LIBRARY
est. 2014
Managing B/A/D Company Evolution
October 2024
What is the right size for your company, and how do you know when it’s the right time to grow…or perhaps to retrench? This talk will discuss the benefits and drawbacks of organizational restructuring and explore strategies for managing change so that you do right by yourself, your staff, your professional colleagues, and your clients.
Kyle Hoepner, Design writer and outreach consultant Fred Prescott, President & CEO, Thos. Moser Kevin Cradock, President, Kevin Cradock Builders Michael Cox, Principal, Foley & Cox
THANK YOU, SPONSORS!
how should you charge for your work
July 2024
Builders, architects, and designers have diverse ways of charging and being paid for our work, and those ways have been evolving over time. This talk considers the pros and cons of currently popular options, with an eye toward suggesting best practices. Come and talk with our panelists about how you structure your commerce and discover ideas that may help you up your contracts and invoicing game.
Kyle Hoepner, Design Writer and Outreach Consultant Charlie Gadbois, Owner, Wellen Construction Jacob Lilley, Principal, Jacob Lilley Architects Georgia Zikas, Founder & CEO, Georgia Zikas Design
Thank you to our July 30 Sponsors
Going beyond program and style
March 2024
Any competent designer can make a reasonably attractive home that checks the basic boxes of utility and comfort. But what are the elements that will take design to the next level, truly capturing the heart as well as housing the body? This talk will help us learn how to both understand and evoke the emotional responses that always belong to the places we design and build.
Kyle Hoepner, Design Writer and Outreach Consultant Treff LaFleche, Principal, LDa Architect & Interiors Trevor Fulmer, Principal, Trevor Fulmer Design Paul Reidt, President, Kochman Reidt + Haigh Cabinetmakers
Thank you to our March 28 B/A/D Talk Sponsors!
Building a workforce of designers and makers
November 2023
BAD companies are struggling to find new people with the skills and know-how to design, build, and carry their firms into the future.
Our next Talk will examine the causes behind the reduced pool of emerging talent in the building arts and discuss solutions for increasing, invigorating, and diversifying future generations of BAD professionals.
Kyle Hoepner, Design Writer and Outreach Consultant Kurt Fieldhouse, President and CEO, C2MG Builders, Inc Mike Holmes, Votech Grad, KR+H Cabinetmakers Doreen Treacy, VP Career Services, MassHire Downtown Boston Mark Hutker, Partner and Founder, Hutker Architects Gray Wilder, Boston Operations RCDC, HBI (Home Builders Institute)
Thank you to our November 2 B/A/D Talk Sponsors!
simple design is hard(ER)
July 2023
B/A/D professionals know that the design and execution of clean, spare, apparently artless spaces is much more difficult than the results appear to the untrained eye. This talk will discuss the specific challenges that lie behind minimalist architecture and interiors, with practical suggestions on how best to proceed when the aesthetic gives no cover for less-than-perfect work.
Kyle Hoepner, Design writer and outreach consultant
Brian Vona, Owner, Managing Partner, KVC Builders
Colin Flavin, Founding Principal, Flavin Architects
James Gorst, Principal, James Gorst Architects
Jennifer Clapp, Principal/Interiors, Hacin
Thank you to our Sponsors!
SHADES of GREEN: Design and Build for the Health of Our Planet and Ourselves
January 2023
Best practices for creating a sustainable human habitat that fosters resilience, comfort, and happiness were discussed.
Dr. Ted Landsmark, Northeastern University
Mark Doughty, Thoughtforms
J.B. Clancy, ART Architects
Lisa Tharp, Lisa Tharp Design
THANK YOU TO OUR JANUARY 31 TALK SPONSORS
BUILDING BAD
November 2022
BAD companies are all design/build with regard to their origins and growth. In this Talk, we will discuss various paths that companies in our sector have traveled from infancy to maturity. Our panelists will share their own experiences as we explore ways that entrepreneurs start and sustain their BAD companies.
John Abrams, CEO & Co-Owner, South Mountain Company
Deirdre Bohan, COO & Co-Owner, South Mountain Company
Thomas D. Kearns, President, DSK | Dewing Schmid Kearns Architects + Planners
Catherine Hanss, Managing Director, Landscape Collaborative
Robert Hanss, President, Robert Hanss, Inc
What makes a good House and Why?
May 2022
How we experience the built environment is influenced by history, tradition, style, and fashion, but it is determined by the long evolved sensory and emotional adaptations to our human habitat.
The largely unconscious determinants of our experience and measure of the places we live and work are being disclosed through neuroscience and evolutionary biology. This Talk will explore the hardwired filters of experience and help us understand WHY everyone loves a symmetrical façade and is happy to nestle down on a window seat.
PANEL
Ann Sussman Author, Cognitive Architecture; Co-Editor, Urban Experience+Design, Instructor, Boston Architectural College, President, the Human Architecture & Planning Institute, Inc, theHapi.org
Duo Dickinson FAIA, Architect and owner of Duo Dickinson architect
Nam Nguyen Senior Neuroscience Product Specialist, iMotions
Modernist homes in new england
January 2020
Eighty years ago, modernist homes suddenly and surprisingly took root in the New England countryside. With their walls of glass and flat roofs, they confounded conventional wisdom about design. Join us we explore their heritage, preservation, and influence on contemporary design.
PANEL
Colin Flavin, Principal, Flavin Architects
Katie Flynn, Principal, Hisel Flynn Architects
David Brookes, Principal, Brookes + Hill Custom Builders, Inc
Daniel Ayer, Director of 20th Century Design, Skinner
Taking charge of bad futures
October 2019
Upcoming generations of Builders, Architects, and Designers are preparing for professions that have rich traditions but are adapting rapidly to respond to changes in culture and technology. Educators in design and technique are charged not only with transferring historical knowledge, but also with guiding students to a future that calls for original ideas and methods.
Join us for a conversation with some of Boston’s most esteemed educators as we discuss the present and future training of BAD professionals.
PANEL
Mahesh Daas, President, Boston Architectural College
Sarah Turner, President, North Bennet Street School
Daniel Adams, Director, School of Architecture, Northeastern University
Mark Mulligan, Chair, Department of Architecture, Wentworth Institute of Technology
CITY CONFIDENTIAL
June 2019
Urban influx and downtown residential development are spiraling upward offering a newly enriched market for B/A/D companies. Urban dwelling has distinct qualities that attract homeowners and bring unique challenges to the professionals working on their behalf. Join our panel of experts in a discussion of the special qualities, opportunities, and constraints of working in downtown Boston’s rich mix of low and high-rise neighborhoods.
PANELISTS
Ellen Perko, Associate Principal, CBT Architects
Michael Ferzoco, Principal, Eleven Interiors
David Carlson, Deputy Director for Urban Design, Boston Planning & Development Agency
Jon Wardwell, President, JW Construction, Inc
AVAILABLE ON ITUNES>
gET YOUR STUFF OUT THERE!
March 2019
In today’s increasingly plugged-in world, an eye-catching public profile is crucial for attracting clients and collaborators. Join us for a practical discussion of photography, self-presentation, social media, and getting your work published designed just for busy B/A/D professionals.
PANEL
Katherine Nolan, Director of Marketing, Patrick Ahearn Architect, LLC.
Kyle Hoepner, Editor-in-Chief, New England Home
Michael J. Lee, Photographer, Michael J. Lee Photography
AVAILABLE ON ITUNES>
JUST WHO IS IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT?
January 2019
Is there one particular professional best suited to lead a residential project team? If so, who? Or should leadership roles change over the course of design and construction? What if the nominal leader isn’t the real driver, or if nobody wants to take full responsibility? Is management by committee sometimes most effective? Join us to consider what kinds of leadership struct can produce the best outcomes for B/A/D professionals and their clients.
Eric Adams, Co-Founder, Adams + Beasley Associates
Michael Moynihan, Project manager/Owner, Nautilus Construction
Michael Tartamella, Managing Principal, Patrick Ahearn Architect, LLC.
Heather Wells, Principal, Heather Wells Inc
Home Tech: What do you know that you don’t know?
October 2018
Builders, architects, and designers must all keep up with what’s new in home technology such as lighting, audio/video, automation, climate control, and the like. But it’s hard for busy generalist to stay truly on top of the newest developments. Join our panel of experts to find out just what you ought to know to best serve your clients.
Dennis Jaques, System Designer, Maverick Integration
Josh Feinstein, Partner & Principal, Sladen Feinstein Integrated Lighting
tHE CHALLENGE OF DOING THINGS RIGHT
JUNE 2018
Establishing and maintaining impeccable quality is critical for residential projects in a very high-end market. How do you measure and achieve excellence for a particular job within your own firm? How can you best work with outside partners on a job - other designers, consultants, builders, and sub-contractors - to ensure that the whole team is producing up to the same standard?
David Stern, Partner, Stern McCafferty
Jonathan Merz, President, Merz Construction
Paul Reidt, President, Kochman Reidt + Haigh Cabinetmakers
Dee Elms, Principal, Elms Interior Design
OPENING THE DOOR TO DISCOVERY CULTIVATING CREATIVITY IN B/A/D COMPANIES
APRIL 2018
Imagination and inventiveness, although easy to lose in the day-to-day grind, are the wellspring for success in residential design, custom building, or any other creative field. How can you harness the power of inspiration and discovery to drive your work every day, from fresh ideas for a particular project to strategic planning for your firm? Some of our region's top professionals discuss how they keep the juices of ingenuity flowing.
PANEL
Paul Lukez, Principal, Paul Lukez Architecture
Sean Clarke, President, Clarke/Sub-Zero & Wolf of New England
David Winston, Co-owner, Winston Flowers
Getting more good women into b/a/d companies
JANUARY 2018
Much of the home design and construction industry has historically been heavily male. While that is changing over time (particularly in interior design), there is still plenty of room for progress. How can companies attract more talented female employees, and what benefits does this bring to the shared enterprise? What changes to company culture and thinking will make women feel more welcome, valued, and able to make their optimal contribution?
PANEL
Catherine Truman, Principal, Catherine Truman Architects
Paula Daher, Principal, Daher Interior Design
Emily Grandstaff-Rice, Senior Associate, Arrowstreet
Von Salmi, Principal, Von Salmi and Associates
Time, money, and truth: how honest can you be?
NOVEMBER 2017
GETTING THE WORD OUT: MARKETING AND PR FOR B/A/D FIRMS
JUNE 2017
New homes in older settings: how should they work?
APRIL 2017
WORK FLOW: THE BALANCING ACT
JANUARY 2017
COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION
NOVEMBER 2016
FORGING THE BEST POSSIBLE PARTNERSHIP FOR A HOME BUILDING PROJECT
JUNE 2016
BUILDING A HOUSE? GETTING THE BEST FROM YOUR B/A/D TEAM
APRIL 2016
HIRING, INSPIRING, TRAINING, RETRAINING
JANUARY 2016
WAR STORIES: COULD WE HAVE HANDLED THINGS BETTER?
OCTOBER 2015
WHAT MAKES A GOOD HOUSE AND WHY?
MARCH 2015
ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN TAKE SHAPE AT THE INTERSECTION OF ART AND CRAFT
MAY 2015
CONSTRUCTION COSTS & PRICING
JUNE 2014
STYLE: CONSTRUCTION OR CONSTRAINT
MARCH 2014
NARRATIVE ARCHITECTURE
JANUARY 2014