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INQUILINOS BORICUAS EN ACCIÓN SELECTS STUDIO ENÉE AND ANN BEHA ARCHITECTS TO  DESIGN NEW MULTIPURPOSE COMMUNITY ARTS CENTER AT 85 WEST NEWTON

INQUILINOS BORICUAS EN ACCIÓN SELECTS STUDIO ENÉE AND ANN BEHA ARCHITECTS TO DESIGN NEW MULTIPURPOSE COMMUNITY ARTS CENTER AT 85 WEST NEWTON

Local Architectural Leaders to Reimagine Historic Villa Victoria Center for the Arts Boston, MA (May 10, 2021) – Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA) announced today it has selected STUDIO ENÉE architects (STUDIO ENÉE) and Ann Beha Architects (ABA) to design its new multi-purpose community arts center at 85 West Newton Street in Boston’s South End.

The two Boston-based architects are joining forces for this project, combining their decades of experience designing leading civic, academic and cultural spaces in Boston and across the nation.

STUDIO ENÉE and ABA are the perfect partners to design this new center, which will be a space for our neighborhood and for residents throughout Greater Boston to gather, share, collaborate and create,” said Dr. Vanessa Calderón-Rosado, CEO at IBA. “We are thrilled to be working with a design team that shares our commitment to incorporating diverse perspectives as we create a beautiful space that both honors the deep history of the former Villa Victoria Center for the Arts and embraces our vision for a cultural center that is custom-built to serve the specific needs of our community now and as we grow.”

With award-winning portfolios of sustainable, community-oriented cultural spaces, both STUDIO ENÉE and ABA bring to the 85 West Newton project a profound respect for IBA’smission and for the history of the site as a cultural hub for the South End and Greater Boston Latinx communities. This diverse, Latinx and women-led design team will help bring to life IBA’s vision for the space as a center that celebrates the diversity and vibrancy of the South End, empowers IBA’s residents and neighbors, anticipates the future needs of IBA and the community, and is accessible to all.

“The project has a profound significance to Boston and the Latinx community” Natasha Espada AIA, STUDIO ENÉE Principal, and Ann Beha FAIA, ABA Principal, wrote in a joint statement. “We look forward to working with the community, the city and IBA leaders to create a visionary arts and cultural center in Boston’s South End to support this diverse community.”

For years, Villa Victoria Center for the Arts served as a place of expression, learning and celebration, hosting everything from weddings and quinceañeros to political conventions and arts performances. STUDIO ENÉE and ABA are committed to creating a space that allows IBA to expand upon this legacy, incorporating diverse voices and uses at every step of the design process.

About IBA (Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción)

IBA – Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción - is a leading community development corporation and dynamic community builder that empowers and engages individuals and families to improve their lives through high-quality affordable housing, education, and arts programs. For more than five decades, IBA has built an affordable, safe, healthy and supportive environment for diverse residents, while developing leaders. IBA has evolved into a driving force in the SouthEnd and across the city as a leading non-profit owner and developer of affordable housing.

STUDIO ENÉE

STUDIO ENÉE is a minority and women-owned design firm with an expertise in architecture, urban, and interior design. Led by Natasha Espada, AIA, NOMA, LEED, the firm’s work is committed to experiential and equitable architecture, the craft of building, and sustainabledesign. The diverse make-up of the firm contributes to their innovative solutions to civic, institutional, commercial, and community-based projects. Ms. Espada, a Puerto Rican Architect and the 2020 president of the Boston Society of Architects, is a leader on equity, diversity, inclusion and social justice. Her goal is to bring art, architecture, and design to all of the neighborhoods in Boston in an equitable way.

Ann Beha Architects

Based in Boston and practicing nationally and internationally, AnnBeha Architects is an award winning leader in design for the arts, education, and community. Known for reimagining existing buildings, and for contemporary design within historic settings, ABA has worked with the City of Boston and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on libraries, cultural, and campus buildings dedicated to increased public access and broad based, inclusive programs.

In the Boston area, ABA has completed planning and design for the New England Conservatory of Music, Harvard, MIT, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, the Museum of Fine Arts, and beyond Boston, for the US State Department and the Smithsonian Institution. Ann M. Beha FAIA, Founding Principal, received the Award of Honor from the Boston Society of Architects, and the first Industry Advisory Award from the US Department of State. Ann Beha Architects is a minority owned firm.

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