BOSTON – The Boston Society of Landscape Architects (BSLA) announced the launch of the Lynn Wolff Fund, which was recently established to honor the memory and work of the late Lynn Wolff, FASLA, President and Principal of Copley Wolff Design Group (Copley Wolff), who passed away earlier this year.
Stemming from the Lynn Wolff Fund is an annual grant, which is given to one exceptional candidate or project that builds common ground through a design improvement within the public realm. The fund was spearheaded by Deneen Crosby, Principal and Director of Landscape Architecture at Crosby|Schlessinger|Smallridge, in conjunction with other members of the Boston Civic Design Commission who served with Wolff.
“It is an honor to help establish the Lynn Wolff Fund in memory of such an inspiring landscape architect and leader,” said Crosby. “Lynn was a thoughtful and creative designer who was truly committed to the City of Boston, and to making welcoming places for all to enjoy. By creating this annual grant in her name, we hope to help celebrate Lynn’s incredible spirit and life’s work by enabling the creation of new designs and spaces, just as she did for so many years.”
The inaugural grant was announced on Thursday, Sept. 29 at a fundraising event on the seventh- floor roof deck at 75 State St. in Boston. As one of Copley Wolff’s most notable projects, the outdoor space features a large open-air deck with a variety of seating options, and offered a perfect setting to commemorate Wolff’s contributions to the landscape design industry.
The 2016 grant was awarded to the Women’s Lunch Place (WLP), a Boston-based day community for women experiencing homelessness or poverty. The allotted amount will help build an outdoor garden, visible from Berkeley and Newbury Streets in Boston, that will form the entrance to WLP, and will be tended by volunteers and guests of the program.
Wolff worked closely with WLP for close to ten years offering her spare time to volunteer at the shelter and raising awareness of homelessness and poverty in the area. Her dedication to WLP was a fitting cause to highlight with the inaugural grant, and something both Crosby and the Copley Wolff team wished to memorialize.
“The Lynn Wolff Fund was created to honor Lynn’s memory and empower others to carry out her legacy through new and innovative applications of landscape design,” says John Copley, ASLA, President and Principal at Copley Wolff. “We can think of no better recipient than the Women’s Lunch Place, which embodies the characteristics which were synonymous with Lynn’s personality – committed leadership, dedication to local communities, and the vision for a better future.”
Lynn Wolff was a leader, both locally and nationally, in the field of landscape design for over 35 years. Her drive and passion for her craft were always evident in her work, which includes projects like the Wharf District Parks on the Rose Kennedy Greenway in Boston, the Therapy Trail at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Charlestown, MA, and the Science Park at the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, VT.
