| Lawrence Sass | |
| Birth Name: | Lawrence Sass |
| Birth Date: | 1964 3, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Harlem, New York, USA |
| Alma Mater: | Pratt Institute,BA MIT, SMArchS & PhD |
| Occupation: | Professor |
| Known For: | Digitally Fabricated House for New Orleans (2008) |
Lawrence (Larry) Sass is an architectural designer, researcher, and educator of architecture. He is a Professor of Architecture and Director of the Computation Group in the Department of Architecture at MIT. Sass leads the Design Fabrication Group where his research is focused on digital design and fabrication processes of housing.
In a 2011 article for the MIT magazine Spectrum, Sass recalled being introduced to architecture through reading books while visiting his uncle in Harlem, NYC.[1] His interest in architecture continued, and he received a B.Arch from Pratt Institute in 1990. He then completed his post-professional SMArchS degree (in 1994) and earned a Ph.D. (in 2000) from MIT.[2] His dissertation[3] was completed under William J. Mitchell, and did computational reconstructions of Andrea Palladio's designs for two unbuilt villas.[4]
In 2008, Sass's project "Digitally Fabricated House for New Orleans"[5] was included in a MoMA exhibit titled "Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling."[6] [7] The project proposed a world in which digital fabrication would allow people to order house parts online that would be delivered and assembled on site. Sass imagined this project as a way to broaden access to design and architecture, stating "Most technology is designed for the top 10 percent of the Western world... I want to develop methods for the other 90 percent to participate in the design process so that buildings will reflect their interests... To me, this story is about empowering people to build their own neighborhoods. I want people to design and participate in the production of their own homes, so they can have what they want." The design's use of plywood received some criticism[8] and the topography of the site demanded last-minute interventions.[9]
Sass further developed this project and completed the "Digital Fabrication of Affordable Housing for Somerville, MA" in 2018. This project consisted of a 1/16th scale model made of laser cut 3D printed interlocking components and was conceived as a prototype for computer aided affordable construction.[10]
Sass is married to American psychologist Theresa Sass, PhD, who is in private practice in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They have three children and currently serve as Head of MacGregor House at MIT.[11]