Antonio Pacheco

Antonio Pacheco is a PhD Candidate in the History, Theory, and Criticism of Art and Architecture division of the Department of Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He works at the intersection of architecture, historiography, and editorial production, and is interested in the spatial practices of governmental entities. His work examines the symbolic, bureaucratic, and professional legacies of public architecture across the United States, with a particular emphasis on the modes of architectural production of the New Deal era. 

Antonio’s dissertation — Waterworks: Aquatic Architectures of the New Deal Era —  approaches the New Deal through the lens of water. The text investigates how architects, engineers, and bureaucrats seized upon the transformation of water — from dirty to clean, inert to potential, natural to recreational — to work through aesthetic and stylistic debates coursing across architectural discourse while also accommodating a collection of new technological approaches and building typologies.

Prior to joining MIT, Antonio worked as managing editor at Archinect and as the West Editor for The Architect’s Newspaper. Antonio’s writing and commentary has appeared in a variety of publications, including NPR, Urban Omnibus, The Architect’s Newspaper, ArchDaily, Vice Media, ArtNews, eVolo, and Preservation in Print, among others. He earned a M.Arch I and Master of Preservation Studies from Tulane University and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis. 

Advisor: Timothy Hyde