Profile

Bates Masi + Architects LLC, a full-service architectural firm with offices in New York City and the East End of Long Island for 60 years, responds to each project with extensive research in related architectural fields, material, craft and the environment to create unique solutions as varied as the individuals or groups for whom they are designed. The focus is neither the size nor the type of project, but the opportunity to enrich lives and enhance the environment. The attention to all elements of design has been a constant in the firm’s philosophy, as instilled by the firm’s founder, Harry Bates. Harry was one of the leading midcentury modern architects. Organized tours of his works on Fire Island and in the Hamptons are an ongoing tribute to his legacy.

Bates Masi projects around the world include urban and suburban residences, offices, hotels, restaurants and furniture. The firm has received more than 260 design awards and has been featured in national and international publications including The New York Times, New York Magazine, Architectural Digest, Interior Design, Architectural Record, Wall Street Journal, and The Local Project. Design publications consistently recognize Bates Masi as a leading architecture practice. The firm is a longstanding member of the Interior Design Hall of Fame and recently received the 20th Anniversary Best of the Best Award. Bespoke Home, the first monograph of the firm’s work, with introduction by Paul Goldberger was published by ORO and is currently in its fourth print edition. Architecture of Place, the firm’s highly anticipated second monograph, is available in bookstores now.

LEADERSHIP

Paul Masi spent childhood summers in Montauk and currently resides in Amagansett. He received a Bachelor of Architecture from Catholic University, Research Study at The University College of London, Bartlett, UK and a Masters of Architecture from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. He worked at Richard Meier & Partners before joining Harry Bates and forming Bates Masi + Architects. He has guest lectured at universities, professional organizations and cultural institutions, as well as local elementary and high schools. He enjoys making custom furniture in his home wood shop.

Aaron Weil was raised in upstate New York and graduated from the University of Virginia with bachelors and masters degrees in Architecture. He was instilled with the principles of research driven and environmentally responsible design by The University of Virginia, a leader in Innovative Sustainable Design. He worked at William McDonough + Partners in Charlottesville, VA before joining Bates Masi + Architects over twenty years ago.

Aaron Zalneraitis, a native of Connecticut, studied architecture with a concentration in theory at Cornell University. He joined Bates Masi + Architects upon graduating. Then he continued residential work through townhouse and apartment commissions while at SPAN Architecture in the commercial and hospitality sectors. Aaron returned to Bates Masi + Architects over ten years ago. He is in constant pursuit of architecture and travels extensively to experience architectural works in person.

Katherine Dalene Weil, raised in the Hamptons by second-generation building craftsmen and early adopters of sustainability, learned about the craft of construction while employed at the family’s business. She attended the Rhode Island School of Design and still enjoys painting and making sterling silver jewelry. She joined Bates Masi + Architects twenty years ago. Kat enjoys mentoring local students interested in pursuing a career in architecture through shadowing experiences and career days at the schools.

INQUIRIES

We are always looking for talented designers to join our team. If interested, please send resume and portfolio to info@batesmasi.com.

Contact

132 North Main Street
2nd Floor
East Hampton, NY 11937

21 West 46th Street
Suite 1106
New York, NY 10036

T 631.725.0229

email
 
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Far Pond

Lot size: .43 acres

Building size: 3,100 sq. ft.

Location: Southampton, NY

Program: Single Family Residence

 

The waterfront site of an existing 1970’s kit house overlooks layers of wetlands to an estuary, the bay, and the ocean. The client set the parameters of keeping the existing structure while doubling the size of the house with an addition. The existing structure consists of glulam post and beam construction connected with steel plates. One solution could be to mimic the existing architectural language of the post and beam skeletal structure in the addition. Since the existing house clearly expressed the structural system, the addition should also express this. The architect chose to clearly identify the existing system of the house and create a dialogue with a contrasting panelized system in the addition. The new system utilizes prefabricated elements that resolve multiple structural and spatial problems. Examining the strategy of a kit of parts, current material fabrication technologies are utilized to expand on this idea. A different approach to sustainability is explored, minimizing waste by simplifying to the essential components in order to resolve multiple problems, thus eliminating typical construction waste. Using a standard as a precedent and developing a new structural system paired with the latest technologies, a material can accomplish multiple tasks and heighten the experience of inhabiting the space.

Prefabricated shear wall panels, used in light frame construction in areas that are hurricane prone with high force winds, were studied. Most are made from a light gauge metal folded to add strength and rigidity. For our case the panels were to be exposed and used for more than just a hidden structural component. A standard light gauge 4x8 steel sheet was folded back and forth along the long axis adding the same strength and rigidity to the panel. The resulting 2’ panel locks into adjacent panels and is a structural shear and bearing assembly, as well as a decorative furniture component.

The new structural panels multitask throughout the addition. The solid steel transitions to a perforated panel that baffles the sunlight over windows and doors. The light quality varies throughout the day as light levels transition through the overlapped perforations. Fins that protrude from the wall panels are laser cut to accept shelving, seating and countertops. The same perforated steel becomes the dining room chandelier, and the platform for the stair and desk. This one material is exhausted in its possible uses throughout the house, minimizing the necessity for additional components that require wasteful shipping and packaging. The secondary infill material is used through both structures, on the floors, walls and ceilings to unify the old and the new.

Using new technologies to fabricate customized panels from a standard product accomplishes several things: less material is necessary to achieve greater structural strength, multiple programs can be integrated into one material, waste is minimized resulting in a more effective approach to sustainability, and the dialogue between the existing and new structural systems elevates the experience of inhabiting the space.