Young designers explore their ideas for the city through the BSA’ s Our Boston: Voices from Kindergarten program, introducing students to architecture, design and the built environment. PHOTO BY NATALIE TAGUE
DT: One of the things I’ m most proud of at the BSA is the scale of our K – 12 work. We’ re reaching thousands of young people every year through programs like KidsBuild!, Our Boston, and our high school pathways and internship programs. Our goal is to introduce architecture early, but also to make sure that exposure doesn’ t stop with a one-day experience.
We want young people to be able to see a pathway: maybe you build your first model as a kindergartener, come back to us through KidsBuild!, participate in a high school program, get a paid internship at an architecture firm, and eventually study architecture, design, engineering, construction, or another part of the built environment.
Our new space is also going to allow us to expand that work.
We’ re creating a Design Lab where young people can make things, experiment, meet architects and designers, and understand that architecture is something they can participate in— not just something that happens around them.
Over one weekend each year, more than 700 kids and their families use the design process to build a city at KidsBuild! PHOTO BY MIKE LAWRIE
CC: You’ ve spent a lot of your career working with students and young people. What have they taught you about how the next generation thinks differently about architecture and the built environment?
DT: Young people are much less willing to separate architecture from the consequences of architecture. They don’ t just ask,“ Is this a good building?” They ask: Who is it for? Who can afford to live here? What was here before? What impact does it have on the environment? Who got to participate in the decisions?
I think that’ s incredibly healthy for the profession.
They’ re also less interested in traditional definitions of success. They care about meaningful work, quality of life, community, and whether their values align with the places where they work. That’ s pushing architecture to think differently not only about what we design, but about the culture of the profession itself.
CC: What do you think architecture firms need to do differently if they want to attract— and keep— the next generation of architects and designers?
DT: I think firms have to understand that recruitment and retention are two different challenges. You can get talented young people through the door, but keeping them requires creating an environment where they can actually imagine a future for themselves.
That means compensation matters. Work-life balance matters. Mentorship and transparency about career advancement matter. But I also think agency matters. Young designers want to understand why they’ re doing the work, have opportunities to contribute ideas, and see how their work connects to something larger.
We also have to broaden what leadership looks like. If young people look at the leadership of a firm and can’ t see a pathway for themselves— or don’ t see a life they want to have— we shouldn’ t be surprised when they leave.
CC: Young people entering architecture today are thinking about issues like climate change, housing affordability, equity, and the impact buildings have on communities. Do you think that is changing what it means to be an architect?
DT: Absolutely. I think we’ re moving away from the idea that an architect’ s responsibility begins and ends with the building.
Housing affordability is an architecture issue. Climate resilience is an architecture issue. Accessibility, public health, community development, and the quality of our public realm are all connected to the built environment. Architects don’ t control all of those things, but we have expertise that belongs in those conversations.
I think the next generation understands that instinctively. They’ re asking the profession to be more engaged with the world around it.
That’ s exciting because it expands the possibilities of what an architect can be— not just a designer of buildings, but a convener, advocate, educator, problem solver, and civic leader.
CC: If you could give one piece of advice to a high school or college student who wants a career in architecture, design, or the broader AEC industry, what would it be?
Don’ t limit yourself to someone else’ s definition of what an architect or designer is supposed to be.
- Danyson Tavares
Architecture school teaches you how to observe, question, imagine, communicate, and solve complicated problems. Those skills can take you into a design firm, but they can also take you into government, development, community organizing, education, technology, advocacy, construction, or leadership.
I certainly didn’ t imagine I’ d be doing what I’ m doing today when I entered architecture school. So learn the craft, stay curious, find people who will invest in you, and give yourself permission to build a career that might not look like the one you originally imagined. www. high-profile. com
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