News

Danish Kurani wins Boston Foundation for Architecture grant

The Boston Foundation for Architecture recently announced its 2012 grant awards, which include the Boston Public Library, MassArt, Urban Neighborhood Design Alliance, and Danish Kurani (MAUD ’13). Kurani’s firm, Danish Kurani A+UD, is leading the Classroom Co-Creators Project which engages K-12 students and teachers in the creation of their learning environments.
Over the next few months, the project team, which includes Justin May (PhD candidate, HUGSE) and faculty advisor Erkin Ozay (lecturer in urban planning and design and Aga Khan Fellow), will lead a participatory design process with Blackstone Elementary School in South Boston.  Blackstone was identified as one of the thirty-five “turnaround” schools in Massachusetts owing to alarming and chronic underperformance. The Classroom Co-Creators Project will enable students and teachers to articulate their needs and will work with the school community to conceptualize spaces that support effective teaching practices and inspire learning. The project will include a short documentary film highlighting the critical role of school environments, to raise awareness among education policy-makers and administrators from Boston Public Schools.
Each year the BFA awards grants to help underwrite community-based educational programs across Massachusetts that focus on elevating public awareness of and participation in the planning, design, and construction of communities.  
Interested in helping The Classroom Co-Creators Project?  Email [email protected].