Mark Herter

Mark Herter, AIA, LEED AP BD+C

Growing up with brothers, cousins and uncles in the construction industry, building and tinkering came naturally to Mark. Today he works on his own house and is exploring a new found joy in building dry-laid stone walls.

Mark’s passion for sports and art growing up often involved his family members as participants or portrait subjects. He still pursues these pastimes, playing and coaching sports while painting, sculpting and creating bas reliefs that use LED light to create shifting shadows.

In his first career, as a restaurant manager with Hilton Hotels, among others, he readily appreciated the importance of design in food presentation. His design and construction sensibilities turned Mark to architecture; he earned his Bachelors of Architecture from Roger Williams University and was first in his class. He worked for a small Connecticut firm designing high-end residences before joining Centerbrook in 1997 and being named an associate in 2005 and senior associate in 2014. Mark was promoted to associate principal in 2017.

His portfolio encompasses academic, cultural, laboratory, and commercial projects, among them the People's United Sports Center at Quinnipiac University and two projects at The Hotchkiss School, including a woodchip-burning Biomass Heating Facility. He was project manager for the mixed use Bedford Square in Westport, Connecticut.

Mark chairs the Centerbrook Sustainability Committee, which oversees the integration of green building design in all of the firm’s projects. Centerbrook has accepted the American Institute of Architect’s 2030 Commitment, whose goal is to have all buildings be carbon neutral by 2030. LEED AP BD+C, Mark is a frequent presenter on sustainability; he co-led, with the USGBC, a recent webinar on Biomass Thermal Energy in high-performance buildings.

Mark cites the glass-walled Hotchkiss Music Center as one of his favorites: “It was a complicated project, which I love. Helping design the practice rooms and concert hall in a bucolic setting, at the edge of a golf course overlooking the lake was a great experience. The biggest challenge was integrating a contemporary, glassy building in a Georgian campus. The Hotchkiss music program has blossomed beyond expectation and the continued love of the building shows that we succeeded.”

  • Member of Connecticut and US Green Building Council
  • Competes in road races and obstacle courses like Tough Mudder, which aids wounded veterans
  • Hasn’t exhibited his work yet, but is thinking about it