Jean Marie Massaud 

Born in Toulouse in 1966. As a teenager, he became fascinated by science and design, and dreamed of becoming an inventor. Having completed school, he matriculated at the Ecole National Superiéure de Crèation Industrielle, where he was awarded a diploma in 1990. In that same year, he met Marc Barthier, with whom he was to initiate an important partnership and who would prove instrumental in changing Massaud’s creative approach: slowly but surely, Massaud started to focus on town planning and, in the process, discovered the close relationship between design and architecture – a discovery that would open up new horizons for his experimental research. Within a short time, Massaud’s creativity and enthusiasm led him to work in various industries, designing everything from submarines to perfume bottles.
After several years that saw him collaborate with numerous international brands, including Cacharel, Nike, Armani and Cappellini, Massaud’s desire to create his own brand reached fruition in the year 2000, when he launched the Jean Marie Massaud Studio together with architect Daniel Pouzet. The Studio has won numerous national and international prizes, and its works have been exhibited in a plethora of museums.

Manned Cloud hotel

flying hotel, 2007. Traveling at 80 miles per hour, Massaud’s 700-foot-long whale-in-the-sky accommodating 40 overnight guests plus a crew of 15.
Identified as a nonpolluting floating resort concept airship would house a short-term eco-hotel with 60 rooms.
A spiral by the Greek mathematician Archimedes inspired its shape
www.massaud.com

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Founded in 1968 by Charles Gwathmey and Robert Siegel, Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects is a New York-based firm offering master planning, architectural, interior and product design services.
Gwathmey Siegel has completed over four hundred projects for educational, healthcare, corporate, cultural, government and private clients throughout the United States and abroad.
The 65-person firm has an international reputation for architectural excellence, confirmed by more than 100 design awards, continuing recognition in the professional and general press, and inclusion in exhibitions and histories of contemporary architecture.
Gwathmey Siegel & Associates received the American Institute of Architects’ highest honor-the Firm Award-for “approaching every project with a fresh eye, a meticulous attention to detail, a keen appreciation for environmental and economic concerns and a strong belief in collaborative effort.”

The hilltop residence

Located on a wooded eighty-five acre site overlooking downtown Austin and the University of Texas. The program included an independent entertainment area and extensive on-site parking to accommodate large family gatherings and business functions. Although a separation between parents’ and children’s private spaces was considered desirable, the owners also wanted the children’s indoor and outdoor play spaces visually connected with the adults’ living areas.

www.gwathmey-siegel.com

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