Roy Mason was a lecturer, writer, and futuristic

Futurism

Futurism was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century.Futurism or futurist may refer to:* Afrofuturism, an African-American and African diaspora subculture* Cubo-Futurism* Ego-Futurism...

 architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

 who designed and built a variety of futuristic homes and other buildings in the 1970s

1970s

File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...

 and 1980s

1980s

File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...

 using low cost materials and alternative energy

Alternative energy

Alternative energy is an umbrella term that refers to any source of usable energy intended to replace fuel sources without the undesired consequences of the replaced fuels....

 sources. Always forward looking, in 1978 Mason created plans for a fifty home community of solar power

Solar power

Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available...

ed houses in Columbia, Maryland

Columbia, Maryland

Columbia is a planned community that consists of ten self-contained villages, located in Howard County, Maryland, United States. It began with the idea that a city could enhance its residents' quality of life. Creator and developer James W. Rouse saw the new community in terms of human values, not...

 that was to be called "Solar Village". Mason invented architronics which was exemplified in his Xanadu

Xanadu House

The Xanadu Houses were a series of experimental homes built to showcase examples of computers and automation in the home in the United States. The architectural project began in 1979, and during the early 1980s three houses were built in different parts of the US: one each in Kissimmee, Florida;...

 homes. Mason was a founding member of the World Future Society

World Future Society

The World Future Society is a nonprofit educational and scientific organization in Bethesda, Maryland, US, founded in 1966.The Society investigates how social, economic and technological developments are shaping the future...

, the publisher of Futurist Magazine. He also co-designed their first logo. 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

Education

Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

. He donated his time and talents to the Capital Children's Museum in Washington DC where he created several forward looking exhibits.

In 1996, at age 57, Roy Mason was murdered in Washington DC, where he had lived for most of his life. He was killed with a claw hammer

Claw hammer

A claw hammer is a tool primarily used for pounding nails into, or extracting nails from, some other object. Generally, a claw hammer is associated with woodworking but is not limited to use with wood products...

 by his lover

Career

Before entering his career of architecture and design, Mason received a master's degree

Master's degree

A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...

 from the Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

 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

Bob Masters

Bob Masters is a former professional American football player who played running back for six seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears...

.

Works

• Xanadu
  Xanadu House
  The Xanadu Houses were a series of experimental homes built to showcase examples of computers and automation in the home in the United States. The architectural project began in 1979, and during the early 1980s three houses were built in different parts of the US: one each in Kissimmee, Florida;...
  
   (1979 - 1983) visitor attraction franchises built from insulation.
• "Star Castle" in New Fairfield, CT
• Experimental school built from insulation in Virginia
  Virginia
  The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
  
  .
• The "Mushroom House" in Bethesda, MD outside Washington, D.C.
• Exhibits for the Capital Children's Museum

Concepts

• Several dome shelter designs for homes
• Solar Village

External links