Two ideas are better than one

It’s not about who owns the big idea; we believe the best idea wins when you have a team of inspired minds working together. Congrats to just a few of the Bulfinch brains taking us to new heights, on their recent licensure.

Candice Barter, AIA

I think that nature, honestly, provides the best design inspiration, and my work at Boston Children’s Hospital has impacted me the most. As a parent, I feel connected to the process, and I know the work that I’m doing will have a positive impact on the lives of patients and their families.

Calvin Cangco, AIA

I’m inspired by the pure sake of creation—making something that wasn’t there before, developing an idea, and then manifesting it into reality. Along the way, I draw inspiration from many things, but usually from the people I’m working with, and the place I’m working in. My goal is to do some good and create something that makes the world better.

The Wabash College projects have had the biggest impact on me in my career with Shepley Bulfinch, because they were the first projects I was on start to finish. I got to be a part of the entire design process from concept through construction. The client was also great to work with, and I think we created something that has had a real influence on campus—and that we are all proud of.

Daniel Kelley, AIA

My design inspiration is to create meaningful environments that can help people heal based on the quality and comfort of their surroundings.

Most of my professional career has been focused on healthcare and pharmaceutical design. Here at Shepley Bulfinch, I have had the opportunity to be a part of the Hale Family Building. This is one of the largest and most inspiring projects I have ever been a part of. Being involved in designing spaces that can impact and improve children’s health and wellbeing is more than rewarding.

Amanda Levesque, AIA

I am inspired by people and how design can positively impact lives. So often, we get to work with amazing users who are incredibly committed to their craft—whether that be teaching, healing, or something else. I love that it’s my job to empower people using the design process, and remove the barriers on what they can accomplish, both as individuals and at the organizational level.

Working on the Health and Biomedical Science Building 2 fresh out of school was certainly a formative experience for me. The University of Houston’s vision for the future of medical education, embodied within that building, was exciting to be part of and help bring to fruition. Because the program is rather unconventional, it felt more like inventing something new, rather than relying on precedent. That contrast felt particularly sharp (and invigorating!) coming from school. The value we bring as architects to connect high-level business goals and untested ambitions, while also creating thoughtful, human-scale experiences that really work, is something I’ve taken to heart and been able to focus on at Lens Strategy, Shepley Bulfinch’s consulting studio.

Caroline Shannon, AIA

My motivation as an architect and design researcher is to advance health and wellness through the built environment. My practice is grounded in evidence and deep engagement with clients and the communities they serve, which informs appropriate design solutions that advance principles of sustainability, resilience, equity, and beauty in the places we live, work, learn, heal, and play. I enjoy the challenge of integrating the art and science of building—balancing conceptual, systems-thinking with the execution of precise details.

Although design is a critical tool, creating dignified, effective spaces for health in underserved communities requires more than architects, and architecture. It requires deep investigations into and interventions in the systems and structures that create the inequitable conditions that affect health in the first place.

The University of Global Health Equity (UGHE), which I have been fortunate to work on for the past year, does this by creating structures for systemic change—through both its physical space and educational model. It is an incredible synthesis of my values and interests as an architect. It represents an international center of education and design excellence, a driver of community health and urban development, and an exemplary model of how to translate a vision into impact through design—with engagement, empowerment, and equity.