Modernism Series: Program One - Brutalism to Heroic

Often problematically labeled as “Brutalist” architecture, the concrete buildings that transformed Boston during 1960s and 1970s were conceived with progressive-minded intentions by some of the world’s most influential designers, including Marcel Breuer, Le Corbusier, I. M. Pei, Henry Cobb, Paul Rudolph, Josep Lluís Sert, and The Architects Collaborative. As a worldwide phenomenon, building with concrete represents one of the major architectural movements of the postwar years, but in Boston it was deployed in more numerous and diverse civic, cultural, and academic projects than in any other major U.S. city. Boston was an urban laboratory for the exploration of concrete’s structural and sculptural qualities. Heroic surveys the intentions and aspirations of this period and considers anew its legacies—both troubled and inspired.

This program is part of a four part series on Modernism. MHS is pleased to be working with our nonprofit partners, the Concord Museum and DoCoMoMo-New England, on this series.