Patrick Cunningham

AIA, LEED AP BD+C, LFA
Principal, Design Director, Boston

Patrick is passionate about creating buildings that transcend the ordinary. His award-winning portfolio spans diverse high-performance environments and reflects commitments to living design principles and environmental stewardship. He begins each project with deep listening and collaborative visioning, resulting in authentic, meaningful spaces that celebrate the interconnected nature of our communities while protecting our shared ecosystem.

From pioneering research labs to zero-net-energy educational spaces, Patrick continuously pushes the boundaries of regenerative, beautiful architecture. His designs blend technology with craft, reinventing spaces within their unique contexts to achieve long-lasting sustainability.

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In his own words—and from his personal workshop—take an inside look at Patrick's design philosophy and aspirations for our studio.
UMass Lowell University Crossing, Lowell, MA
Patrick’s designs are known for their quiet elegance, meticulous attention to detail, and sense of purpose. "The Lantern" at University Crossing is a sculptural reinterpretation of the looms in the textile mills that once powered the city.
UMass Lowell University Crossing, Lowell, MA
Hand-sketched joint explorations for "The Lantern."
UMass Lowell University Crossing, Lowell, MA
Final joint studies.
UMass Lowell University Crossing, Lowell, MA
The wood lattice gives place to the varied social interactions of the campus community.
The Carter School, Boston, MA
For Patrick, a project is successful when it deeply resonates with the community it serves. The Carter School has around 60 students, ages 3 to 22, with severe disabilities, such as cortical visual impairment and cerebral palsy.
The Carter School, Boston, MA
Glare mitigation is critical for Carter’s students due to their impairments. The exterior is designed to maximize daylight while minimizing glare, in high wavelength hues that students can more easily identify.
The Carter School, Boston, MA
Rooftop outdoor classroom spaces afford students the opportunity to engage all the senses including olfactory stimulation in safe, predictable environments; a unique and enriching experience within the dense urban locale of the school.
Our work is rooted in the needs, histories, and aspirations of real people—before putting pencil to paper, we listen. Our most innovative tool is not the latest software, but the ability to amplify every voice through design.
Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences Research, Boothbay, ME
For Patrick, thoughtfully crafted spaces provide more than shelter; they create sensory sanctuaries that form authentic connections between the end user, craftspeople, and the natural world.

Craft is integral to Patrick’s design process, as is sharing knowledge. He can often be found in the Boston studio’s model shop, sketching and testing designs in different mediums.

As an active educator, Patrick shares his knowledge on sustainable design, lecturing on material environments at Harvard’s School of Public Health, contributing to Commonwealth of Massachusetts discussions on zero-net-energy schools, and teaching at institutions like Northeastern University, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Roger Williams University, and the Boston Architectural College.

Billerica Memorial High School, Billerica, MA
A facade of intricately corbelled bricks cast shadows as the sun tracks across the sky, connecting students to natural rhythms throughout the school day.
Billerica Memorial High School, Billerica, MA
Timber adds biophilic warmth and carbon-conscious detailing; the embodied carbon in the FSC Certified spruce timber structure offsets the equivalent of a typical school bus traveling over 460,000 miles.
“By broadening our definition of community to encompass the entire ecosystem of living systems we inhabit, we can change the conversation. We cannot separate environmental justice from social justice; they are twin branches of the same tree.”

Patrick's Featured Work

University of Massachusetts Lowell University Crossing
Work
University of Massachusetts Lowell University Crossing
Lowell, Massachusetts
Colorado State University Lory Student Center
Work
Colorado State University Lory Student Center
Fort Collins, Colorado
Billerica Memorial High School
Work
Billerica Memorial High School
Billerica, Massachusetts
Stoneham High School
Work
Stoneham High School
Stoneham, Massachusetts
Belmont Middle and High School
Work
Belmont Middle and High School
Belmont, Massachusetts
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