Second place team Neighbors before “Vs for Victory”.  Photo by Julie Chen

Why would someone pay to work round the clock for three straight days, toiling in makeshift workspaces on temporary installations? Thirty-two people enlisted to do just that in this year’s Common Boston Common Build. Some were drawn by the thrill of competition. Others came out of a desire to connect and contribute to community.  But CBCB offers competitors an opportunity beyond mere sweat and skill: the chance for anyone to be a “designer.”

Artist Janet Echelman and Metropolis Magazine contributing editor Ken Shulman view the CBCB project gallery at the BSA Space. Photo by Julie Chen

People of all backgrounds and experience levels participate in the competition, with results that showcase dynamic partnerships drawing on multiple disciplines. This year’s “Neighbors” team included graphic designers, engineers, carpenters, and aspiring business school students. Their project, a series of iconic V-shaped structures, vied for first place. Brian Jaffe, a new admit to MITs Sloan School of Business, joined the team on his first weekend in Boston; at the CBCB Awards Ceremony, he confessed that his second weekend in the city couldn’t possibly measure up.

The first place Common WIT team with its winnings. Photo by Julie Chen

Patchwork of plots that make up the Fenway Victory Garden. Photo by Mike Mennonno

The Fenway Victory Gardens hosted this year’s Common Boston Common Build as the site partner and client. A patchwork of plots tucked into a seven-acre corner of Frederick Law Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace, the Gardens were built during World War II on a marsh filled in with excavations from the subway extension in nearby Kenmore Square. The semi-private Victory Gardens and the public park in which they’re situated are a vast and highly utilized public space within a dense urban environment; this interplay brings hosts of challenges involving issues of access, security, identity and competing cultures.

Snapshot of the Kick-Off. Mennonno Orients a Participant to the Garden. Aerial photo of the 7-acre site is shown in projection. Photo by Julie Chen

Read more…

A tour of Government Center in partnership with WalkBoston during the Common Boston Festival 2007.
Photo by Jonathan Shadmon

Convincing clients about the benefits of progressive design can be difficult; convincing a skeptical public to embrace an unusual design can be almost impossible. This is certainly the case in Boston. A famous tell-tale example is I.M. Pei withdrawing his proposal to build a glass pyramid near Harvard Square for the Kennedy Library, because Cambridge residents objected to its “clashing” with local architecture. It ended up in front of the Louvre.

A hard-hat tour of Renzo Piano’s addition to the Isabella Steward Gardner Museum during the Common Boston Festival 2011. Photo by Benai Kornell.

How can we bridge this divide? A skill that should set architects apart is our ability to think creatively and long-term about our physical environment. We should also be adept at communicating our vision.  However, we’re given very little opportunity to communicate with the general public. Most architects talk with citizens only at community meetings that are carefully orchestrated by clients. Ribbon cuttings are invitation only. Lectures by architects are attended almost solely by students and professionals.

Walking through the South End’s Berkeley Street community gardens during an “urban foraging” tour led by Harvard Medical School researcher David Craft, during the Common Boston Festival 2012. Photo by Valerie Fletcher

In an attempt to bridge this gap in Boston, a few architects and students in an Architecture for Humanity meet-up group planned a week-long series of informal events in 2006, called Arch Fest, that would appeal to a broad public and offer opportunities for dialogue between designers and the general public. This lives on in neighborhood tours, forums, and open buildings during the Common Boston Festival – an annual celebration occurring every year since 2007.

Read more…