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History
Geoffrey Massey was born 29 October 1924, in London, England, to Peggy Freemantle and Raymond Massey. After his parents divorced in 1929 he was raised by his father and his second wife Adrienne Allen. Massey served in the Canadian Army from 1942 to 1945 during WWII as a paratrooper. Following his military service Massey obtained a BA from Harvard College in 1949 and a Master in Architecture from Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1951. At Harvard Massey studied modern architecture and urban design under Bauhaus architect Walter Gropius, then head of the School of Design. After completing his studies, Massey settled in Vancouver in 1952 where he joined the firm Sharp & Thompson Berwick and Pratt. He was employed with Sharp & Thompson, Berwick and Pratt until 1956 working alongside Arthur Erickson and many other up and coming young architects. Massey and Erickson lived together as roommates and started working together during this period in the 1950s designing a number of residences for their acquaintances. From 1956 to 1959 Massey formed a partnership with Ted Watkins, another colleague from Sharp & Thompson Berwick and Pratt. From 1959 to 1963 Massey had his own practice. In 1963 Massey and Arthur Erickson joined forces in a formal partnership to submit a bid for the design of Simon Fraser University. Between 1963 and 1972 Erickson/Massey Architects were responsible for numerous major, award winning projects including Simon Fraser University, University of Lethbridge, the MacMillan Bloedel Building, Man and the Community Pavilion at Expo ’67, and the Canadian Pavilion at Expo ’70 in Japan. After his partnership with Erickson ended amicably in 1972, Massey started his own practice and soon thereafter entered a partnership with architect Procter LeMare to form the Coal Harbour Architectural Group. In 1978 the two principals added a third partner Wing Ting Leung and a year later moved their offices from Coal Harbour to Granville Island. During the following two decades Massey was responsible for a number of residential projects in Vancouver, Whistler, and Hernando Island.
In the mid-1960s Massey was a co-founder of the Garibaldi Whistler Development Company, which was instrumental in the development of Whistler Ski Resort and its bid for the 1968 Winter Olympics. Massey designed a number of cabins and residences for clients in Whistler over the years. He also served a term as a City Councillor with the City of Vancouver from 1972 to 1974. During his term, he was highly involved in the planning commission, advising the city in the development of Granville Island and False Creek. He was a member of the City of Vancouver Design Panel from 1973 to 1975 and the Vancouver City Planning Commission from 1975 to 1976.
Massey was a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. Erickson/Massey Architects were recipients of eight Massey Medals and were awarded the RAIC 2007 Prix du Xxe Siecle for Simon Fraser University. In 2016 Massey was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from Simon Fraser University.
Massey was married to Ruth Killam. They had four children Eliza, Raymond, Vincent, and Nathaniel. Geoffrey Massey died 1 December 2020.