Jennifer McGrory

AIA, LEED AP, WELL AP, FITWEL AMBASSADOR
Associate Principal, Workplace, Boston

By the 4th grade, Jennifer had already started her own design firm and was well on her way to becoming an architect. Under the guidance of her father, a plumber, she was able to explore construction sites of single-family homes, where she would wander and imagine how people would be using the spaces someday.

Hearkening back to these childhood experiences, Jennifer’s design focus is and has always been on people. While aesthetic value is important to her, she believes that it’s equally essential to have spaces promote positive wellness. Because of this, she’s firmly dedicated to creating buildings and spaces that can improve the lives of the people who inhabit them.

In her work, Jennifer brings people together. She acts as the conductor on projects, making sure to listen to each voice and merge together all the ideas that come forth. This resonates with her belief that everyone at the table deserves a voice, and by acknowledging all points of view, problems get solved and projects grow richer.

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For Jennifer, it's designing the experience of seeing something for the first time that ignites her drive to create, innovate, and lead.
The “Abolition Row” neighborhood was home, both long and short term, to many prominent anti-slavery figures, including Frederick Douglass and Lewis Temple.
A Passion for Public History

Jennifer’s passion for public history led her to partake in a research project about anti-slavery movements in Massachusetts. Working with the New Bedford Historic Society and UMass Dartmouth, Jennifer examined the backlash by New Bedford’s network of abolitionists against the Fugitive Slave Act, which allowed freed slaves to be “reclaimed.” The Perkins&Will-sponsored project “Abolitionist Architecture of New Bedford” examines the architecture in the “Abolition Row” neighborhood.

“We need to not only think about the role of design has on the global scale, but we need to bring it back to our community.”
Design has the ability to express issues of diversity, equity and wellness. Through data-driven research we understand the impact design has on the human-body experience.

Jennifer's Featured Work

Work
Our Boston Studio
Boston, Massachusetts
Work
Creative Office Resources Showroom
Boston, Massachusetts
Work
North American Headquarters
Boston, Massachusetts