Name

Massey, Horace Lovell

Type

Architect

Biography

Massey (1895-1979) was born in Auckland and educated at Auckland Grammar. In 1919 he won a scholarship which allowed him to study for three years at the Architectural Association in London. He returned to Auckland in 1922 and in the mid-1920s was a partner in the firm Massey, Morgan, Hyland and Phillips who were responsible for much hospital work including the Nurses' Home at Napier Hospital (1925-26) and the Fallen Soldiers' Memorial Hospital in Hastings (1925). Massey himself was an active member of the Auckland Hospital Board for many years. In the late 1920s Massey was in partnership with G.E. Tole, followed by a period on his own during which he designed Cintra Flats, Auckland (1936). In the 1940s and 1950s he was senior partner of the firm Massey, Beatson, Rix-Trott and Carter who were responsible for a wide variety of work including Pukekohe War Memorial Hall, Coates Memorial Church, Matakohe (1950), Auckland Crematorium (1952), Takapuna Grammar School (1956) and Norwich Union Insurance Society Building, Queen Street (1963). Massey also designed many fine houses including the Geddes House, Remuera (1936-37), McArthur House, Orakei (1938) and Melvin House, Achilles Point (1942). He was involved with the New Zealand Institute of Architects and devoted time to the publication of professional papers. As an architect he was influential in introducing the ideals of the Modern Movement to Auckland. H.L. Massey Horace Massey was born at Auckland in 1895 and was educated at Auckland Grammar School. He was articled to architect Alec Wiseman and also worked with R.K. Binney and Hoggard, Prouse and Gummer. During the First World War (1914-1918), he was billeted for a while before proceeding to France where he served until the end of the war. During his time in England he took a great interest in local housing. At the end of the war he was one of 3000 entrants in the Daily Mail Ideal Homes Competition. He won the £500 first prize in the northern industrial section and was also awarded one of six New Zealand Expeditionary Forces scholarships to study for three years. He chose to study in London at the Architectural Association School and then returned to New Zealand and became a partner in the firm Massey, Morgan, Hyland & Philips. He left this partnership in the mid 1920s and practiced on his own for a couple of years before forming the partnership Tole & Massey. In the mid 1930s he again practiced on his own, later setting up the firm Horace L. Massey & Partners. In the late 1940s he became a senior partner in the firm Massey, Beatson, Rix-Trott & Carter. Massey retired in the late 1950s and died in 1978 at the age of 83. Massey was a prolific architect. One of his former partners estimated that he designed one in every five architect-designed houses in Auckland during the 1920s. During this decade he was responsible for a wide variety of designs including: Hawkes Bay Fallen Soldiers Memorial Hospital (1925); rebuilding the Lyric Theatre, Auckland (1926); Whangarei Nurses' Home (1927); Holy Cross Convent, Epsom (1928); and Heards Factory, Parnell (1929). The next two decades his work included: St Michael's Church, Remuera (1933); Cintra Flats, Symonds Street (1935); Whangarei Public Library (with Morgan, 1936), A.L. Caughey home, Remuera (1937); Provincial Centennial Memorial, Petone (1940) and Auckland Crematorium (1943). Massey received both national and international acclaim for his designs. In 1922 he was awarded the second prize (with Morgan and Armstrong) for the Bengal Legislative Council Chambers in Calcutta. In 1933 he was commended for his entry in the competition for the design of premises for the Royal Institute of Architects in London. He won New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) gold medals in 1933 for St Michael's Church, Remuera (with G.E. Tole); in 1937 for Cintra Flats, Auckland; in 1938 for the Whangarei Public Library (with A.P. Morgan); and in 1940 for the Wellington Provincial Centennial Memorial in Petone. The Petone design was also the winning entry in a competition for the design of the building. At the time Massey was the only architect to ever have won four NZIA gold medals. In 1950 he was awarded the NZIA bronze medal for the design of his own home. Massey was also well known for his landscape design work. In 1930 he prepared a plan for the reclamation of Hobson Bay but the design was never implemented. In the mid 1930s he designed a large floral carpet, which was exhibited in the Auckland Town Hall. In 1937 he prepared a garden design for G.H. Abel in Remuera complete with tennis court, putting green, formal garden and green house. In the 1940s he redesigned the garden of Mr N.B. Spencer, which won the 1947-48 Tudor Rose Bowl in the Remuera Round Garden Competition. In 1948 he replanned the garden of John Dreadon in Orakei Road. He also wrote several papers on garden design.