CREW Boston

Women Leading Design + Development for Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology

CREW Boston’s October Luncheon featured an all-female panel discussing the design and development of a new campus for the Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology (BFCIT). CREW Boston member and Development Consultant, Marty Jones, Principal of MLJ Insights, moderated the conversation with CEO and President Dr. Aisha Francis, the college’s first woman and first person of color to lead the BFCIT; Project Architect Gail Sullivan, Managing Principal of Studio G Architects and CREW Boston member; Associate Architect Natasha Espada, Principal of Studio Enée, and Landscape Architect Shauna Gillies Smith, Principal of Ground, Inc.

The panel discussed a full range of issues related to this unique project, which moves the BFCIT from an inefficient 100,000 SF Carnegie building in Boston’s South End to a highly efficient 68,000 SF in Roxbury. Designed to allow flexibility for growth and changes in technology and curriculum, the proposal preserves nearly half the site for future expansion, leasing, or resale.

The collaboration went through a lengthy but not necessarily difficult permitting process, meeting funding and development challenges with a project linked to the redevelopment of the historic Berkeley St property. With three public-facing facades, the new building contributes to the ongoing transformation of Nubian Square, infilling a corner lot in this historic neighborhood.  Storefront windows allow passersby to peek into ground level trade shops and fill the large interior spaces with daylight, while built-in benches create areas of respite along the streetscape. Ground, Inc. maximized outdoor open spaces by taking advantage of both the site level and rooftop, where gathering spaces are coupled with opportunities for students to study the building’s mechanical systems in action.

The BFCIT makes a distinct impact on the life trajectory of students and their families. In many cases, one student graduating from BFCIT nearly doubles their household income! With the building’s inspirational, high-performance design, the development team met this exceptional institution’s educational, economic, sustainability, and resilience goals for their faculty and students’ immediate and future needs.
























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Event Registration is either not opened yet, already closed or not available for this event. Please contact laura@crewboston.org with any questions.

Confirmed Attending

  • Amanda Alberda
  • Ellen Anselone
  • Amy Apfelbaum
  • Tatianna Auguste
  • Anne Awori
  • Rebecca Bachand
  • Eileen Baez
  • Alma Balonon-Rosen
  • Rachel Bandi
  • Adrianne Banks
  • Katherine Barrett
  • Marcella Barriere
  • Johnna Barry
  • Lisa Barry
  • Lauren Bennett
  • Amy Blomeke
  • Samuelle Boyer
  • Connie Breece
  • Anne Brennan
  • Sarah Broughel
  • Donna Brown
  • Daria Bukesova
  • laquisa burke
  • Hannah Butler
  • Carla Cabral
  • Allyson Callahan
  • Michelle Callahan
  • Jeanette Callahan
  • jennifer capobianco
  • Pat Carlson
  • Emily Carmody
  • Jane Carney
  • Kate Carter
  • Heidi Cashman
  • Judy Cazeau
  • Kara Champagne
  • Melissa Chapman
  • Leslie Cook
  • Amy R Daniels
  • Tatiana Davies
  • Abigail Day
  • Katie DeAndrade
  • Robin Decker
  • Ellen DeNooyer
  • Aida Diakite
  • Maura DiGuglielmo*
  • Cara Donleavy
  • Robyn Duffy
  • Catriona Eldemery
  • Natasha Espada
  • Amy Falconeiri
  • Joan Falvey
  • Sallyann Farnum
  • Deborah Favreau
  • Pam Fisher
  • Jennifer Flanders
  • Ka-Ling Flynn
  • Dr. Aisha Francis
  • Laura Garvey
  • Sally Gibson
  • Shauna Gillies-Smith
  • ROSALIND GORIN
  • Kristin Gowdy
  • Kathryn Graber
  • Robin Greenleaf
  • Laura Gregoriadis
  • abigail hammett
  • Erin Harvey
  • Sheryce Hearns
  • Catherine Hennigan
  • Michaela Herrmann
  • Triona Heyes
  • Carolyn Hickey
  • Megan Hoover
  • Ali Horwitz
  • Sheryl Howard
  • Eliza Hughes
  • Karen Hurd
  • Hannah Jacobs
  • Marty Jones
  • Danielle Justo
  • Kate Kaduboski
  • Amanda Keefe
  • Cynthia Keliher
  • Sue Kim
  • Lindsey King
  • KARLA KING
  • Lindsay Knutson
  • Kelly Kurlbaum
  • Jennifer Kusek
  • Amanda Kutia
  • Maggie Laracy
  • Wanda Lee
  • Renee LeFevre
  • Anne Lewis
  • Kerry Logue
  • Shaun Lynch
  • Septima Maclaurin
  • Ashley Maggiacomo
  • Sam Maloney
  • Maureen McCaffrey
  • Gretchen McGill
  • Sarah McGillicuddy
  • Kathy McGilvray
  • Kristina McGowan
  • Pam Messenger
  • Marsha Miller
  • Aisha Miller
  • Valerie Moore
  • Deb Myers
  • Alexandra Natsis
  • Tracy Neff
  • Shahpar Negah
  • Carla Nelson
  • Kelly Nguyen
  • Judith Nitsch
  • Liz Nyman
  • Kate O'Connor
  • Vanessa Okonkwo
  • Briana Pinheiro
  • Tricia Pinto
  • Chloe Poole
  • Dianna Pozdniakov
  • Amy Prange
  • Megan Punzak
  • Rebecca Rahmlow
  • Diane Retzky
  • Ally Riley
  • Greg Ryan
  • ELKA SACHS
  • Alisa Santos
  • Leslie Saul
  • Caleigh Schmitt
  • Lydia Scott
  • Jill Sharif
  • Pooja Sharma
  • Lora Shea
  • Lisa Sheehan
  • Kim Sherman-Stamler
  • Olivia Sherry
  • Lauren Shurtleff
  • Simmee Silton
  • Paige Simmons
  • Karen Smith
  • Catherine Sobchuk
  • Jason Solomon
  • Kim Sousa
  • Mariela Stoyanova
  • Gail Sullivan
  • Hayley Suminski
  • Jennifer Sutherby
  • Valerie Swett
  • Monica Tawfik
  • Alexandra Toteva
  • Christine Tran
  • Irmak Turan
  • Megha Vadula
  • Marissa Valentino
  • Laura Veo
  • Kim Vermeer
  • Christine Vincenti
  • Kim Walters
  • Sarah Wegman
  • Nicole Wilbur
  • Alice Wong
  • Susan Wong
  • Julia Wynyard
  • Vera Zorkina
  • Monika Zuluaga