MIT Graduate Redesigns His Boston Community
Charles W. Bradley III, AIA
Profile: Charles W. Bradley, III, AIA
For RRTN by Tristen Graves
Boston Architect, Charles W. Bradley, III, AIA, takes pride in having personal connections to his current project, the Roxbury/Dorchester/Mattapan Transit Needs Study for Blue Hill Avenue; an 8-mile corridor on which he recalls doing everything from riding his bike to driving his car.
Bradley, an alumnus of the SMArch program at School of Architecture and Planning at the Masschusetts Institute of Technology and one of less than one percent of registered black architects practicing and running their own business, was recently awarded the public job; a 15-month project aimed at improving bus services and building new transit lines.
“We were the ideal team to get the job and we were the ideal team to reach out to the community,” Bradley said. “They can’t just say I’m a consultant trying to make money. I use the Blue Hill Ave. corridor every day and I have family and friends who live off of it.”
His firm, the Arch Professional Group Inc., and the engineering company, Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) will design a report on various alternatives for transportation systems on Blue Hill Avenue. The project is budgeted at $291,000. The consultant team is currently in its initial phase of urban planning and architectural design, and will be addressing the resident’s concerns of overcrowding, physical improvements to the buses. They will also consider the possibility of bringing back the trolley system.
“It was a blessing to get this job.” Bradley said. “I still have relationships up and down the street because I’ve lived there since ’61 and there are agencies we are currently building relationships with.”
South Century Auto Commercial Renovation (Quincy, MA) New Lobby and Kone-Eco Space elevator
Bradley, a resident of Milton, MA, recalls discovering the idea of architecture at the age of six when he used to design clubhouses in his backyard.
“I eventually fell in love with doing that and ended up taking classes in high school for technical drawing and architectural drafting and I just continued to grow from there,” Bradley said.
He attended the Rennsselaer Polytechnic Institute and earned his bachelor’s of architecture in 1981 and went on to receive his master’s in architectural studies from MIT in 1983.
Family Discount Laundry (Mattapan, MA)
Bradley has worked on numerous projects throughout his 30-year architectural career, including the renovation of five train stations on the Blue Line in Boston. He has also completed commercial retail, residential and institutional projects, including the Morning Star Baptist Church located in Mattapan, MA. His architectural style is composed of both contemporary and modern techniques and he is not afraid to challenge the standards and norms within the field.
Bradley has worked as an architect for Stull and Lee, Inc., Finegold Alexander & Associates, and CBT Architects, all firms located in the Boston area.
In 1998, Bradley began his own architectural firm, The Arch Professional Group located in Milton, MA, while still doing other jobs on the side. On March 1, 2008, he decided to go full-time with his business.
Family Discount Laundry (Mattapan, MA), Brick Detail at building cornice and parapet
Not only has Bradley had success in the field of architecture, he has achieved it in the classroom as well. In 1991, he was a Visiting Scholar and Post-graduate Fellow at MIT, teaching and conducting research. In addition, he taught at the Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston as a part-time instructor for the 1992-1993 academic year. As an educator, Bradley shared his personal architectural experiences through the lessons he taught in the classroom.
“It’s my job to help them [clients] get their idea out on paper. Most people know what they want; they don’t always know how to express them.” Bradley said. “Technically I’m the tool that they need to express their 3-D vision or solve their spatial problem.”
As a professor, researcher and professional architect, Bradley has shown great commitment to serving his community. His recognition and honors include receiving the AIA/AAF Scholarship for Advanced Study and Research in 1992-1993, Outstanding Young Men of America in 1983 and the Matthew W. Del Gaudio Memorial Award of the New York Society of Architects in 1981. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects and the Boston Society of Architects.
Bradley Summer House – (Oak Bluffs, MA) - View of new kitchen
Bradley is married to Tolu Bradley. They have two kids, Joshua, 8 and Julia, 5. In his spare time he enjoys spending time with his family, including coaching his son’s soccer team, despite never having played the sport. Charles and Tolu will celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary this year.
Tristen Graves is a Richmond Va.-area based writer. She is a graduate of Hampton University Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications.
