We are delighted to announce Calvin Boyd, AIA, is the recipient of the 2024 BSA Earl R. Flansburgh Young Designers Award. Named for Earl R. Flansburgh, FAIA – a distinguished Boston architect who generously supported emerging professionals – the award recognizes design excellence by an architect under 40.
In his award submission, Calvin writes, “My contributions to architecture are atypical. My portfolio does not contain a catalogue of buildings nor prestigious academic appointments; rather, I have committed my early career to increasing access to and ensuring retention within our profession for historically excluded communities. Over the last 3-5 years, impact for me has looked like introducing BIPOC high schoolers to architecture via summer design studios, helping ESL colleagues navigate difficult negotiations in the workplace, writing letters of recommendations for students in need of an advocate, and fostering a more inclusive profession for LGBTQIA+ individuals via education and policy.
This work is not optional, it is critical and urgent. Over the next decade, we will be tasked with creating enduring solutions for key climate, housing, and equity issues. And our best chance to get it right depends on everyone being present at the decision-making table. This means breaking down education and cost-related barriers to access and ensuring our profession maintains its relevancy over time. I challenge the BSA to prioritize celebrating this type of work.”
Jury Comment:
The committee was impressed by the clear through-line of values-driven design that quickly rises to the surface across your individual and professional work. Your capacity to merge a thoughtfully articulated social agenda with action-oriented passion and dedication to the cultural agenda of architecture is laudable. As the role of the architect in society changes, work such as yours that joins skillful design capacity with a focus on relevance to the pressing imperatives of our time is more in need than ever before. We believe that the practice of architecture is better for having you as a practitioner and we look forward to seeing your work develop.
A multidisciplinary designer with professional experience from both domestic and international building projects, Calvin joined the firm in 2021. He has contributed to a wide range of projects at PAYETTE including the exterior envelope at Paul Hall at Tulane University, the Master Plan for Conghua Medical and two new buildings for Boston Children’s Hospital in Waltham and Needham, where he is leading the Construction Administration.
Calvin served as a member of PAYETTE’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee from 2021-2024 and co-led the completion of PAYETTE’s JUST Label certification. During that time, Calvin also chaired the BSA’s Ethics Committee and BSA EDI Network before being appointed to the nonprofit’s 2025 Board of Directors. Outside of these leadership efforts, Calvin enjoys volunteering as an instructor for our Private Industry Council high school students, participating in PAYETTE’s annual MLK Day of Service, and helping under-served communities with projects at Beyond Walls.
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