Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects + Partners

Billie Tsien is a founding partner of the New York-based practice Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects + Partners. Their practice is committed to reflecting the values of non-profit, cultural and academic institutions toward an architecture of enduring vision. A sense of rootedness, light, texture, detail, and most of all, experience, are at the heart of what they design. Their dedication to this work has garnered numerous awards and citations including the National Medal of Arts from President Obama, the 2013 AIA Architecture Firm Award, and the 2019 Praemium Imperiale presented by the Japan Art Association. Notable projects include The Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, the Asia Society Hong Kong Center in Hong Kong, and the LeFrak Center in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Currently in construction are The U.S. Embassy in Mexico City and the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park, Chicago.

In parallel to her practice, Billie teaches at Yale University, and is a devoted participant in the broader cultural community. She currently serves as the first Woman and Asian-American Chair of the Commission of Fine Arts, appointed by President Biden in 2021. As an educator and practitioner, she is steadfast in her mission to create a better world through architecture. 

In her lecture today, Billie Tsien will speak to how buildings represent a belief system, which is exemplified by the way they contain and nurture the events and people inside. Through projects such as the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall in New York City and the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Billie will illustrate how architecture has the ability to open those institutions that have traditionally felt closed, to create an architecture for all.