credits for LEED AP’s, and most are accepted by the Royal Institute of British Architects for Continuing Professional Development.[8]

Continuing Education Program

The BAC offers certificates in Architectural Rendering, Design Computing, Decorative Arts, Historic Preservation, Kitchen & Bath Design, Planting Design, and Sustainable Design (on-site; online through the Sustainable Design Institute at the BAC).

The BAC is a registered AIA provider for Continuing Education.

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 open to the public.

Collaborations/Initiatives

2009 Solar Decathlon (Team Boston)

In 2009, students from The BAC joined students from Tufts University to compete in the 2009 Solar Decathlon in Washington, DC [9].

Special Projects/Alternative Practice

[10]

Conferences & Symposiums

Campus

951/955 Boylston Street
100 Massachusetts Avenue

Facilities

Facilities at The BAC are referred to by their addresses. In recent years with the purchase of properties at 100 Massachusetts Avenue and 951/955 Boylston Street, the college has been rapidly expanding into new spaces. The college is planning major work on the 320/322 Newbury & 951/955 Boylston properties towards the goal of making both properties and the surrounding cityscape more sustainable. The current plan calls for the creation of a green roof on 320 Newbury Street as well as 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 residences.

320/322 Newbury Street
Classrooms, Meeting Spaces, Studios, Workshops, Academic & Technology Resources, Education Center, P.A.C.E. (Practice Advising & Career Education) Center, Learning Resource Center, BAC Library, Memorial Library, The Loft (Student Lounge), McCormick Gallery, Cascieri Hall (Lecture Hall/Flexible Space)

320 Newbury Street is a Brutalist building designed by the firm of Ashley, Myer & Associates in 1966 and renovated in 2000 by Silverman Trykowski Associates.[11] 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 its ground floor, open to Newbury Street invites the general public into the McCormick gallery.

The program for the new building had specified capacity for 200 students with 30 to 50 square feet 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 the late 1980s, to accommodate its growth, the BAC purchased the adjoining building at 322 Newbury Street, a former carriage house.

The west elevation of the building is articulated with a mural by the artist Richard Haas, which was completed in 1975. The trompe l'oeil mural of a Classical-style building and dome provides a contrast to the Brutalist style of the building.

951/955 Boylston Street
Studios, AOP Program Offices, 955 Hall (Lecture Hall/Flexible Space)

100 Massachusetts Avenue
Masters Thesis Studio Spaces, Administrative Offices, Art Studios, Classrooms

Sustainability

Student Life

Organizations

Pre-Professional Groups AIAS, NOMAS, BAC Bees Running Club, Studio Q

Traditions/Culture

Midnight Madness free food

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 titled "Selfless Labor" depicting bees working together in a beehive. It is featured on the BAC class ring[12], the Selfless Labor Award (awarded to Cascieri Lecturers)[13], and has become the name of the BAC's weekly running club, the BAC Bees.

Notable people

Notes and References

  1. ^ http://www.naab.org/schools/view.aspx?id=14378&origin=results&QS=%27&vSchoolYMGHFREschool_name=Boston+Architectural&startrec=1&searchtype=A&nextbttn=Search&union=AND&top_parent=99
  2. ^ http://cihe.neasc.org/about_our_institutions/roster_of_institutions/details/13826
  3. ^ As of June 30, 2009. "U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2009 Endowment Market Value and Percentage Change in Endowment Market Value from FY 2008 to FY 2009" (PDF). 2009 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments. National Association of College and University Business Officers. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
  4. ^ http://the-bac.edu/x308.xml
  5. ^ http://thebacstudentdevelopmentblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/1920s-bac-id-card.html
  6. ^ http://the-bac.edu/x1528.xml The Boston Architectural College Announces the Acquisition of 955 Boylston Street, Boston
  7. ^ The Landscape Institute of the Arnold Arboretum Joins the Boston Architectural College
  8. ^ http://www.the-bac.edu/x2394.xml
  9. ^ http://livecurio.us/
  10. ^ http://www.the-bac.edu/x748.xml
  11. ^ http://www.sta-design.com/BAClobby.html
  12. ^ http://thebacstudentdevelopmentblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/sustain-your-commitment-to-boston.html
  13. ^ http://the-bac.edu/x1627.xml
  14. ^ http://www.som.com/content.cfm/gordon_bunshaft_interview_on_som

See also

42°20′53″N 71°05′09″W / 42.34792°N 71.08585°W / 42.34792; -71.08585

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