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A Legacy of Design Innovation: Shepley Bulfinch at 150 and Beyond

McCormick Gallery Exhibit


Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab in 2016, Allston, MA. Photo by Robert Benson.
Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab in 2016, Allston, MA. Photo by Robert Benson.

Date

February 24, 2024 - May 09, 2024

Location

McCormick Gallery

For More Info

communications@the-bac.edu

Cost

FREE

Categories

Events   Exhibit   McCormick Gallery Exhibit  

For 150 years, Shepley Bulfinch has countered the status quo with forward-thinking buildings and spaces of inspired living, learning, and healing. Since its inception the firm’s work has been at the forefront of major social movements and moments.

Innovating higher education learning environments

A foundation in higher education, established in 1884 with Harvard University’s Austin Hall, developed with advances like electric light and the formation of professional schools to train doctors. Over the last 50 years, the firm’s focus has sharpened with an expertise in libraries and science and technology facilities. Consistently artful student life design has helped institutions bring buildings to life and invigorate academic communities across the country from Stanford to the University of Notre Dame.

Putting patients first in healthcare

Coinciding with the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Shepley completed Boston’s Lying In Hospital—one of the nation’s first maternity hospitals. A decade earlier, Shepley had launched a century-long partnership with Boston Children's Hospital. From New York Hospital to Tennessee Children’s, across world-class healthcare systems and through two global pandemics, Shepley Bulfinch’s enduring maternity and pediatric healthcare design expertise has influenced systems around the country to help communities meet their wellness goals.

The exhibit traces the evolution of the firm that is Shepley Bulfinch today, starting with its 1874 formation in Brookline, Massachusetts by Henry Hobson Richardson. From his foundation of the eponymous Romanesque style to the architects he helped shape through his practice, the legacy of Shepley Bulfinch ripples around the world through the buildings and spaces that touch our everyday lives.

The gallery exhibit also contains access to an anniversary-themed AdventureLab©, a self-guided walking tour that brings participants to Shepley Bulfinch-designed sites across Boston through an app by the makers of GeoCaching©. The Adventure self-guided walking tour will be available to the public through the app starting on February 28, 2024.

View Press Release.

Date

February 24, 2024 - May 09, 2024

Location

McCormick Gallery

For More Info

communications@the-bac.edu

Cost

FREE

Categories

Events   Exhibit   McCormick Gallery Exhibit  

Shepley Bulfinch Closing Reception and Panel Discussion

Outside view of the Shepley Bulfinch exhibit from the front of Boston Architectural College's 320 Newbury Street building. Photo by Raj Das.
Photo by Raj Das.

Join us on Thursday, May 9, 2024, at 6PM in the McCormick Gallery for the closing reception as we celebrate the exhibit A Legacy of Design Innovation: Shepley Bulfinch at 150 and Beyond with cocktails, networking, and a panel discussion: Ever-changing Boston: Urban adaptation in the face of change.


6:00 – 7:00 PM Refreshments and networking in McCormick Gallery
7:00 – 8:00 PM Panel discussion in Cascieri Hall


To build on the question of how Boston will continue to evolve, we invite you to join us for a panel discussion with:

Entrance to the Shepley Bulfinch exhibit. Photo by Raj Das.
Photo by Raj Das.
Street view, looking into the Shepley Bulfinch exhibit from the windows outside. Photo by Raj Das.
Photo by Raj Das.
Overview portion of the Shepley Bulfinch exhibit. Photo by Raj Das.
Photo by Raj Das.

Talk with the Archivist

Robert J. Roche, archivist, Shepley Bulfinch. Photo by David Salafia.
Robert J. Roche, archivist, Shepley Bulfinch. Photo by David Salafia.

Accompany Shepley Bulfinch's archivist, Robert J. Roche, who has dedicated more than four decades to preserving the firm's history. In this exploration, Robert will narrate the evolution of the architectural workplace, drawing from the rich tapestry of the firm's experiences. Delving into the past and present practices, he will illuminate pivotal shifts in how architects operated, intertwining these changes with reflections on showcased projects. The narrative will center on anecdotes of office life, the individuals shaping the architectural landscape, and the swift integration of technology, supplanting age-old traditions.

A Legacy of Design Innovation Exhibition Opening Reception

Please join us as Shepley Bulfinch celebrates its 150th anniversary of continuous practice. Recognitions kick-off with the exhibition A Legacy of Design Innovation opening reception at The Boston Architectural College's McCormick Gallery to celebrate the firm's forward-thinking buildings and spaces that have inspired living, learning, and healing since 1874.

University of Houston - Health and Biomedical Sciences Building 1 in 2012, Houston, TX. Photo by Robert Benson Photography.
University of Houston - Health and Biomedical Sciences Building 1 in 2012, Houston, TX. Photo by Robert Benson Photography.
Trinity Episcopal Church in 1877, Boston, MA. Competition drawing by Henry Hobson Richardson.
Trinity Episcopal Church in 1877, Boston, MA. Competition drawing by Henry Hobson Richardson.
Yale New Haven Hospital Smilow Cancer Hospital in 2010, New Haven, CT. Photo by Anton Grassl.
Yale New Haven Hospital Smilow Cancer Hospital in 2010, New Haven, CT. Photo by Anton Grassl.
East Tennessee Children's Hospital in 2016, Knoxville, TN. Photo by Denise Retallack.
East Tennessee Children's Hospital in 2016, Knoxville, TN. Photo by Denise Retallack.
Boston Blacking Chemical in 1938, Cambridge, MA. Photo by Paul Weber.
Boston Blacking Chemical in 1938, Cambridge, MA. Photo by Paul Weber.
Ringling College of Art and Design Alfred R. Goldstein Library in 2016, Sarasota, FL. Photo by Ryan Gamma.
Ringling College of Art and Design Alfred R. Goldstein Library in 2016, Sarasota, FL. Photo by Ryan Gamma.

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