Here are some shots of some work by William (Bill as I knew him) Massie. He taught at Montana State when I was there. He is now the head of architecture at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan.

Thought you guys might enjoy his stuff, though I wish that there were more. He was also invited to compete in the first Dwell house competition.

You can visit the site (http://www.massiearchitecture.com) for more pictures, but it hasn't been updated since 02'.

Big Sky House-what you can't see from any of the pictures on the site, is that his house lines up perfectly with the two line highway that leads to it. The house looks like a silvery, abstract object that you are going to run into, then the highway curves away and you begin to understand the object. It is a very surreal experience.

Big Belt House shower detail. Much of Bills work is based on producing architecture dirrectly from computer output using a CNC (computer numerically controlled) machine. Note the puzzle piece form work. The forms were cut out of bead board insulation then pieced together. What you can barely see from the pictures, is the incredible texture of the bead board left in the concrete. I don't know how he kept that stuff from blowing out. I will ask one of my friends who worked on the house. It was built completely by Bill and MSU students. The sinks were also CNC formed then poured in concrete. My favorite part.

PS-1 entry. Maybe our buddy JP got to visit this one? I spent one long day helping to build the pools. You can see the same puzzle piece detail on the steel as in the forms for the big belt house. What you can't see is that the Big Belt house uses the same pvc pipe, bound together with twist ties for its roof structure. Only the ribs are concrete, the rest of the house is shotcrete over pvc pipe. Interesting method, but it seems to have worked.

...and another.

Unique Designer Homes for an Affordable Price

You don’t have to be rich to afford the house of your dreams, says William Massie, associate professor of architecture. Massie has devised a new computer-driven building process that dramatically cuts down on costs of building a home while increasing overall quality. His innovations have attracted the attention of prominent publications such as Business Week and Esquire magazines.

Esquire deemed Massie one of its “best and brightest” in its December 2002 issue, “The Best and the Brightest: 50 Pages of People and Ideas That Will Change Our Lives.” Business Week said that Massie “is on the cusp of becoming a well-known name in the field of architecture,” comparing him to architect Frank Gehry.

“People don’t have to pay a huge premium to live in a beautiful and somewhat experimental space,” Massie says. “And, we know from the auto and aerospace industries that the ability to develop complex shapes is not just for aesthetic purposes. In making an automobile side panel, for instance, you can use less material to form a shape that is stronger on impact. I’m applying the same fabrication processes to architecture.”

Massie digitally designs a home and then breaks it down into small interlocking pieces. Many of these pieces—as few as six for a small house—Massie manufactures himself. He uses inexpensive but durable materials, such as cut steel and concrete.

Computer-driven laser-cutting and milling machines shape the pieces at the shop of Massie’s four-person firm, Massiearchitecture, which he recently relocated to Troy. The pieces then are delivered to the site for the contractor to fit together like a giant puzzle.

“Architects usually design abstract drawings and give them to a contractor, who then must reinterpret them,” Massie says. “My process provides a way of moving directly from the designing stage to construction, saving time and money.”

In 2000, Massie received a Progressive Architecture award from Architecture Magazine for his “Big Belt House” in Montana, which is designed to fit naturally into the surrounding landscape.

Massie’s most recent completed project took top honors in a contest sponsored by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and P.S.1. Contemporary Art Center in Queens, N.Y. His work, “Playa Urbana/ Urban Beach,” was selected the winner of the annual MoMA/P.S.1 Young Architects Program, one of the most prestigious for young architects. Massie’s “urban beach” includes brightly colored artificial ponds and laser-cut steel structures set in P.S.1’s outdoor courtyard.

Esquire cover © Hearst Communications Inc.

House for a Photographer: Computer Rendering

House for a Photographer:

If you know him well you should explain something about his working techniques. I believe he uses full sized computer milled concrete forms for the house projects - interesting process. Many built in items are milled in foam and cast directly into the concrete.

I like the Montana tower house. It has an interesting relationship with the landscape, but its lacking the ability to step out of the house into the landscape. I find its a very urban solution, although transformed by the perforations in the shells, I still think it is an odd artifact. His other house - the one you show the shower from - is much more horizontal and is a completely different animal. I also quite liked his Dwell House competition entry.

btw - I think you skipped his period teaching at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute between Montana and Cranbrook.

House for a Photographer: Entryway

Big Belt House: Kitchen Sink

Big Belt House: Bathroom Sink with View out to Landscape

William E. Massie is the new Architect-in-Residence and Head of the Architecture Department. He succeeds Peter Lynch who moved to New York to open a practice in May after nearly a decade at the Academy. Massie joins Cranbrooks Master of Architecture program that boosts a great heritage of well-known Architects including: Charles Eames, Dan Hoffman, and Daniel Libeskind.

Massie came to Cranbrook from his position as Associate Professor of Architecture at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. He received his Master of Architecture degree from Columbia University in 1991 and Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Parsons School of Design in 1987. From 1994-2002, he held teaching positions at Lawrence Technological University, Parsons School of Design, Montana State University and Columbia University.

At Cranbrook Massie will continue on with his successful individual professional practice that includes recent award-winning work such as: House for a Photographer in Ghent, New York (2002 Progressive Architecture award); Big Sky House / Owens Residence in Broadwater County, Montana; and Big Belt House in White Sulphur Springs, Montana (2000 Progressive Architecture award).

Massies architectural work has been featured in numerous publications, including Architectural Record, Architecture, Dwell, Esquire, GQ and the Village Voice. He has lectured and exhibited widely, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York; the National Building Museum in Washington, DC; the Shanghai Biennale in China; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Southern California Institute of Architecture; the Rhode Island School of Art and Design; California Polytechnic, the Architectural League of New York; the University of Michigan; and Columbia University.

He has received numerous awards and grants, including four Progressive Architecture awards (2002, 2000, 1998 and 1997); two Architecture Magazine Research Awards (2000 and 1998); and a New York Chapter AIA Interior Architecture Award (1994).

If you know him well you should explain something about his working techniques. I believe he uses full sized computer milled concrete forms for the house projects - interesting process. Many built in items are milled in foam and cast directly into the concrete.

I like the Montana tower house. It has an interesting relationship with the landscape, but its lacking the ability to step out of the house into the landscape. I find its a very urban solution, although transformed by the perforations in the shells, I still think it is an odd artifact. His other house - the one you show the shower from - is much more horizontal and is a completely different animal. I also quite liked his Dwell House competition entry.

btw - I think you skipped his period teaching at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute between Montana and Cranbrook.

Greg, you are right. I half-assed this thread. I'll back up and add a little more info on the photos.

no sweat - I'm glad you got it started. The two of you make a good tag team!

imasayer-
could you talk about Massie as a professor? it would be interesting to hear how he teaches and then talk about the history of Cranbrook.

dp

Here's a recent article on one of his newest projects entitled "An American House 08" on display at Cranbrook:

LINK (http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080628/LIFESTYLE01/806280401/1038)

On the webpage, you can view a slideshow of the project as well as a video tour of the house with your guide, Mr. Massie himself.

I plan on attending the guided tours when they start up in early August. Hopefully I'll be able to snap some photos to share...

Here's a shot I came across on Flickr of the house under construction (thanks, paulrsteinke)...

I'm doing a research project on William Massie, and I was wondering if anyone knows where I can get drawings/renderings of his Playa Urbana/Urban Beach installation from the P.S.1 Young Architects project. I've tried contacting him at Cranbrook and his studio, but am getting nowhere, and I keep hearing he's a hard person to get a hold of. I also contacted the P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, but no one has responded. If anyone has any information, please let me know. Thanks!