Matthew Kiefer Named Prestigious AIA 2020 Honorary Member

Goulston & Storrs, an Am Law 200 firm, is pleased to announce that Matthew Kiefer, a director in the firm’s Boston office and co-head of the firm’s Climate Resilience Task Force, has been selected as an Honorary Member of The American Institute of Architects (AIA), the most prestigious organization in the architecture profession. The Honorary Member designation is one of the highest honors the AIA can bestow upon a person who is not an architect, and only a few select individuals are chosen each year for their notable career contributions to the field of architecture.

In honoring Kiefer, a real estate development and land use lawyer, AIA noted that he “is one of the most sought-after land use attorneys in the city and is widely recognized for his keen ability to solve challenging problems while shepherding his clients through the complex public approval process.” AIA highlighted Kiefer’s “desire to use good design for positive change” and his long dedication to “architectural issues in and around Boston.”

Kiefer has devoted his legal career to helping for-profit and not-for-profit clients obtain site control and development approvals from public agencies for complex urban projects. Some of his high-profile commercial projects include: the Liberty Mutual Insurance Company headquarters, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston Art of the Americas Wing, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum addition, Harvard University’s Allston campus expansion, Massachusetts General Hospital campus development, and the Condominiums at Clippership Wharf in East Boston.

A champion of historic preservation, Kiefer has tackled some of Boston’s most challenging preservation projects, including the 1859 Eustis Street Firehouse and 1836 Alvah Kittredge House in Roxbury and H.H. Richardson’s 1875 Hayden Building in downtown Boston – national models for transforming neglected historic “gems” into neighborhood assets.

In 1995, Kiefer received a prestigious Loeb Fellowship at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design (GSD). He began teaching in Harvard GSD’s urban planning program in 1999, was named co-director of the school’s Masters in Real Estate program in 2018, and currently teaches in the program.

Kiefer has held leadership roles on the boards of numerous civic organizations, including the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, the Boston Society of Architects, the Boston Landmarks Commission, Historic Boston, Inc., and the Emerald Necklace Conservancy. He is the co-founder of the Emerald Network, and currently serves on the Boston Community Preservation Committee. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers.

Kiefer uses his considerable thought-leadership credentials to affect the national pursuit of design excellence, wise public policy, and positive social impact. He is a frequent conference speaker and has written extensively on issues ranging from urban revitalization and historic preservation to smart growth and climate preparedness. He was recently asked to join a group of thought-leaders and policy-makers convened by the Boston Foundation to coordinate the region’s efforts to address climate resilience.

Kiefer received his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and his B.A. from Boston University.