Image by Brandon Shigeta
Mason Pritchett, 2007 Rotch Scholar
Mason Pritchett of Cambridge, Massachusetts has been named the 2007 Rotch Travelling Scholar. As winner, Pritchett received a stipend of $35,000 to spend eight months traveling throughout China and Brazil.
First runner-up was Robert Genova AIA, who works at Ann Beha Architects in Boston. Receiving an honorable mention was Ramsey Bakhoum, who works at Michael Dennis Associates in Boston.
This year’s finalists also included Gabriel Bergeron of Miller Boehm Architects in Boston, Andrew Consigli of Elkus/Manfredi Architects in Boston, and Michele Auer and Neil Stroup, both of Ann Beha Architects in Boston.
Sixty-three competitors participated in the preliminary competition to design a sustainable ferry terminal to serve the South Boston Seaport District.
Seven finalists were selected and then challenged to create a development proposal for Boston's Pier 4, paying particular attention to the construction system, materiality and details.
In his winning scheme, Pritchett presented a reinterpretation of the waterfront as a physically shifting and energy-efficient environment.
Mason Pritchett was raised in Livingston, Montana and earned his undergraduate degree in environmental design and his Masters in Architecture at Montana State University-Bozeman. At MSU he was awarded the Gutterson Scholarship, the AIAS Traveling Scholarship and two teaching assistant scholarships. He was also a member of the Tao Sigma Delta Honor Society and a finalist for the annual Thesis Award.
In Montana, Mason worked for Jonathan Foote Architects, Bitnar Architects and Medicine Hat Design (now Praxis), a design/build firm. Since 2004, he has lived in the Boston area and worked for Charles Rose Architects in Somerville. Projects at Charles Rose include the Port of Entry in Del Rio, Texas, the Student Union Center and Business School at the University of South Dakota, and numerous residences and design competitions.
Mason has taught undergraduate and graduate design studios at the Boston Architectural College and currently co-teaches the Design/Build Workshop. He has also been a guest critic at Suffolk University and the BAC.