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Feb.
10, 2003 |
Designer Homes at Affordable Prices
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 computer-driven building process that dramatically
cuts down on the cost of building a home while increasing overall
quality. His innovations have attracted the attention of prominent
publications such as Business
Week and Esquire magazines.
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Photo courtesy of Massiearchitecture.com
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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.
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.
using 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.com,
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 design stage to construction, saving time and money."
"People don't have to pay a huge premium
to live in a beautiful and somewhat experimental space,"
Massie adds. "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."
Read more: Business
Week
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