The founding of Archipedia is a story of two friends collaborating with different talents, to produce an exciting and timely project. I had first met Brian Pfeiffer at the Mount Auburn Tennis Club in 2007; I was his Fitness and Wellness Coach. For several years I guided Brian through various fitness regimens, and he in turn offered his guidance and wisdom on various topics. Very quickly, Brian became a trusted, and true friend. As I concluded my bachelors study at the Mass College of Art & Design, I decided to pursue a graduate degree at BU’s College of Communication; the caveat was that I needed to study in Los Angeles, which meant that Brian and I would no longer continue our weekly wellness sessions. While in LA I developed a deeper understanding of digital media, marketing, and communications. After graduation, I came back to New England to be closer to family and in search of work in the digital space. I was offered a job at Boston College Libraries, working in the digital scholarship department. Brain and I quickly reconnected and made routine visits to Burdicks at Harvard Square, to catch up over hot chocolate. During our visits, we began to talk about the processes of archiving and digital properties, and eventually through our discussions I learned that Brian had a massive collection of architectural annotations and photos that were stored away as physical documents. We proceeded to talk more in-depth about the quality and significance of those stored documents.
While working within the digital scholarship department, we were always challenged to brainstorm of new ways to create scholarly works for the digital domain. As a result, I prompted Brian to consider the real possibility of digitizing his work, he thought it was a good idea. The craft, and techniques used New England architectural restoration where handed down through apprenticeship and no formal, digital documentation repository existed. It was clear that a repository needed to exist in order to foster an appreciation of the value of New England’s material culture to enrich present and future generations. Brian and I agreed that the project needed to be a community oriented online encyclopedia. After several weeks of brainstorming over possible names and logo designs we arrived at the name: Archipedia New England. Co-founding Archipedia has been a very fulfilling journey for me. I never imagined that Brian and I would be working on a project of this sort, a project that relies on each of our specific talents and skills, in order to continue to develop. Moreover, it has been enjoyable and fun working alongside a true friend.