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On CitiesAuthor: Carie Penabad
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HEROIC: Concrete Architecture and the New Boston
Monday, 24 November, 2025
In this next episode of ON CITIES, host Carie Penabad speaks with architect and educator, Mark Pasnik on his co-authored book: HEROIC: Concrete Architecture and the New Boston. The conversation explores the post war architectural movement (commonly referred to as Brutalism) and the groundbreaking concrete structures that re-imagined the City of Boston during the 1960s and 1970s. Beyond a mere architectural trend, this period reflects an urban transformation driven by public investment, resulting in a diverse array of civic, cultural and academic landmarks that epitomize concrete modernism. The discussion unveils some of the era's most iconic structures, like the Boston City Hall and Harvard's Carpenter Center, while tackling the period's troubled urban histories and the challenges of preserving these landmarks in the face of contemporary pressures for development and renovation. :Mark Pasnik is a professor of architecture at Wentworth Institute of Technology and a founding principal of the architecture and design firm OverUnder. He co-authored Heroic: Concrete Architecture and the New Boston with Michael Kubo and Chris Grimley and edited the books Henry N. Cobb: Words and Works 1948–2018 and Justice Is Beauty: MASS Design Group. Mark has received the AIA Young Architects Award and recognition for his scholarship from the Graham Foundation, Docomomo US, the Boston Preservation Alliance, Historic New England, and the Boston Society of Architects. He has taught previously at the California College of the Arts, Carnegie Mellon University, Harvard University, Northeastern University, and the Rhode Island School of Design. In addition to his scholarly work, Mark maintains an active professional practice with projects including a conservation management plan for Boston City Hall and adaptive re-use of athletic facilities at the University of Massachusetts. Mark serves as chair of the Boston Art Commission and was selected in 2020 as an Out100 honoree, a designation which recognizes "culture-shifting impact" by members of the LGBTQ+ community.
