ABACUS ARCHITECTS + PLANNERS - Key Persons
Annie Steele joined Abacus in February of 2014, following her experience at a small architectural residential firm. She holds a Masters in Architecture from Wentworth Institute of Technology; her thesis focused on Surrealism in Architecture. Annie has expertise in new construction and renovation for multifamily housing, taking projects from conceptualization through construction. She is also integral to Abacus's numerous feasibility studies ranging from neighborhood wide housing developments to senior and community centers including public outreach, programming, and visualization.
Austin joined Abacus in September of 2016. After graduating with a M.Arch from Wentworth Institute of Technology, Austin returned home to work in the Philadelphia area where he focused on adaptive reuse and sustainably progressive senior and affordable housing. He then returned to Boston to work with private developers on mid-size multifamily housing and small commercial spaces. Through these experiences Austin brings to Abacus a depth of understanding in project development and the navigation of building codes, regulations, and zoning requirements.
David has been a Partner with Abacus since 1995, leading design teams for a broad range of planning and architecture projects. Educated at the University of Illinois and Harvard's Graduate School of Design, his prior experience includes five years leading his own firm and three years as a project designer at Graham Gund Architects.
Several years experience as a carpenter and woodworker ground his work in the nature of materials and how they are shaped, while his academic background has helped define his broader aspirations. Innovative thinking and practical problem solving has been brought together in over twenty years of professional practice.
In addition to planning and architecture work, David is a well established author and product designer. his book and design kit for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York sold over 350,000 copies in 6 languages. He was the architecture critic for the Boston Herald for almost 10 years and is now the architecture critic for the Boston Phoenix. He was an adjunct professor of design from 1989 - 2000 at Roger Williams University and is a frequent guest critic at MIT, RISD, and Northeastern University.
Founding partner David Pollak holds degrees in Drama from Dartmouth College and Architecture from Harvard's Graduate School of Design. For over two decades David has combined architecture, planning and public policy into creative projects that serve their clients and the surrounding community. Affordable housing, smart growth planning, sustainability and universal design projects use space, light, form and color to bring people together.
Housing has been at the center of David's work, starting with the firm's first built project - the winner of Progressive Architecture Magazine's international affordable housing design competition - and continuing with a long series of public and private efforts. Each one combines broad thinking about building strong communities with experience coordinating the design process and getting complex projects built.
David is a LEED Accredited Professional and oversees the integration of sustainable design principles into the firm's work. He has taught architectural and urban design from 1988 - 2003 at the Roger Williams University School of Architecture and the Rhode Island School of Design. He serves as a Director of two real estate development and management companies, and is active in civic affairs in Brookline.
Devlin joined the team at Abacus in July of 2022 after completing his graduate studies at Wentworth Institute of Technology where he received both his Master in Architecture and Bachelor of Science in Architecture degree paired with a minor in business management. From his education, he developed an interest in public architecture and how to focus design efforts on the experiential narrative for users of a building. Devlin's graduate studies explored how architecture can emulate spatial characteristics commonly found in nature within school design to improve childhood education and development. Outside of work, Devlin fills his time with weekend ski trips, graphic design projects, photography, and tinkering with vintage motorcycles.
Julia Patten started at Abacus in February of 2014, with 2 prior years of experience working in a small firm specializing in many facets of public and private work. She graduated from Wentworth Institute of Technology in 2012 with a Masters Degree in Architecture. Her architectural interests include installation architecture (the topic of her thesis), designing interior layouts, and unique details. Julia has worked on many projects at Abacus including the Revitalization of Jefferson Park State, Westwood Elderly Development, Ships' Cove, Peter Bulkely Terrace Phase Two, and Beals Library. When not at work, Julia enjoys experimenting with new (and old) recipes, building and/ or creating small projects, and escaping Boston for hiking weekends in New Hampshire.
Maegan Herd started at Abacus in January of 2020, and has worked with the firm through school. She holds a Bachelor's of Science in Architecture from Wentworth Institute of Technology and is working towards her Masters in Architecture. Maegan's concentration is in Adaptive Interventions, and she hopes to focus on adapting old factory buildings into community resource centers for her thesis. In her time with Abacus, she has worked on many projects from proposals to construction documents.
Max joined Abacus in April 2014 as a Senior Associate, bringing experience in design, detailing, and management of medium-sized high-quality public-use projects. He came to Abacus after being an Associate and project manager for 15 years at Boston's renowned Machado and Silvetti, where he worked from start to finish on signature design projects in town, across the US, and abroad for institutional and development clients on spaces for housing, education, commercial, restaurant, museums, and their associate landscape design. At Abacus he has served as project manager on new construction projects Jefferson Park Housing and the Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly, and on renovation projects Ships Cove housing and the Winchendon Beals Library, contributing design, construction drawings detailing, specifications, coordination, budget and cost review, sustainability, construction, schedule, administration, and team management. Having grown up the diverse urban South End neighborhood in Boston, Max is interested in creating inspiring, artistic and useful contemporary active interior and exterior places for people. Outside the office, Max enjoys fatherhood and playing soccer, hockey, and music.