Alumni
Officers
Alumni Association Board of Directors
David Silverman ’94 B.Arch., AIA
President
david@map-lab.com
David Silverman took mechanical and architectural drafting classes in middle school and high school. He learned about the BAC’s practice component after high school and got his first job in architecture when he began his studies at the BAC in 1986.
While David was in school, he was awarded the William Nast Scholarship for his Segment 2 portfolio. He also met his wife, Felice (BAC ID ‘92), and they were married after she finished her thesis and before he began his thesis. A year after he received his Bachelor of Architecture in 1994, David was a finalist in the Rotch Traveling Scholarship Competition.
After graduating, David co-founded a design studio in Copley Square with four other alums, including fellow Alumni Board Director Ed Golden. Together they focused on competitions, exhibitions and small projects. David work for the Department of Facilities at MIT, where he served as their in-house architect for four years. As a member of this MIT project management he provided oversight of the Frank Gehry-designed Ray and Maria Stata Center. David left MIT in 2004 to start his own firm, map-lab Inc, a project management, architecture and planning office working primarily for institutional and cultural clients.
David has remained deeply connected to the BAC, serving as Co-Chair of the Thesis Committee and and has taught design studios.
David plays guitar and hand drums, including djembe, congas, and bongos. He attends rock concerts as often as he can and was recently to be found in the mosh-pit at the Coachella music festival in Indigo, California and on stage during Iggy Pop at Lollapalooza in Chicago - the latter thanks to BAC alum Joe Mulligan.
Robert J. Verrier ’70 AIA, NCARB
Vice President
bverrier@architecturalteam.com
Bob Verrier is the Founder, Vice President and Managing Partner of The Architectural Team, located in Chelsea, MA. His firm employs more than 60 people and builds about $500 million in construction projects each year. Throughout his career, Bob has been involved in the design and construction of more than 45,000 units of housing.
Bob has served the BAC as a member of the Board of Overseers, and The Architectural Team employs BAC students in the B.Arch and M.Arch programs. In 2007 he received the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni in Practice Award for his contributions to the architecture profession.
Bob says he is deeply indebted to the BAC for the remarkable and collaborative ‘real world’ education it provided, and for the ongoing support he has received over the last 40 years. “The BAC is an organization for which I have the deepest respect and personal affection,” Bob says. “It is a unique educational institution and I wish for it to remain so, for the benefit of the students it serves.” Bob is eager to contribute his passion, energy and professional experience to the BAC by serving on the Alumni Board.
William Boxx ’06 B.Arch
Treasurer
william.boxx@the-bac.edu
Bill grew up in South Carolina,where he began his career working for a small architecture firm. Bill worked as a carpenter during his last summer in South Carolina before moving to Boston to attend the BAC. In Boston, he has worked for Ahearn Schopfer & Assocaites and Goody, Clancy. He is presently working at CBT.
Since graduation, Bill has been involved at the BAC by participating in Portfolio and Progress Reviews and he is presently co-teaching American & Contemporary Architecture.
Bill believes that the BAC is a great place to be educated as an architect, offersing unique opportunities for study. His aim as an Alumni Board Member is to make a strong contribution to the continued overall success of the concurrent eduacational program.
Karen Walls ’02 Cert. Decorative Arts
Secretary
kawalls67@msn.com
Karen Walls received her MA from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland in 1988 and moved to Boston, where she began her career in marketing and sales, with a focus on business development in international trade and financial services.
In 1999, she decided to change career paths and pursue the Decorative Arts certificate program at the BAC. After completing her program in 2002, she was awarded an internship with respected interior designer Samuel Botero in New York, and in 2003 she joined Rogers & Goffigon, Ltd., a luxury fabric/textile manufacturer. Karen manages their N.E. sales and business development and feels extremely fortunate to work with the most highly regarded and talented design professionals in New England.
She has been involved in many charitable organizations in the past, including the Junior League, Santa Claus Anonymous and currently serves as Chairman of Appeals on the Board for the University of St. Andrews American Foundation. Karen is grateful for the doors that opened for her as an alumna of the BAC, and she believes she can make a valuable contribution and provide a unique perspective to the Board, based on her strong business background, interior design & textile industry experience, and trustee participation for the University of St. Andrews.
Bernie Goba ’69 AIA
Past President (Ex Officio)
bga@bgoba.com
Bernie Goba has served the BAC in every possible capacity -- as a volunteer, faculty member, Overseer, Director, practice firm, and dedicated member of the Alumni Association. Bernie’s service embodies the principles on which the BAC was founded: volunteerism and service to the common good.
Bernie is the owner of B. Goba and Associates, P.C., Architects, founded in 1987. The firm maintains a broad generalist practice of architecture, with a scope of work including new construction, renovation, historic preservation, space planning and realignment, and feasibility and assessment studies.
Before graduating from the BAC in 1969, Bernie served as Massier of the Atelier, and he was awarded the BSA Traveling Scholarship. He was a faculty member for seven years. He has served on the Board of Directors and on numerous committees. Bernie founded the Cascieri Lectureship in the Humanities Endowment and he has chaired the Cascieri Lectureship committee for the past 14 years. Bernie is currently a member of the Institutional Advancement, Alumni Mentoring, and Student Development committees. In recognition of his selfless contributions, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree at the BAC’s 2007 Commencement ceremony.
Bernie describes his years of service this way: “My involvement with the BAC is driven by an ideal; an ideal that provides opportunity for professional growth regardless of one's starting point or pedigree. This opportunity to serve and to work with an engaging staff and enthusiastic volunteers is not without "bumps in the road." However, the experience of a successful, unique process manifests itself in personal joy. There is no place like the BAC -- it embraces each person and then each person embraces the BAC.”
Gerald Couto ’70 B.Arch, AIA
Director
jerrydhd@aol.com
Growing up in a house that was built in 1841 and was under frequent renovation by his parents, Jerry Couto came to appreciate architecture at an early age. By the time he was 15 he knew this was to be his profession. Upon completion of his studies in 1970, he received a Certificate of Completion and was awarded his Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1984.
After working for a number of Boston’s leading architectural firms, Jerry founded Gerald Couto, Architect in 1986. Fourteen years later he expanded his business with the addition of Dream House Designs, P.C., which specializes in the design of high-end residences and also includes historic preservation and commercial projects.
Jerry has been involved in the affairs of the Danforth town government consecutively for the past thirty-six years. Among his many civic activities are eleven years as a town representative on the Board of the Danforth Museum of Art, ten years as a member of the Historic Commission and the Historic District Commission, both of which he presently serves a Vice-Chairman, and membership on numerous committees writing and rewriting zoning by-laws. In addition to this volunteer service, Jerry enjoys kayaking, sailing, golf, skiing, theatre, art, and his three children and six grandchildren. Jerry’s devotion to his beloved Red Sox is legendary. He attended his first game at Fenway Park in 1950 and has been in attendance every year since.
Following an absence of over thirty years from the BAC, Jerry was asked to become a member of the Honors and Awards Committee. He had always intended to reinvest in the BAC, so he jumped at the opportunity to reconnect with the school. Jerry was elected to the Alumni Board of Directors in 2004 and finds that his commitments with the Alumni Board and the Honors and Awards Committee have thoroughly reconnected him with the amazing community that is the BAC. Jerry remains committed to the mission of the BAC and plans to continue his service in whatever capacities come his way.
Fay DeAvignon ’78 B.Arch.
Director
faydea@aol.com
From the time she was a young girl, Fay DeAvignon had always wanted to become an architect. She prepared herself in high school by taking mechanical design for the first three years, and in her senior year she studied architectural design. Upon graduation, she went to Garland Junior College and majored in Interior Design, and transferred to the BAC.
During her initial years at the BAC, she was very active in AIAS and became Regional Director before moving on to work at a national level in 1972. She was the first woman president to head up the National Student Architectural Association, serving two terms from 1972-74. She returned to the BAC to complete her degree in 1978 and was awarded the Alpha Ro Chi medal for her dedication to the BAC. Since then she has remained an active member of the BAC community, serving on numerous BAC and BSA committees, as a Director on the BAC Board, and as an Overseer.
Fay has worked as a Project Manager for several colleges and hospitals including MIT, Wellesley College and Harvard Medical School. Prior to this, she worked at Flansburgh Associates, Inc.and Arrowstreet. In 2002, Fay founded an international non-profit organization called Angels of Hope, Inc, and has dedicated much of her time to establishing free medical clinics for the orphans and elderly in remote areas of Uganda. In 2006, Fay was honored with a national citation from the Volvo for life Awards for her charitable work.
Fay attributes her love for volunteering in so many aspects of her life to the BAC and to Dean Archangelo Cascieri. She says, "The BAC gave me the opportunity to personally develop the skills I needed to become an architect, and the Dean gave me the insight and the ability to see that giving of ourselves is one of the greatest gifts we have to give."
Steven C. Habeeb ’82 B.Arch, AIA
Director
shabeeb@habeebarch.com
The BAC has been an integral part of Steve’s life since September 1974 when he entered as a recent high school graduate. He enrolled in the BAC, rather than a traditional school of architecture. What he found was a unique educational institution.
As a practice faculty member for the past several years, a member of the Honor and Awards Committee for approximately 20 years and as a thesis advisor, Steven Habeeb is an active supporter of the BAC. He practices architecture from his south shore office of Habeeb & Associates and currently employs three BAC students among his staff.
Steve believes that the College graduates practitioners that are better prepared and effective in shaping our built environment than the majority of traditional colleges and universities offering degrees in architecture and that to continue to offer this educational model, we need to call upon and involve our alumni. He adivses his fellow alums, who have benefited from the BAC experience to give back if the BAC is to build upon its present success.
David F. Jaquith ’69 AIA
Director
jaquitharchitects@mac.com
David Jaquith has been practicing architecture on the North Shore of Boston for over 30 years as President of David F. Jaquith, AIA Architects & Planners, a small architectural and interior design firm working primarily on 50% residential and 50% commercial projects. He currently serves as Vice Chair of the Salem Redevelopment Authority Design Review Board.
David holds degrees from Wentworth Institute of Technology, the Boston Architectural College and Harvard University Graduate School of Design. He was awarded the Boston Society of Architects Traveling Scholarship and Ames Scholarship (which he used to gain his Masters in Architecture in Urban Design). While a student at the BAC, David was elected student president for two terms, prior to his graduation. David was a professor of Interior Design at Endicott College from 1993 through 1996, before returning to private practice.
David has just completed an energy efficient residence and new office in Rowley, Massachusetts. He says that his success in the profession of architecture has been a direct result of the type of education he received from the BAC and Dean Cascieri. His experience at the BAC formed the basis of training and mentoring of interns, and teaching interior design students at Endicott College. David says, "I'll use these skills to continue the tradition of the BAC education model, now that I have more time to use my skills and experiences in education."
Arto V. Kurkjian ’82 B.Arch, AIA
Director
kurkjian@cbtarchitects.com
Arto Kurkjian came to the United States in 1976, with a Bachelor of Architecture Degree from the National Institute of Fine Arts in Istanbul as well as a Master’s Degree in Architecture and Structural Engineering from Istanbul Technical University. Walking down Newbury Street one day, he noticed the BAC and went inside. There he met Dean Cascieri, who persuaded him to start down the road towards a professional degree in the United States.
Arto earned his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the BAC in 1982. While he was in school, Arto was gaining experience and working his way up in several of Boston’s largest architectural firms, participating in a variety of major construction projects in the city. After graduation, Arto went on to work on a number of award-winning projects, including an addition to the Joslin Diabetes Center Research and Clinical facility, the Tang Center at the Sloan Business School and the Ambulatory Care Center at Children’s Hospital Boston. Arto joined Shepley Bulfinch in 1996, where today he is a senior associate and leads the quality control program.
In addition to Arto’s professional work, he is a core member of the BAC’s Practice Faculty, and has worked to improve student learning and growth in their work environments since 2002. He also volunteers his time to work on a number of BAC events and exhibitions.
Arto is a strong advocate for Armenia. He was instrumental in the realization of the Armenian Heritage park project in Boston, actively participates in the local Armenian Church, and frequently travels back to Armenia. For his continuing efforts, he was named ”Man of the Year” by the Knights of Vartan and served as President of the Ararat Lodge. In Arto’s spare time, he enjoys listening to classical music and jazz, gardening, and spending time with his wife Ani and their two children, Aline and Daron.
Sarah Ritch '03 B.Arch
Director
seritch@yahoo.com
Sarah Ritch became enthralled with architecture at a young age, after witnessing her parents’ restoration of two historic homes and experiencing family travels in Europe. She tailored her undergraduate education in Art History at Skidmore College towards architecture by studying Architectural History, Classics and Art while working as an intern in an architectural firm. These experiences created a foundation for the beginning of her formal architectural studies at Syracuse University’s Pre-Architecture Program in Florence, Italy. She continued to seize any opportunity to travel, reaching into Eastern Europe, Greece, Northern Africa, Central America and the Philippines.
Upon graduation from Skidmore, Sarah intended to move to New York City to pursue a Master of Architecture degree, but after landing an interim job with Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbot, she was encouraged by a co-worker to enroll at the BAC. After the first semester it was clear that the opportunities in Boston were too good to pass up, and she decided to stay. Sarah served for several years as a Teacher’s Assistant for Architectural History and Theory courses and received a Commends Award for her thesis when she graduated with her Master’s of Architecture in 2003.
As an Alumna, Sarah has instructed A and C-level studios as well as Architectural Perspective Drawing. She participates in Portfolio Reviews and frequently serves as a guest design critic. Sarah recently returned to her undergraduate Alma Mater as a panelist in “Living in the Liberal Arts,” a symposium sponsored by the Mellon Foundation.
As a sole practitioner, Sarah is able to set her own pace and establish her own priorities. Her work currently runs the gamut of commercial, educational, residential and historic preservation projects. Aside from this rewarding enterprise, Sarah enjoys art, antiques, running, kayaking, and photography. The BAC remains her source for continuing education and professional enrichment, and her role as an instructor allows her to stay close to the pulse of the BAC. As a Director of the Alumni Board, she is able to stay connected to the BAC’s network of affiliates and participate in the planning of its future.
Karen Schacht ’92 B.Arch
Director
klschacht@cncarley.com
An unquantifiable mixture of experiences in wondrous places, landscapes and at sea brought forth a desire to translate natural resources into places. Karen graduated from New Hampshire Technical Institute (NHTI) with her Associates Degree in Architectural Engineering Technology, and went on to graduate from the BAC with her Bachelor of Architecture in 1992. From the moment she first visited the BAC, Karen was both struck and inspired by the devotion and diversity of the volunteer faculty, united in educating those who are willing to earn it, in creative architectural practice.
Karen has been practicing architecture for over 20 years. Her formative years were in a large nationally recognized firm of architects, land planners and landscape architects. Presently she is the Senior Designer for C.N. Carley Associates, Architects and Planners, where two of their projects have won awards from the New Hampshire chapter of the AIA. Aside from her work as a practicing architect, Karen has also designed the company website and guides the interior and lighting design for all of the firm’s projects, including many custom furniture designs.
As an Alumni Board Director, Karen served on the Cascieri Lectureship Committee and Chairs the 2007 Board Nominating Committee. Karen is an adjunct professor at NHTI, where she teaches architectural design skills and design studios, and is a member of the PLAN NH Fellowship, which awards scholarships to students from New Hampshire who are studying in professions that positively effect the built environment. (If you are a student from NH studying at the BAC, contact Karen to learn more).
Karen’s most recent labor of love has been her own home, where she drew inspiration from two lightning-struck trees on her land. Acting as architect and general contractor, Karen salvaged the trees, interpreting them into a structural system that dramatizes the connection to the land they came from. She is currently working on a book documenting the details of this journey.
