44 October 2026

Boston – The inaugural HP Built Leadership Forum will bring local, national and international leaders together at The UMass Club in downtown Boston on Nov. 16, 2026, to open Boston Built Week with conversations focused on the economy, investment opportunity, innovation and the future of the built environment. The Forum will run from 9 a. m. to 3 p. m.

Organized by High-Profile, the Forum will bring owners, developers, institutions, designers, builders, operators, capital partners and innovators into one room, connecting Boston’ s industry strength with global perspectives and innovations shaping what comes next.

Thomas N. O’ Brien

Thomas N. O’ Brien, managing partner and CEO of The HYM Investment Group, will deliver the keynote address. O’ Brien leads HYM, one of the region’ s major real estate development firms and the developer behind projects including Suffolk Downs.

“ The Built Leadership Forum is about bringing the people shaping the built environment into the same room at an important moment for our industry,” said Anastasia Barnes, owner and CEO of High-Profile.“ We want to open Boston Built Week with the leaders, ideas and energy that can create real momentum.”

The program will follow a focused editorial arc: See, Respond and Build

9 a. m. to 3 p. m.

What’ s Next. Conversations will spotlight emerging signals, decisive action and the innovations improving projects, performance and the way the industry works.

The Forum continues to add speakers and industry leaders to its program, with additional participants to be announced as the event approaches. Sponsorship opportunities also remain available for organizations interested in participating in the Forum and its conversations.

Flow Tech, Inc. has joined the Forum as Sustainability & Building Performance Sponsor. Suffolk Technologies will serve as Innovation Sponsor, with Blue Strategy Creative Intl serving as Strategy Partner. High-Profile also serves as a Media Partner for Boston Built Week.

The Forum serves as the official kickoff to Boston Built Week, which returns Nov. 15-21 with more than 20 events across Boston showcasing the people, projects and ideas advancing the built environment. Organized and hosted by Suffolk Technologies, Boston Built Week’ s 2025 program drew more than 1,000 attendees from around the world through more than 18 events hosted or sponsored by more than 25 organizations.

The Forum is designed to bring together leaders engaged in the decisions that shape what gets designed, financed, built and operated. Attendees will carry new insight, relationships and ideas from the Forum into the events that follow across Boston throughout the week.

“ High-Profile has long shared the people, projects and ideas shaping New England’ s built environment,” Barnes said.“ Now we are bringing that conversation into the room to launch a powerful week for Boston.”

Registration is open. Additional speaker and sponsorship opportunities are available. Learn more at builtleadershipforum. com.

Providence, RI – Providence Preservation Society’ s annual Festival of Architecture and Design this year celebrates the 70th anniversary of the organization’ s founding in 1956, with five weeks of programs highlighting Providence’ s history and architecture from the pre-colonial period to today.

Events range across the entire city, from Neutaconkanut Hill to Collier Point Park, with tours of landmarks including the Cranston Street Armory, Atlantic Mills, the Wedding Cake House, Old Stone Bank and the Manchester Street Generating Station. The Festival also opens to the public more than 20 private homes spanning 1737 to 2024. The list includes homes built before the Revolutionary War as well as examples of sustainable design from the last few years, such as Providence’ s first net zero home and the first two homes in the city built using modern straw bale construction.

Events are planned in neighborhoods across the city, including Blackstone, College Hill, Downtown, Federal Hill, Mount Hope, Olneyville, Silver Lake,

www. high-profile. com

Manchester Street Generating Station / Photo courtesy of PPS

South Elmwood, Upper South Providence and the West End.

Local architects and architecture firms giving guided walks of renovation or design work they have led at these sites include Steve Durkee, Jenna Yu, BriggsKnowles A + D, DBVW Architects, Haynes / de Boer Associates, KITE Architects, LLB Architects, Royer Architects, ZDS Architecture and Interior Design, and ZeroEnergy Design. Cultural institutions, nonprofits and city or state offices participating include The Dirt Palace, Jacqueline Clements Park Collective, One Neighborhood Builders, People’ s Port Authority, the Providence Athenaeum,

Providence Parks Department, Rhode Island’ s Department of Administration, RISD Museum, Stephen Hopkins House and Tomaquag Museum.

“ Providence is such a perfect place to put on a Festival like this because it really is an open-air museum of architecture and design,” said Marisa Brown, executive director of Providence Preservation Society.“ We are so fortunate to have preserved buildings and sites that represent the very best of every single era stretching back over 300 years.”

The Festival runs from Sept. 26 to Oct. 30, beginning with a guided tour of six historic homes on and just off Benefit Street on Sept. 26, and ending with a tour of the Cranston Street Armory on Oct. 30. The Festival’ s signature open house event takes place in the Blackstone neighborhood on Saturday, Oct. 3, from 11 a. m., opening eight homes built between 1950 and 2024 to the public.

A schedule of events with registration links is posted at ppsri. org. The presenting sponsor is Providence Tourism Council.