{{Short description|Perceived general shape and form of a building}} {{other uses}} {{Lead too short|date=April 2025}} [[File:Arts Tower Massing Cuboid.PNG|thumb|right|300px|The Arts Tower in Sheffield, Britain, has a tall, lightweight, cuboid massing.]]
In architecture and design, '''massing''' is the arrangement of elements to convey the shape, form and size of a structure or product.<ref name=jacoby52>{{cite book|last=Jacoby|first=Sam|title=Drawing Architecture and the Urban|location=Chichester, West Sussex|publisher=Wiley|date=2016|isbn=9781118879405|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zgh0CgAAQBAJ|page=52}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Born|first=George Walter|title=Preserving Paradise: The Architectural Heritage and History of the Florida Keys|location=Charleston, S.C.|publisher=History Press|date=2006|isbn=9781596291522|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ifw1LxfSSGwC|page=149}}</ref> The massing of a building influences the sense of space it encloses, and helps to define both the interior space and the exterior shape of the building.<ref name=jacoby52 />
==Characteristics== Massing is the three-dimensional form of an object or building, not just the outline or silhouette.<ref name=jacoby52 /><ref>{{cite book|last=Thompson|first=Arthur|title=Architectural Design Procedures|location=New York|publisher=Routledge|date=1999|isbn=9780415502849|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ttErBgAAQBAJ|page=108}}</ref><ref name=ClarkPrecedents/> The use of massing affects the perception of a structure, and can emphasize the importance of a particular component or articulate its usage, for example by identifying an entrance or conveying movement through a building.<ref name=ClarkPrecedents>{{cite book |last1=Clark |first1=Roger H. |last2=Pause |first2=Michael |date=2012 |title=Precedents in Architecture: Analytic Diagrams, Formative Ideas, and Partis |edition=4th |url=https://archive.org/details/precedentsinarch0000clar_f2x7 |location=Hoboken, New Jersey |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |pages=4–7 |isbn=978-0-470-94674-9 |access-date={{date|April 22 2026}}}}</ref> In product design, massing helps a user identify intuitively where the important parts are and how they are used.<ref name=ClayBeautiful>{{cite book |last=Clay |first=Robert Clay |date=2009 |title=Beautiful Thing: An Introduction to Design |publisher=Berg |location=Oxford |isbn=978-1-84788-264-6 |page=105 |url=https://archive.org/details/beautifulthingin0000clay |access-date={{date|April 23 2026}}}}</ref>
Massing can be ''additive'' or a ''subtractive''. Additive massing involves combining volumes or repeated units to create a larger form,<ref name=DietshDummies>{{cite book|last=Dietsch|first=Deborah K.|title=Architecture for Dummies|location=New York|publisher=Hungry Minds|date=2002|isbn=9780764553967|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h_SXC6RER-0C|pages=30–31}}</ref> emphasizing the individual pieces used to construct it.<ref name=ClarkPrecedents /> In contrast, subtractive or ''divisive'' massing<ref name=DietshDummies/> involves removing parts of a larger, recognizable whole.<ref name=ClarkPrecedents/> Architects use massing models to depict the volume of a design and its relationship with the external space. Unlike other types of models like solid/void models and development models, massing models do not typically include openings or interior spaces.<ref name=MillsModels>{{cite book |last=Mills |first=Criss B. |date=2011 |title=Designing with Models: A Studio Guide to Architectural Process Models |edition=3rd |url=https://archive.org/details/designingwithmod0000mill_d8s1 |location=Hoboken, New Jersey |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |page=7 |isbn=978-0-470-49885-9 |access-date={{date|April 22 2026}}}}</ref>
It is generally held that architectural design begins by considering massing.<ref>{{cite book|last=Leyton|first=Michael|title=A generative theory of shape|location=Berlin|publisher=Heidelberg Springer|date=2001|isbn=9783540454885|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-8hrCQAAQBAJ|page=366}}</ref> From a distance, massing, more than any architectural detail, is what creates the most impact on the eye.<ref>{{cite book|last=Charleson|first=Andrew|title=Structure As Architecture: A Source Book for Architects and Structural Engineers|location=New York|publisher=Routledge|date=2015|isbn=9780415644594|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ROkABAAAQBAJ|page=14}}</ref> Architectural details or ornaments may serve to reinforce or minimize massing.<ref>{{cite book|last=Glassie|first=Henry H.|title=Vernacular Architecture|location=Philadelphia, Pa.|publisher=Material Culture|date=2000|isbn=9780253213952|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6PgXZOVUVoIC|page=69}}</ref> Massing can also be significantly altered by the materials used for the building's exterior, as transparent, reflective, or layered materials are perceived differently.<ref name=jacoby52 /> Because it has a direct relation to the visual impact a building makes, massing is one of the most important architectural design considerations.<ref name=jacoby52 />
Massing can be impacted by laws, codes, and regulations such as setback requirements and limits on height.
Massing also has an effect on building energy efficiency. A complex shape can present more opportunities for heat loss through the building envelope. Reducing the number of exterior walls, along with a low vertical surface area to floor area ratio (VFAR) decreases heat loss potential. <ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.bchousing.org/publications/BC-Energy-Step-Code-Design-Guide-Supplement.pdf |title= BC Energy Step Code Design Guide |date= July 2019 |publisher= BC Housing |access-date= 23 August 2021| page = 15}}.</ref> Some architectural styles are closely associated with massing.<ref name=yatt145>{{cite book|last=Yatt|first=Barry D.|title=Cracking the Codes: An Architect's Guide to Building Regulations|location=New York|publisher=John Wiley|date=1998|isbn=9780471169673|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f67r-8rQZQUC|page=145}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Lanier|first1=Gabrielle M.|last2=Herman|first2=Bernard L.|title=Everyday Architecture of the Mid-Atlantic: Looking at Buildings and Landscapes|location=Baltimore|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|date=1997|isbn=9780801853241|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RwM9TO1bWIMC|page=121}}</ref> For example, the Prairie School is always low and horizontal, while the Gothic style emphasizes verticality, and Georgian architecture focuses on solidity and a sense of permanence.<ref name=yatt145 />
==References== {{reflist|2}}
Category:Architectural theory de:Kubatur