Recently I had the pleasure of participating in my first ever podcast. Sam Aquillano, Executive Director of Design Museum Everywhere asked me to be the guest co-host with him to discuss socially responsible architecture - a topic near and dear to my heart.. Sam and I have enjoyed many conversations over the years about design...
ECHO is a Master of Architecture thesis project. The inspiration comes from a personal perspective and community interviews. As a designer I was raised in a country in development and experienced personal social changes through the constant exposure to education and opportunities for social interactions. One of these opportunities was to move to a developed...
Kodak introduced the Kodachrome in 1935. This was a breakthrough in photographic technology at the time and brought color photography to the masses. Color photography had begun in the 1850s, but it wasn’t until the 1930s that it started becoming commonplace in photography and in motion pictures. These films have layers of color channels that...
1904 Image of Commonwealth Avenue - Photo courtesy of https://www.bygonely.com/old-boston-1900s/ For the past 25 Years working with STA, I have had the the privilege to work within some of Boston’s historic districts. We have worked on buildings in the South End Historic District, the Beacon Hill Historic District, and other districts, but most of my...
What is most exciting for us at STA is working with people and organizations like MassRobotics, who are making such immense contributions to the world through innovation. MassRobotics is an independent, non-profit organization serving as the innovation hub for robotics and connected devices. Through programming and events, they help bring together innovative startups and existing...
Designing for community impact is an ever-present mission of STA, so when an opportunity to collaborate with Evelyn Brito of Bodega Makeover was presented to us from the Boston Society of Architects, we happily accepted! Bodega Makeover is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help solve the food desert and unhealthy eating issues in lower income...
They say “time flies when you’re having fun”, and that’s certainly the case as I marvel at the 25th anniversary of Silverman Trykowski Associates! It’s hard to believe, but on this day 25 years ago, STA opened our doors. (Well actually, the tiny second bedroom of our house where STA began had no door!) But...
What’s one thing most people don’t know about you? I spent 5 incredible summers working at a Boy Scout overnight summer camp where I held a wide variety of odd-jobs ranging from a camp kitchen and services and teaching merit badges in cooking, camping, orienteering, wilderness survival and spent a summer working at the rifle,...
A Short History of Braiding Braids are the oldest form of art that is part of tribal customs. It traces back to 3500 BC in Egypt. Every region and tribe in Africa has its own distinct style of hair braiding. Traditionally, braids are a social art, they are a means of communication. An individual could...
Hello, Gazette readers! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Bobby, an architect and the newest member of the STA team. As we reached the one-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic last month, I led a Living Lab where I asked each of us to reflect on one positive accomplishment that they can take...
In general, I’ve always been a “glass is half full” kind of guy. These COVID-19 times are certainly testing that and I’ve been reflective lately about how the changes of the last year (and more) might have lasting positive effects for STA. STA has always advocated a work/ life balance and we work hard to...
As we come upon a year of working from home, I’ve been reflecting on what was happening just before that pivotal day of March 17. That’s the date that I remember as the turning point, as it’s the day STA went home (although the official MA shut down was the following week). But there are...
We live in a new era where being healthy one everyone’s mind. Being healthy does not just mean wearing a mask and hand washing. Being healthy also includes good nutrition as well as a well-balanced diet. Going out to restaurants at this time may not be on everyone “To do” list, but there is not...
What made you decide to become a designer? I am a designer entirely by accident - I did not know I was going to be one until 2 days before architecture school. But now that I am one, I enjoy everything that I do. I think I got lucky in finding this career because I...
Architects design, select materials and often are unaware about the processes involved to extract, process, and transport said materials. Designers are especially unaware of what is done with demolition of construction waste. Directly or not, architects have the power of making this world better and cleaner through their decisions. Let's talk about waste! How the lifetime...
With the ongoing pandemic, people are more hesitant to eat in a restaurant and I was/am one of those people. I went to a Japanese restaurant on a Monday night to celebrate my birthday night out, and it had been 8 months since the last I dined in. The experience was not pleasant, and it...
