Category: people

Learning from the Ground Up: Bristol-Plymouth Students Tour Construction of their New Technical School

Posted on by Caroline Dolan

Learning from the Ground Up: Bristol-Plymouth Students Tour Construction of their New Technical School

What could be better for kids attending a technical school than to witness the construction of their new facility in real time? That’s the opportunity now available to students at Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School in Taunton, MA, where students have been invited to participate in a series of construction tours run by HMFH in partnership with the school and the project general contractor, Consigli.

Tour groups range in size from 24 to 40 students. Each tour focuses on a different building discipline, such as HVAC, metal fabrication, plumbing, and electrical, with HMFH team members and other guides walking students through the details of each discipline and how it will function in different spaces throughout the new facility.

By visiting Bristol-Plymouth during its construction, students have the unique opportunity to view the intricacies of a new project from the ground up, getting a rare, first-hand glimpse into the core facets of building science. For example, students can see the real-life implementation of the work relevant to their particular technical program, ask questions, and connect the dots between their academic curriculum and real-world professional applications. For many students, this experience can bridge the gap between theory and practice, giving them a direct link to better understand how their shop-based learning can translate to a real-world career. HMFH and Consigli take further steps to empower students by connecting them with companies working on the Bristol-Plymouth project to help jump-start post-graduation job searches. This is particularly helpful for the senior class who is poised to enter the workforce next summer.

The new Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School is scheduled to open to 1,434 students in 2026, bringing advanced facilities to grades 9 through 12. Notably, the school will offer 19 specialized technical programs designed to equip students with skills applicable to various career paths. The building is on track to achieve LEED Gold certification, with a projected Energy Use Intensity (pEUI) of 29 kBTU/sf/yr, underscoring its focus on sustainability and energy efficiency.

HMFH is passionate about cultivating the next generation of building industry professionals. In addition to facilitating internship and mentoring programs, we participate in multiple community programs to inform young people about the wide range of career paths available in our industry and connect them with the skills and opportunities to pursue them.

HMFH Bus Tour 2024

Posted on by Caroline Dolan

HMFH Bus Tour 2024

Every summer, HMFHers come together for our annual bus tour to visit several of the firm’s projects in construction. The tradition looked a little different this year as we traded the bus for the subway to visit two local projects. Our first stop was the Josiah Quincy Upper School, a new high-rise school in Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood that will welcome students, staff, and the community this fall. In the afternoon, we hopped on the train back to Cambridge, MA to tour an addition and renovation that will provide much-needed affordable housing for the City.

Josiah Quincy Upper School

Now in the final stages of construction, the grade 6-12 Josiah Quincy Upper School will open to students for the 2024-2025 school year, bringing expanded educational opportunities with spacious, light-filled learning and common areas and a coveted rooftop green space that supports student well-being. Public-facing amenities near the ground level, including a cafeteria, media center, gymnasium, auditorium, and black box theater, will make this school a valuable resource for the entire Chinatown community.

Everyone was thrilled to see our design solutions come to fruition, from the accessible green roof, which is the school’s primary outdoor space, to the cantilevered auditorium and gymnasium that define prominent public programs along the façade.

116 Norfolk Street: Supportive Housing

Next, we made our way to the 116 Norfolk Street: Supportive Housing project, a renovation and addition to a 1907 building in the heart of Cambridge, MA, just a stone’s throw away from HMFH’s office. As one of the first developments under Cambridge’s new Affordable Housing Overlay (AHO) zoning ordinance, 116 Norfolk expands affordable housing with 62 units for seniors and previously unhoused people.

We toured light-filled common areas in the vestibule between the existing building and addition, as well as different units, which all feature tall ceilings and windows to create a bright and welcoming interior environment.

Pip Lewis is One of GB&D’s 10 Architects Designing for Equity

Posted on by Caroline Dolan

Pip Lewis is One of Green Building & Design’s 10 Architects Designing for Equity

Article

Click here to read the full feature in Green Building & Design Magazine.

Bringing Design Awareness to Teens Outside of Boston

Posted on by Caroline Dolan

Bringing Design Awareness to Teens Outside of Boston

As part of its mission to increase the number of minorities within the architecture profession, the Racial Equity and Diversity (RED) Committee at HMFH prioritizes outreach to high school students in communities where there may be less awareness of architecture as a potential career path.

Last month, several RED Committee members visited career fairs throughout the Greater Boston area, meeting with dozens of students face-to-face to share information about the wide range of career opportunities available in the AEC industry.

Existing Programs Introduce Careers in Architecture to High School Students—But Remain Inaccessible to All

Reaching public school students outside of Boston proper is a main focus for the HMFH RED Committee as there continues to be limited opportunity awareness among this population. In an effort to combat this inequity, the Boston Society for Architecture and the Boston Private Industry Council have co-organized programs to introduce architecture as a career path for teenagers attending Boston Public Schools (BPS). HMFH is proud to be a long-time participant in these events, including the BSA- and BPIC-hosted Architecture/Design Thinking Week, a four-day workshop where public school students can learn about the architecture field from local working architects, engage in activities like drawing and model-making, and seek inspiration and guidance to pursue their growing interests in architecture.

But while these programs provide excellent content, only students attending public schools within Boston’s city limits can participate.

HMFH RED Committee Meets Students Where They Are with New Career Fair Initiative

To expand awareness of architecture as a profession and reach students who live outside of Boston proper, the RED Committee has launched an initiative across Massachusetts, working with public high school counselors and nonprofit organizers to visit career fairs around the state and connect with students about career opportunities in architecture.

High school career fairs have a well-established presence in communities throughout the Commonwealth. Every year, representatives from different employers, colleges, and universities come together to transform schools’ gymnasiums, cafeterias, and other gathering spaces into dedicated centers for students’ professional advancement. Here, students who are just beginning to consider their potential future career paths can ask questions, watch presentations, mingle with professionals, and otherwise seek guidance and mentorship as they embark on their adult lives.

Showcasing Architecture as a Career Path

This spring, HMFH was proud to be the first architecture firm to present at career fairs in Lynn and Chelsea, joining representatives from long-standing traditional career paths, like banks, law firms, police departments, and fire departments.

At each fair, the HMFH tables were stacked with technology and models, a particularly eye-catching display for the many students who had never before considered architecture as a profession. Their questions were plentiful, diverse, and often surprising, demonstrating a high degree of insight and curiosity.

One student asked, “What personal traits should someone have if they want to study architecture?” Others followed with more tactical concerns, like “Where do I start if I want to study architecture?” or “How do I get my foot in the door?”

For most students, this was their first opportunity to have face-to-face conversations with design professionals about what it’s like to work in the industry and discover the many adjacent career pathways available in the larger AEC industry, e.g., interior design, art, history, science, real estate, construction, etc.

Finally, to help students better visualize the many opportunities for a career in architecture and give them a launching pad from which to begin their journeys, the RED Committee gave every interested student brochures highlighting different HMFH projects, a diagram illustrating how to become an architect, and a list of resources to discover local schools, available scholarships, and other key information about pursuing a career in architecture.

An Office-Wide Commitment to Mentorship

The HMFH RED Committee comprises 13 staff members whose experience levels range from firm principal to recent graduate. Their work participating in high school career fairs and presenting career opportunities in architecture to traditionally underserved communities is just one effort in their broader push to inspire the next generation of AEC professionals—especially those in minority communities.

This year’s career fair initiatives were led by the RED Committee, but the commitment to educating and inspiring young adults is shared office-wide. Outside of its work at high school career fairs, the larger HMFH community continues to participate in other programs that serve to stimulate students’ interest in architecture as a career path. For example, HMFH regularly hosts students for summer internship programs and led a session at the BSA’s Design Thinking Week this spring.

To date, the HMFH RED Committee has presented at Lynn English High School, Chelsea High School, Everett High School, and Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, reaching thousands of high school students. RED Committee members also recently attended a career fair at the Reggie Lewis Center, sponsored by Breakthrough Greater Boston, a nonprofit whose mission is to inspire excitement for learning, create paths to and through college, and promote careers in education.

HMFH looks forward to continuing its school outreach to meet, inspire, educate, and support students on their burgeoning career paths in architecture.

Suni Dillard Wins AIA Young Architects Award 2024

Posted on by Caroline Dolan

Suni Dillard Wins AIA Young Architects Award 2024

Award

We are thrilled to announce the recognition of Suni Dillard, Senior Associate and Sustainability Leader, by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) for her exceptional leadership and significant contributions to the architecture profession through environmental advocacy, increasing access to great design, and mentoring future architects.

Promoted last year to Senior Associate, Suni is driven by the challenge of socially responsible design that positively impacts both the health of people and the environment.

As a Sustainability Leader guiding HMFH’s Sustainability Committee, Suni empowers her colleagues, clients, and community to set ambitious sustainability goals—which isn’t always easy to prioritize in public projects. Particularly for clients who are undertaking what are likely to be once-in-a-lifetime projects for their communities (like school buildings that will be in use for 50+ years), newly available design and sustainability opportunities aren’t always obvious. This is where Suni encourages them to think holistically and consider how they can take their project steps further to create designs that are environmentally and socially impactful. In her words, she pushes them “to do more than just make a new building.”

With her three co-leaders, Suni and the HMFH Sustainability Committee are creating a framework to navigate design processes in concert with the needs of the environment. In doing so, she wants to remind people that design is not just about aesthetics—that it’s important to think more holistically, understand the context, and include sustainable and social justice in the design. “It’s all one package,” she says. “It’s not just about what the building looks like. Good design will address all of these things.”

Outside of HMFH, Suni continues to champion her mission of combining sustainability and social responsibility with good design. She has led the Carbon Leadership Forum Boston chapter’s education committee since 2020. She also curated the Embodied Carbon Series, which helps AEC professionals understand and apply embodied carbon best practices to their projects to reduce emissions and achieve zero carbon. What began as an online series Suni and a small advisory group developed during the COVID-19 pandemic has become a nationally-recognized course and a staple of AIA University.

Notably, Suni prioritizes sharing her experiences and knowledge with the rising generation of future architects.

“It’s important for people to understand that they have options to navigate and that they need to learn how to advocate for themselves.” For Suni, mentoring is about more than just listening to questions and offering advice. She sees it as her responsibility to bring those questions to places she now gets to participate in as a Senior Associate—back to where the decision-makers are. Looking ahead, this is what Suni sees for the future of the architecture profession: education. In all directions.

“Going forward, my goal is to continue educating clients, people in the profession, and the general public to think more critically about how we function as architects. As an industry, we all have to figure out how to do better and design on a holistic level to positively impact the community and the environment. It won’t be just about doing business as usual.”

Suni Dillard | Senior Associate and Sustainability Leader, HMFH Architects

Cultivating the Next Generation of Design Professionals at Architecture / Design Thinking Week

Posted on by Caroline Dolan

Cultivating the Next Generation of Design Professional at Architecture / Design Thinking Week

A cohort of 20 Boston Public high school students joined three HMFH designers over the February break to participate in Architecture/Design Thinking Week at BSA Space. This program provides students with the hands-on opportunity to learn about the profession of architecture from young professionals working in the field.

The four-day event introduced participants to distinct phases of the design process including programming; conceptual design; design development; and construction administration. Throughout the week students exercised extreme creativity with drawings, collage, and model making to design a wide range of rooms and nooks that represented their ideal workspaces. HMFH facilitated the final day, which focused on construction administration (CA). To explore the concepts of CA, our designers Hannah Keith, Jake Picariello, and Nallely Salazar guided participants through the process of selecting finishes, specifying materials, and thinking through fine details such as where in a space one might hang their backpack.

Before the interactive session began, students were presented with a deep dive into some of HMFH’s recent design work, which gave them insight into the wide-ranging skills that are required to accomplish exemplary school building design. The projects reviewed included the four-phased construction of Arlington High School, the Annie E. Fales School which is distinguished as the first net-positive energy school in New England, and the Bristol County Agricultural High School. By seeing the building drawings and learning about work that included coordination with consultants and stakeholder engagement, students could visualize a variety of possible careers.

In addition to providing participants with insight into career pathways in AEC, Architecture/Design Thinking Week provides our designers with mentorship opportunities. Cultivating the next generation of architects and instilling in them a passion for design is one of our core values, which we pursue through community outreach, providing summer intern opportunities, mentorship, and by participating in programs such as Architecture/Design Thinking Week.

Architecture/Design Thinking Week, is a collaborative effort between the Boston Society for Architecture (BSA), the BSA Foundation, Boston Private Industry Council (PIC), Finegold Alexander Architects, Goody Clancy, Sasaki/Sasaki Foundation, and HMFH, which has been participating for the past five years.

HMFH Recognized as Emerging Professional Friendly Firm

Posted on by Caroline Dolan

HMFH Recognized as Emerging Professional Friendly Firm

First recognized in 2019, HMFH maintains its status as an Emerging Professional Friendly Firm going into 2022. HMFH was one of 34 firms to receive this year’s designation from the AIA New England for our supportive culture and continued investment in the professional growth of emerging staff throughout 2021.

The core of our practice is our valued staff, and at HMFH emerging professionals represent not only the future of our firm but the future of the design industry. Under the guidance of HMFH Associate Caitlin Osepchuk, a former AIA New England Young Architects Regional Director, the firm actively encourages young staff members to grow professionally and develop expertise and leadership both within the firm and in the profession at large. The range of opportunities for professional development include:

  • Active involvement in various committees
  • An annual stipend for professional education and research
  • A supported path to licensure with prep materials, study groups, online classes, and guidance from senior colleagues
  • Involvement in the BSA’s annual Young Designers Professional Development Institute (YDPDI)
  • Paid expenses for active membership in professional activities
  • One-on-one check-ins to foster our culture of inclusion and support

Congratulations to all 2021 Emerging Professional Friendly Firms!

Suni Dillard Helps Develop Embodied Carbon Series

Posted on by Caroline Dolan

Suni Dillard Helps Develop Embodied Carbon Series

A champion of healthy materials and one of HMFH’s own sustainability leaders, Suni Dillard drives environmentally responsible design both in and out of the office. She recently helped develop a new 12-part program hosted by the Boston Society for Architecture on embodied carbon—the emissions created by materials’ production processes—to empower fellow industry professionals to employ carbon reduction strategies in the built environment.

Supported by the Carbon Leadership Forum group in Boston, the panel topics include basic literacy as well as procurement, structure, engineering, and advanced certifications. In addition to advising the BSA on the series’ development, she moderated the installment on structure and will be moderating the advanced panel on certifications and commitments.

Since joining HMFH, Suni has quickly established herself as a resource and advocate for the integration of social, environmental, and economically sustainable solutions to design challenges of all sizes.

Panels from the Embodied Carbon 101 series are recorded and archived here.

2024 Promotions

Posted on by Caroline Dolan

2024 Promotions

We are pleased to announce the promotion of the following individuals in recognition of their contributions to HMFH’s design leadership, project management, office operations, and equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives.

Matt LaRue AIA, LEED Green Associate
ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL

Since joining HMFH in 2010, Matt has demonstrated a thoughtful approach to design that results in extraordinary places for learning. From playful, child-centric designs to comprehensive planning for educational institutions, he brings careful attention to detail and craft while never losing sight of the big picture. Matt is a trusted and valued partner to clients, collaborators, and colleagues alike, exemplifying excellence in all that he does.

As a Project Manager and Design Leader, Matt plays a key role on some of the firm’s most significant educational projects including Boston’s new Josiah Quincy Upper School, a high-rise school opening this fall in Chinatown; Middletown Middle High School, Rhode Island’s first public middle high school; and the new Maria Weston Chapman Middle School, which offers students unique career pathway programs in a facility designed to support discovery and well-being.

Mirtha Suero, Office Manager and Inclusion Leader
ASSOCIATE

Mirtha’s passion for people is evident in all aspects of her work. As a supportive and compassionate colleague, she knows HMFH’s people as well as the firm’s history and sees architecture as a vehicle to positively impact our communities. Deliberate and thoughtful in her work on our Racial Equity and Diversity committee, she ensures that equity, diversity, and inclusion are foundational to our design practice and the profession. Mirtha plays a pivotal role in shaping opportunities for students to see themselves in architecture, whether coordinating internships and career exploration days at HMFH or participating in outreach events in communities throughout the Commonwealth. Through all of this, she helps keep our office operations running smoothly, supports each individual’s professional development, and creates a welcoming environment for all.

“With our 2024 promotions, we are fortunate to honor Matt and Mirtha’s significant contributions to HMFH. Their work and commitment over the years has been essential to the success of our practice and firm operations.”

Lori Cowles | Principal, HMFH Architects

HMFH Bus Tour 2023

Posted on by Caroline Dolan

HMFH Bus Tour 2023

Summer is in full swing, which means the return of the annual HMFH bus tour! A decades-long tradition, the tour is a great opportunity to get together and visit a few of the firm’s projects in construction. This year we headed to Arlington High School, where Phase II is well underway, then to the high-rise Josiah Quincy Upper School in Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood.

Arlington High School

The first stop on the bus tour was Phase II of Arlington’s new 408,500 sf, all-electric high school, which is tracking LEED Platinum certification. Although the project will not be complete until 2025, portions of the school are already open to students due to the carefully planned phased construction. Phase II, the project’s largest phase, includes a central ‘spine’ that accommodates a 30-foot grade change and connects the school’s academic wings with circulation and shared spaces such as the primary dining area, forum stair, and media center. The tour also covered the new humanities wing, courtyard, pre-school, and administrative spaces scheduled to open this Fall as part of Phase II.

Josiah Quincy Upper School

Next, HMFHers headed downtown to see our first high-rise school. Rising eight stories tall on a 0.9-acre site, the new Josiah Quincy Upper School supports the City’s commitment to equitable education and student well-being with common areas such as the gymnasium and auditorium available for community use, a spacious double-height lobby and dining area, and light-filled classrooms surrounding collaborative project areas. When the school opens in the Fall of 2024, students will have access to a rooftop learning and gathering space, which offers impressive views of Boston’s skyline.