Roy Mason (architect)

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Roy Mason (June 29, 1938 – May 19, 1996) was a lecturer, writer and futuristic architect who designed and built a variety of futuristic homes and other buildings in the 1970s and 1980s using low cost materials and alternative energy sources. Always forward looking, in 1978 Mason created plans for a fifty home community of solar powered houses in Columbia Maryland that was to be called Solar Village.^[1] Mason invented architronics which was exemplified in his Xanadu homes. Mason was a founding member of the World Future Society, the publisher of Futurist Magazine.^[2] He also co-designed their first logo.^[3] In the 1980s Mason was the Architecture Editor of the Futurist Magazine. He was also the first Executive Director of the Home Automation Association.

Mason was very interested in modern education. He donated his time and talents to the Capital Children's Museum in Washington, D.C. where he created several forward looking exhibits.^[4]

In 1996, at age 57, Roy Mason was murdered in Washington DC where he had lived for most of his life.

Contents 1 Career 2 Works 2.1 Concepts 3 References

[edit] Career

Before entering his career of architecture and design, Mason received a masters degree from the Yale University School of Architecture. Mason was interested in futuristic homes that use alternative materials which make it easier to build homes and more affordable. Mason also favored the concept of computer automated homes which he demonstrated in his Xanadu homes with Bob Masters.

[edit] Works

• Xanadu (1979 - 1983) visitor attraction franchises built from insulation.
• Experimental school built from insulation in Virginia.
• The "Mushroom House" in Bethesda, MD outside Washington, D.C.
• Exhibits for the Capital Children's Museum

[edit] Concepts

• Several dome shelter designs for homes
• Solar Village

[edit] References

1. ^ Wilmann,John B. "Columbia Solar Subdivision Planned", The Washington Post, April 29, 1978, pg. E18.
2. ^ "Roy Mason, Obiturary", The Futurist, Sept-Oct 1996.
3. ^ Cornish, Edward, "The World Future Society's Emergence from Dream to Reality", The Futurist, March-April 2007, p.40.
4. ^ White, Jean M. "What Goes On In a Red Firebox?", The Washington Post, Sept 29, 1977, pg. D1.