Photo courtesy of BSA
Danyson Tavares
Executive Director, Boston Society for Architecture
Age: 37
Industry experience: 12 years
Building owners take note: the Boston Society for Architecture is looking for a new home, and Danyson Tavares is leading the organization’s search for a high-profile ground-floor space to serve as a hub of the design world. The BSA’s executive director since November, Tavares envisions the new headquarters as a community hub connecting the profession with broader community. The search for a new headquarters, doubling as an anchor for the design community, reflects the BSA’s recent emphasis on giving the architecture profession a higher profile and creating connections with the wider community.
Q: What are BSA’s goals for updating its programming for members and the general public?
A: We are in an exciting time. We’re looking at how to shift our programming initiatives: how do we build more capacity to make sure our foundation is setting out to do the work it set out to do? We have a foundation that is deeply rooted in thinking about how people in the city interact with architecture, from our KidsBuild program, to educating lay people on housing initiatives and how do we build a more sustainable Boston. Also we’re trying to figure out opportunities for grants and different contracts to support our community development programs.
Externally, we made the decision late in April to terminate our lease at 290 Congress St. For us, the future of the BSA is how do we find a space that is accessible to the street and talk not only to architects but the public. We’ve been at 290 Congress St. for over a decade. Our early termination clause has us leaving in October 2026, so we have a little bit over a year to find a space and talk to our members about what really matters to them, and engage with other nonprofits who are doing similar work. I always dream of a center for a built environment within the city: a place where folks like us can come together to put on exhibitions and have discussions.
This is an exciting time for us to be in the market, to find a space that is on the ground floor, accessible to the public and accessible to the T. We really want to be visible. One idea is, since there isn’t a proper architectural bookstore outside of Cambridge, we are thinking about some sort of a bookstore that will be tied to the BSA and educate people about architecture. Generally, it’s about discourse.
Q: What are BSA’s priorities in public policy advocacy?
A: Just about a year ago we hired a full-time advocacy and policy manager, Miranda D’Oleo, who is doing instrumental work. She pushed the climate bill at the state level, which was huge, last year. Her work is really grounded in thinking about how every architect has a responsibility to be a citizen. How do we educate the public and advocate for architecture on behalf of the profession and the communities where they live. We are installing a bunch of how-to platforms, demystifying different policies, having a say in the city in terms of how do you unpack the policies that are transforming our industry?
We launched our ADU [accessory dwelling unit] Directory a few weeks ago. It’s a directory that connects architects with homeowners and helps with procurement. A lot of people are saying, “How do I get started? I’d like to do an ADU.” The city recently put out an RFP for a People’s Planning Academy, and that is really about educating the broader public on [development review] modernization. We see an opportunity for the BSA to be an institution that educates the broader public on these policies. In the past, we have really tangled the relationships of how do we talk to our members, as opposed to how to talk to the public. We are stronger if we do both.
Q: Which new programs are you hosting this year?
A: Wandy Pascoal, our full-time program manager for housing innovation, who came to us from the Mayor’s Office of Housing, is going to put on a massive housing summit this fall that talks about the challenges. We’re talking about zoning, and we’re talking about how do we afford these things. This conference is about the importance of design in affordable housing. Design is the first thing that gets sacrificed. We have our own open houses on the Friday of the AIA Conference, and in June we’re going to be launching, “In Common: Sights of Encounter.” This will be an exhibition on the spaces that keep us together. It’s a great opportunity to get introduced to the BSA exhibition space [at 290 Congress St.].
Q: How did your previous jobs in architecture and nonprofit YouthBuild prepare you for the BSA post?
A: I practiced architecture for almost a decade but I never thought it would lead to the BSA, which is exciting. I was introduced to architecture in the 12th grade through a drafting course, but I went to UMass-Amherst for landscape architecture and decided to make the pilot to architecture, then got my undergraduate and master’s at Wentworth Institute of Technology. My first job was at Imai Keller Moore Architects in Watertown, and we were doing a lot of work at Mashpee Commons, so I spent a lot of time on the Cape looking at housing, and a lot of work on labs for Harvard and MIT. I decided to switch to nonprofit work that was aligned with the built environment during the pandemic. I was missing being on the ground and working with communities to think about architecture, sitting behind a computer. It wasn’t for me.
I had the opportunity to go to YouthBuild where I was thinking about affordable housing in Roxbury and Dorchester, but also working with young people who are in architecture and design. For someone who is a Black architect and a Black professional, architecture is one of those industries where only 2 percent of the architects in the U.S. are Black. To me, it was very important that kids interested in architecture and design could pursue a career, and being able to lead that work in Roxbury, which is the heart of Black Boston, was amazing. In one of the most exciting projects, we designed and built a shed for Paige Academy, a school in Roxbury, so they could teach students and community members about how to grow their own food.
Tavares’ Five Favorite Creators, Designers and Artists (in no particular order):
- Theaster Gates
- Emmanuel Pratt
- Nina Chanel Abney
- Germane Barnes
- Amanda Williams
