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People  •  Architecture  •  Associate Professor

Tim Love

Tim Love is the founding principal of Utile, a 50-person Boston-based architecture and planning firm. Love’s primary focus is the relationship between individual works of architecture and the larger city. His work is not driven by aesthetics, but by collaborative deep-dive research focused on the technical, cultural, regulatory, and environmental issues of urban design problems. Love and his teams find opportunities for design by uncovering latent issues and fully leveraging and synthesizing them.

Love works on diverse projects of varying scales, including regeneration strategies for aging industrial areas and master plans for new urban districts. Love and his collaborators are also known for their award-winning public realm initiatives, including the Boston Complete Streets Guidelines and the Boston Harbor Islands Pavilion on the Rose Kennedy Greenway. Currently, Love is working on the citywide plan for Cambridge, a comprehensive master plan for the east sector of Buffalo Bayou in Houston, and a master plan and form-based zoning code for the Brush Park neighborhood in Detroit.

Research/Publications Highlights

  • “New Models of Hybrid Buildings as a Catalyst for the Redevelopment of Urban Industrial Districts.” Built Environment: Manufacturing the Future of Cities (special issue), edited by Tali Hatuka, Vol. 43(1), Alexandrine Press, 2017.
  • “Plot Logic: Character-building through Creative Parcelization.” Urban Design in the Real Estate Development Process, co-authored by Christina Crawford, edited by David Adams and Steve Tiesdell, Chapter Five, Wiley-Blackwell, 2011.
  • “Urban Design After Battery Park City: Opportunities for Variety and Vitality.” Urban Design, Alex Krieger and William S. Saunders, editors, University of Minnesota Press, 2009, pp. 208-226.
  • “Modeling the Pro-Forma: Integrating Financial Analysis with Site-Responsive Urban Design.” Corporations and Cities: Envisioning Corporate Real Estate in the Urban Future, Delft University of Technology (Delft) and the Berlage Institute (Rotterdam), Netherlands, May 2008.

Professional Experience

  • Founding Principal, Utile, Boston, MA, 2002-present
  • Vice President, Machado & Silvetti Associates, Boston, MA, 1994-2002
  • Senior Designer, HLW International, New York, NY, 1992-94
  • Senior Designer, Perkins & Will, New York, 1990-1992
  • Designer, SOM, Washington, DC & New York, NY, 1984-1986, 1989-1990

Professional Affiliations

  • Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA)

Past Clients

  • City of Detroit, MI
  • Buffalo Bayou Partnership, Houston, TX
  • Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport)
  • Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA)
  • Boston Planning and Development Agency
  • City of Boston Public Facilities Department
  • City of Boston Transportation Department
  • City of Cambridge
  • City of Somerville
  • City of Everett
  • City of New Bedford
  • National Park Service
  • Mystic River Watershed Association
  • United South End Settlements

Departments

Architecture

Education

  • Master of Architecture, Harvard University Graduate School of Design
  • B.S. in Architecture, University of Virginia

Awards

  • American Planning Association (APA), National Planning Excellence Award for a Communications Initiative, for Boston Complete Streets Design Guidelines, 2015.
  • CNU New England, Grand Award for Boston Complete Streets Design Guidelines, 2014.
  • Boston Society of Architects, Harleston Parker Medal Finalist for the Boston Harbor Islands Pavilion, 2014.
  • Chicago Athenaeum, American Architecture Award for the Boston Harbor Islands Pavilion, 2012.
  • Boston Society of Architects, Honor Award for Design Excellence (first prize) for the Boston Harbor Islands Pavilion, 2011.

Research Focus

  • Zoning Regulations
  • Industrial Districts and Building Types
  • Design of the Public Realm
  • Public Art
  • Complete Streets
  • Urban Housing Typologies

Courses Taught

  • ARCH 5530 Case Studies in Urban Real Estate Development
  • ARCH 7130 Graduate Research Studio
  • ARCH 7140 Master’s Degree Project