Boston Architectural College history

By 1890, the BAC had introduced a low-cost atelier, a studio where novice draftsmen could learn from practiced professionals volunteering as instructors.

For its first twenty years, the BAC rented rooms on Beacon Hill, moving from Hamilton Place, over Boston's Music Hall, to Tremont Place to Ashburton Street before buying a permanent location, a four-story brick building at 16 Somerset Street, in 1910.

In 1911, the Club acquired a building at 16 Somerset Street on Beacon Hill.

In 1929, the Memorial Library was created in honor of three members of the BAC atelier killed in the First World War.

In 1938, Arcangelo Cascieri-BAC alumnus, professional sculptor, and longtime member of the Education Committee-became dean of the BAC, a post he held for more than 50 years.

In 1944, Dean Cascieri introduced a popular lecture series, employing his renowned charm to attract notable speakers including Frank Lloyd Wright, Buckminster Fuller, Philip Johnson, Serge Chermayeff, and Florence Knoll.

In 1945, the Center admitted its first women members, displaying an early commitment to diversity in design education-today the student body is 44 percent woman and 44 percent minority students.

The first BAC certificate student graduated in 1952.

In 1961, the Somerset Street building was acquired by the city, and the BAC moved to 320 Newbury Street.

A national design competition was held in 1964, and the winning entry, a Brutalist structure designed by Ashley, Myer & Associates, houses the BAC to this day.

By 1965, the BAC had developed a continuing education program to serve the broader community.

The first director of education, Sanford Greenfield, was appointed in 1967.

In 1971, the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) came to the BAC for its first accreditation visit.

Summer Academy was launched in 1974 as an intense five-week introduction to environmental design for high school students, including tours, design exercises, lectures, and exhibitions of their work.

In 1976, the Institute of Contemporary Arts purchased the building and transformed it into gallery space.

In 1979, the certificate officially became a NAAB-accredited Bachelor of Architecture.

In 1982, the ProArts Consortium was founded between Berklee College of Music, The Boston Conservatory, Emerson College, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and the BAC, allowing BAC students to register for courses at each institution.

In 1992, the annual Cascieri Lectureship in the Humanities was established in Dean Cascieri's honor, a tradition that continues today.

A certificate program in interior design was introduced next, becoming a bachelor's degree in 1993.

In 1996, the Center began offering its first professional master's degrees in architecture and interior design.

Following a reaccreditation visit in 2005, NAAB decided not only to renew the BAC's accreditation for six years, but also to accredit fully its pioneering distance program, which allows students to complete the majority of their degree online with an on-campus intensive week each semester.

On July 1, 2006, The Boston Architectural Center formally adopted the new name Boston Architectural College in an effort to more readily identify as a college of higher education awarding accredited professional degrees in architecture and design.

In 2007, The BAC acquired 951/955 Boylston Street – the former home of the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston – for $7.22 million.

In 2009, the BAC boasted the largest faculty and student body of New England architecture programs and one of the lowest costs.

In 2013, interior design was renamed interior architecture to reflect the complex role of the interior architect in building design.

In 2014, the BAC celebrated its 125th anniversary with its first ever Homecoming weekend.

Providing excellence in practice-integrated design education, the BAC was Ranked #1 for Best Graduate School for Earning Potential and #4 for Best Architecture School Offering Bachelor's Degrees in the United States in 2020 by GradReports.