Jonathan Massey

Jonathan Massey is Dean and Professor of Architecture at the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. As a historian and architect, he specializes in modern architecture and its educational frameworks.

• Education: BA and PhD in architecture from Princeton University; MA in architecture from UCLA.

Massey’s research explores how architecture mediates power through civil society formation, social regulation, and consumption. His publications focus on topics like ornamentation, sustainable design, institutional architecture, and urban inequality. Recent works include analyses of the Venice Biennale’s themes and Detroit’s housing disparities.

His edited volume Marcel Breuer: Building Global Institutions examines Bauhaus and Brutalist design’s role in shaping 20th-century institutions. Earlier works like Crystal and Arabesque and Governing by Design address architectural history, media engagement, and socio-political design governance.

Massey co-founded the Aggregate Architectural History Collaborative, which redefines architectural education. He has held leadership roles at Syracuse University and California College of the Arts, and his work appears in journals such as Architectural Record and The Architect’s Newspaper.