Mark Pasnik and Chris Grimley, principals of the Boston-based over,under, will lecture about their Heroic project on Thursday, November 12, as part of MAS Context’s 2015 Fall Talks series. The lecture will take place at the Charnley-Persky House, headquarters of the Society of Architectural Historians.

Heroism and Hubris

After decades of stagnancy, Boston initiated a radical transformation in the 1960s under the banner of the New Boston. Controversial urban renewal programs and monumental architectural works like Boston City Hall, the Christian Science Center, and the Government Service Center were used to change a “hopeless backwater” into a modern, thriving city. Heroic: Concrete Architecture and the New Boston presents the historical context, buildings, and architects—including luminaries such as Le Corbusier, I. M. Pei, Paul Rudolph, and Marcel Breuer—that defined Boston during this remarkable period. It outlines the compelling story of a city, a material, and a movement while considering anew this earlier generation’s legacies—both troubled and inspired. Many of the structures from this era have since suffered from neglect, misleading labels like “Brutalism,” and have fallen dramatically from public favor. Authors Mark Pasnik and Chris Grimley will discuss their original civic-minded aspirations as well as the cultural and aesthetic implications of preservation today.

Chris Grimley is a principal of over,under in Boston, Massachusetts. With expertise in architecture, urban design, graphic identity, and publications, the firm’s portfolio ranges in scale from books to cities. Chris is co-director of the pinkcomma gallery and has designed books for Rockport Publications and Rizzoli Press. Mark Pasnik is a principal of over,under in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm’s portfolio includes buildings, exhibitions, urban designs, publications, and graphic projects for clients in the Middle East, Central America, and the United States. Mark is co-director of the pinkcomma gallery and an associate professor of architecture at Wentworth Institute of Technology. For more information about over,under, please visit www.overcommaunder.com. You can read their contribution about Expo Boston ’76 from our Improbable issue.

$10 suggested donation at the door. Includes wine.

Copies of the book Heroic: Concrete Architecture and the New Boston will be available for purchase.

This talk is organized in collaboration with the Society of Architectural Historians and presented in partnership with the Chicago Architecture Biennial. MAS Context is supported by a grant by the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts and by private donations.

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Tags: Architecture, Boston, Brutalist, Chris Grimley, Concrete, Heroic Project, Mark Pasnik, MAS Context, Society of Architectural Historians