The MIT Department of Architecture, the MIT Museum, and the MIT School of Architecture and Planning mourn the loss of alumna, loyal champion, and archive donor Mary Otis Stevens, who died on July 12, 2026.
Since the 1980s, Stevens—an architect, designer, and author—has trusted the MIT Museum with the extensive archive of her various firms and initiatives. This includes Thomas McNulty Architects, best known for its series of avant-garde, all-concrete houses around Boston; iPress Publishers, which circulates novel research on the human environment; and Design Guild, a multidisciplinary firm focused on sustainable and socially responsible projects.
A strong advocate for the profession of architecture, and for social and environmental causes, Otis also co-founded Architects for Social Responsibility within the Boston Society of Architects with Sarah Harkness in the early 1970s, and taught at and served on the Board of Governors at the Boston Architectural Center (now Boston Architectural College).
“Mary’s ambitions and talents could not be contained in a single profession, vocation, or format. She sought to improve the world by building her own—physically, intellectually, and through communities. We are all better because of her work, and more so because of how she approached that work with kindness, care, and a vision for a humane environment," said Aliza Leventhal, Director of the Fleet Library at RISD.
Read more on the MIT Museum website.
