2023

Principals Andrea Leers, FAIA and Jane Weinzapfel, FAIA Distinguished Honorees for 2023 Women in Architecture Awards
We are honored to announce that Andrea Leers and Jane Weinzapfel, Co-Founders and Principals of Leers Weinzapfel Associates have been selected as this year's recipients of the Women in Architecture Design Leadership Awards for Architectural Record.

“Established in 1982, Leers and Weinzapfel’s eponymous Boston-based practice has garnered more than 200 international, national, and regional design awards, including the 2007 AIA Firm Award—the first women-owned firm to receive the honor. Together heralded as leaders in campus and urban design, Leers is a pioneer in the use of mass timber in academic settings while Weinzapfel is recognized for her expertise in infrastructure and transportation design. Leers and Weinzapfel are also dedicated educators and have taught at institutions in the Boston area and beyond.” – Architectural Record

The Women in Architecture Awards, Observing its tenth anniversary as the only awards program in the United States that recognizes and promotes notable women in the field. The honorees will be celebrated at the Women in Architecture Awards event on October 27th in New York City.

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High School Internship – Walk & Draw!
We hosted a Walk and Draw around Boston for the High School Internship Program. During this session we walked around and drew three different views of Boston and explored three different techniques to drawing.

In partnership with the Mayor’s Summer Jobs Program we hired 2 Boston Public School students who are interested in pursuing a career in Architecture. The program is organized by the Boston PIC (Private Industry Council), who connect BIPOC students with local businesses in the design and construction industry. In our 7-week paid internship, the students are introduced to the fundamentals of architecture, exposed to various professional and academic paths possible within the architecture field, as well as the general professional development skills necessary for starting down their own path. Our internship allows these students to build up their own portfolio through independent design exercises, and to contribute to real projects by joining various design team discussions in the office. For many years we have supported other summer programs each year for BPS high school students and other public high school students to gain exposure to architecture; one graduated from college as an artist, and another will graduate with a professional degree in architecture next year.

 

Timber Architecture Design Faculty Development Workshop

The Timber Architecture Design Faculty Development Workshop in June was a success! Pictured below is Tom S. Chung FAIA, Principal at Leers Weinzapfel Associates giving a tour at John W. Olver Design Building at UMass Amherst at the workshop.

With the goal of equipping you with a holistic understanding of Mass Timber design in academia, design profession and wood industry, the workshop included lectures, discussions and hands on participation in timber education, design and research along with travel throughout the region visiting industry and professional partners critical to the Mass Timber development: Sustainable Forestry and Harvesting, Lumber production, CLT fabrication and processing, leading architect, engineer and developer team, construction site and built precedents visits.

Announcing New Firm Leaders
The expansion of our leadership continues with two new appointments. Ashley Rao AIA will become Principal and Jeffrey Fishbein AIA will become Associate Principal.

Ashley and Jeffrey have each demonstrated unique talents and foresight in advancing design excellence in our collaborative and inclusive environment.

Ashley’s collaborative design sensibility is motivated by a deep commitment to sustainable design principles and enthusiasm for community building.  A thoughtful listener and gifted communicator, she excels in cultivating productive, synergistic relationships with clients and leads by example in fostering a supportive team environment.

Jeff’s attention to detail and deep knowledge of materials and assemblies have made him a key leader of Quality Assurance/Quality Control throughout the practice. He has also contributed significantly to the firm’s address of the AIA 2030 Challenge. Most recently, he authored an article on sustainable Mass Timber Construction for Metropolis’ magazine’s “Making Connections” blog.

Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation Tour of Center for Engineering, Innovation and Sciences at Wentworth Institute of Technology

Andrea Leers and Jeffrey Fishbein gave the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation a tour of Center for Engineering, Innovation and Sciences at Wentworth Institute of Technology on Tuesday, June 27th.

The Center for Engineering, Innovation, and Sciences provides a home for the next evolution in the collegiate study of multiple engineering disciplines. As the Institute’s program transitions from engineering technology to engineering and innovation, this four-story, 75,000-square-foot building comprises a dynamic environment for multi-disciplinary collaboration among students of biology, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, and two of its newest programs, biomedical engineering, and biological engineering.

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FF – Distance Edition: Leers Weinzapfel Associates

The Architectural League of New York has posted our live studio visit online.

“The League’s FF – Distance Edition events are informal online studio visits offering a behind-the-scenes look at leading design practices. In this video, Andrea P. Leers and Jane Weinzapfel share the story of how they founded Leers Weinzapfel Associates in 1982—when architecture was still primarily a boys’ club. Joined by principals Tom Chung and Josiah Stevenson and associate principal Ashley Rao, they present the firm’s projects, focusing on Leers Weinzapfel’s pioneering work with energy facilities, adaptive reuse principles, and mass timber. The presentation is followed by a conversation with Mark Lamster, architecture critic of the Dallas Morning News. Lamster, Leers, and Weinzapfel speak about how the architects found their footing as a young practice, and how they strive for diversity in the office, believing that it makes for  a better working environment and better architecture.”

-The Architectural League of New York

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Timber Architecture Design Faculty Development Workshop

We welcome Tenure-track faculty at accredited Architecture schools throughout the US to apply for an intensive 3-day workshop geared towards equipping faculty interested in teaching Mass Timber design. 

Workshop will be led by Tom S. Chung FAIA, Principal Leers Weinzapfel Associates and Professor of Practice in Architecture at Auburn University, recipient of the inaugural ACSA Timber Education Prize in 2022 and Dr. Peggi Clouston, Professor of Wood Mechanics and Timber Engineering at UMass Amherst.  

With the goal of equipping you with a holistic understanding of Mass Timber design in academia, design profession and wood industry, the workshop will include lectures, discussions and hands on participation in timber education, design and research along with travel throughout the region visiting industry and professional partners critical to the Mass Timber development: Sustainable Forestry and Harvesting, Lumber production, CLT fabrication and processing, leading architect, engineer and developer team, construction site and built precedents visits. 

The workshop is all-inclusive for participants. Travel expenses, lodging and meals are funded through a generous sponsorship from the Softwood Lumber Board. This opportunity is only for architecture faculty in accredited programs in US universities. Preference will be given to junior faculty that show keen interest, commitment as well as support from their respective school heads to incorporate the knowledge gain through the workshop into their own courses in Mass Timber design.

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Harvard University District Energy Facility Architizer A+ Awards Finalist

Harvard University District Energy Facility has been selected as a Finalist in the Architizer A+ Awards Factories & Warehouses category!

The Architizer A+ Awards is the largest awards program focused on promoting and celebrating the year’s best architecture and spaces. Its mission is to nurture the appreciation of meaningful architecture in the world and champion those designers that are integral to bringing great buildings to life. The Awards bring your work to a global audience of 400+ million.

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