Roy Lippincott at Massey: Architectural Beginnings
The Massey University Archives holds a number of items connected to American architect Roy Alstan Lippincott, who played a key role in designing the original Massey Agricultural College campus - now the university's Manawatū campus.
Lippincott graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University in 1909 and went on to work in Chicago with Hermann Von Holst, Marion Mahoney, and Walter Burley Griffin. Over the following decade, he was closely involved in the design and planning of Canberra, Australia’s new capital city.
In 1921, Lippincott relocated to New Zealand after he and Edward Billson won the competition to design buildings for Auckland University College. Sir George Fowlds, then Chair of the Auckland University College Council, became an admirer of Lippincott’s work. When Fowlds was appointed Chair of the Council of the newly established Massey Agricultural College in 1927, Lippincott was the natural choice as architect and designer.
Between 1927 and 1929, Lippincott designed the campus plan, the Science Building, Refectory, Dairy Factory, and cowman’s cottages for Massey Agricultural College. Some of his original designs can be viewed below.
