2023

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.

Learn more about this project

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

Learn More

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.

Learn More

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.

Learn More

Harvard District Energy Facility Receives 2023 Chicago Athenaeum Green Good Design Award

HUNDREDS OF THE WORLD’S LEADING ARCHITECTS, DESIGNERS, CORPORATIONS AND MANUFACTURERS WIN 2023 PRESIGIOUS GREEN GOOD DESIGN AWARDS MOVING OUR WORLD CLOSER TO A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE ENVIRONMENT.

2023Organized by the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies, this special GREEN edition of GOOD DESIGN presents most important new international products and buildings and construction and planning projects that are leading the global way to a design that is fully sustainable and compatible with the highest standards of good environment.For 2023, hundreds of product designs, graphics, packaging, architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning projects were submitted by visionary designers, manufacturers, and clients from over 42 nations to emphasize the most advanced “Green Approach” and the most sophisticated methods and technology to make the most positive impact on the global environment.The Winning 2023 GREEN GOOD DESIGN building and product designs can be viewed at The Chicago Athenaeum’s website: gooddesign.org.” – Chicago Athenaeum

 

See full press release 

Andrea P. Leers 2023 WIT Commencement Ceremony Speaker

“Andrea Leers, FAIA, an internationally recognized leader in urban, campus, and civic design, will be Wentworth Institute of Technology’s Spring 2023 Commencement keynote speaker.

The principal and co-founder of Leers Weinzapfel Associates in Boston, Andrea Leers, Leers is a pioneer in mass timber design for academic settings. Her practice has been honored with over 100 international, national, and regional design awards, including the 2007 AIA National Firm Award.” – Wentworth Institute of Technology

Read more: http://ow.ly/WrGC50Nm9Xk

Berlin Wall Dedication Announcement

University of Massachusetts Amherst will be celebrating their acquisition of the Berlin Wall with a dedication ceremony on April 25th from 2pm-4pm.

The ceremony is one of a series of supporting events, accompanied with an art exhibition titled ‘The Berlin Wall: Borders and Barriers in the Past and Present’ where undergraduate students were invited to submit art related to the subject.

Learn more here