American architectural firm
Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects (also known as Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners) are a husband-and-wife architectural firm founded in 1986, based in
New York . Williams and Tsien began working together in 1977.
[1] Their studio focuses on work for institutions including
museums , schools, and nonprofit organizations.
[2]
Tod Williams
Tod Williams (born 1943,
Detroit ,
Michigan ) received his undergraduate, MFA, and Master of Architecture degrees from
Princeton University ,
New Jersey after graduating from the
Cranbrook School in
Bloomfield Hills . He is the father of model
Rachel Williams and filmmaker
Tod "Kip" Williams , both by his first wife, dancer Patricia Agnes Jones, whom he met while studying at Princeton.
[3] Williams is a Fellow of the
American Academy in Rome
[4] and serves as a trustee of the
Cranbrook Educational Community .
[5] He has been inducted into the
American Academy of Arts and Letters ,
[6]
National Academy ,
American Philosophical Society (2017), and
American Academy of Arts and Sciences .
Billie Tsien
Billie Tsien (born 1949,
Ithaca , New York) received her undergraduate degree in Fine Arts from
Yale University and her M. Arch. from
UCLA . She has worked with Williams since 1977 and they have been in partnership since 1986.
[7] Tsien is currently President of the
Architectural League of New York
[8] and Director of the
Public Art Fund .
[9] She has been inducted into the
American Academy of Arts and Letters ,
National Academy , the
American Philosophical Society ,
[10] and
American Academy of Arts and Sciences . Tsien was one of the recipients of the Visionary Woman Awards presented by
Moore College of Art and Design in 2009.
[11]
Teaching
Williams and Tsien have taught at the
Cooper Union ,
Harvard University ,
Cornell University ,
University of Texas ,
City College of New York ,
Yale University , and
University of Chicago .
Recognition
Williams and Tsien are the recipients of more than two dozen awards from the
American Institute of Architects . They received a 2014 International Fellowship from the
Royal Institute of British Architects and the 2013 Firm of the Year Award from the
American Institute of Architects . In 2013, each was awarded a
National Medal of Arts from
President Obama .
[12] They have received the
American Academy of Arts and Letters ’ Brunner Award, the New York City AIA Medal of Honor, the
Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award, the
Thomas Jefferson Medal in Architecture , the
Municipal Art Society ’s Brendan Gill Prize, and the
Chrysler Award for Innovation in Design.
A selection of works
David Geffen Hall , New York, NY, (2024)
[13]
Obama Presidential Center , Chicago, IL (2021)
[14]
Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment,
Princeton University ,
Princeton , NJ (2015)
Tata Consultancy Services , Banyan Park,
Mumbai ,
India (2014)
LeFrak Center at Lakeside,
Prospect Park , NY (2013)
[15]
Savidge Library Addition,
The MacDowell Colony ,
Peterborough , NH (2013)
Asia Society Hong Kong Centre , Admiralty,
Hong Kong (2012)
Barnes Foundation ,
Philadelphia , PA (2012)
[16]
Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts ,
University of Chicago (2012)
Kim & Tritton Residence Halls,
Haverford College , Haverford, PA (2012)
Center for the Advancement of Public Action,
Bennington College , Bennington, VT (2011)
David Rubinstein Atrium at
Lincoln Center ,
New York , NY (2009)
C.V. Starr East Asian Library ,
University of California, Berkeley , CA (2008)
Skirkanich Hall for bioengineering,
University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia (2006)
[17]
[18]
Phoenix Art Museum ,
Phoenix , AZ (2006, 1996)
The Robin Hood Foundation Library Initiative, various locations,
New York , NY (2004-5)
First Congregational United Church of Christ,
Washington, DC (2001)
American Folk Art Museum , 45 and 47 West 53rd Street,
New York , NY (2001, demolished in 2014)
[19]
Mattin Center (a student arts and activities center),
Johns Hopkins University ,
Baltimore , MD (2001)
Cranbrook Natatorium,
Cranbrook Schools ,
Bloomfield Hills , MI (1999)
Helen S. Cheels Aquatic Center,
Emma Willard School ,
Troy, NY (1998)
Hunter Science Center,
Emma Willard School , Troy, NY (1996)
The Neurosciences Institute on the campus of
The Scripps Research Institute ,
San Diego , CA (1995)
Hereford College ,
University of Virginia ,
Charlottesville , VA (1992)
Whitney Museum of American Art Downtown Branch,
New York , NY (1988)
Feinberg Hall,
Princeton University ,
Princeton , NJ (1986)
Selected publications
Art and Use . School of Architecture and Planning, University of Buffalo, The State University of New York, 2007
[20]
Work/Life . Monacelli Press, 2000.
[21]
“The Physical Space of Science: The Neurosciences Institute and Skirkanich Hall.” Cell Cycle (Georgetown, Tex.) , vol. 9, no. 1, Taylor & Francis, 2010, pp. 28–31.
[22]
“Domestic Arrangements: A Lab Report. Tod Williams and Billie Tsien.” Design Quarterly (Minneapolis, Minn.) , no. 152, The MIT Press, 1991, pp. 21–28.
[23]
“Peas and Carrots.” Oz , vol. 18, no. 1, 1996.
[24]
“Talking Houses.” Oz , vol. 25, no. 1, 2003.
[25]
“Roxy Paine.” Bomb (New York, N.Y.) , no. 107, New Art Publications, 2009, pp. 38–45.
[26]
“Liberty.” Heresies , no. 11, Heresies Collective, Inc, 1981, p. 38.
[27]
References
^
"Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects" . Architect . 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2016-05-04 .
^ United, Brooklyn.
"Tod Williams & Billie Tsien - Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects" . twbta.com . Retrieved 2016-05-04 .
^ Keteyian, Armen (1989-03-06).
"Follow That Girl" .
New York . 22 (10): 40–43.
ISSN
0028-7369 . Retrieved 2018-12-18 .
^
"Board of Trustees | American Academy in Rome" . www.aarome.org . Retrieved 2016-05-04 .
^
"Board of Trustees 2015-2016" . Cranbrook . 2013-10-18. Retrieved 2016-05-04 .
^
"American Academy of Arts and Letters - Current Members" . www.artsandletters.org . Archived from
the original on 2016-06-24. Retrieved 2016-05-04 .
^
Executive Profile: Billie Tsien
Businessweek . Accessed on January 09, 2014.
^
"The Architectural League of New York | Board of Directors" . archleague.org . Retrieved 2016-05-04 .
^ www.tendercreative.com, TENDER -.
"Public Art Fund : Board & Staff" . www.publicartfund.org . Retrieved 2016-05-04 .
^
"APS Member History" . search.amphilsoc.org . Retrieved 2021-02-08 .
^
"Visionary Woman Awards History" . Retrieved 10 April 2017 .
^
"National Medal of Arts | NEA" . www.arts.gov . Retrieved 2016-05-04 .
^
"David Geffen Hall - Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects" . twbta.com . Retrieved 2021-03-30 .
^ Johnson, Sara (January 11, 2018).
"Obama Presidential Center" .
Architect Magazine .
Archived from the original on July 27, 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2023 .
^
"LeFrak Center at Lakeside Prospect Park" .
Architect Magazine . January 8, 2015.
Archived from the original on September 8, 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2023 .
^ Edward J. Sozanski (September 10, 2007).
"Barnes chooses its design team" . Philly.com . The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from
the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved 2007-09-13 .
^
"Skirkanich Hall" . Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects . Retrieved 10 May 2016 .
^ Saffron, Inga (10 September 2007).
"Barnes chooses its design team" . The Philadelphia Inquirer .
^ Pogrebin, Robin (2014-04-15).
"Architects Mourn Former Folk Art Museum Building" . The New York Times .
ISSN
0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-04-04 .
^ Williams, Tod (2007).
Art and use . Billie Tsien. Buffalo, NY: School of Architecture and Planning, University of Buffalo, The State University of New York.
ISBN
978-0-9771057-6-2 .
OCLC
180765817 .
^ Tsien, Billie; Williams, Tod (2000). Work/Life . Monacelli Press.
^ Williams, Tod; Tsien, Billie (2010-01-01).
"The Physical Space of Science: The Neurosciences Institute and Skirkanich Hall" . Cell Cycle . 9 (1): 28–31.
doi :
10.4161/cc.9.1.10524 .
ISSN
1538-4101 .
PMID
20037467 .
S2CID
34950074 .
^ Williams, Tod; Tsien, Billie (1991).
"Domestic Arrangements: A Lab Report. Tod Williams and Billie Tsien" . Design Quarterly (152): 21–28.
doi :
10.2307/4091253 .
ISSN
0011-9415 .
JSTOR
4091253 .
^ Williams, Tod; Tsien, Billie (1996-01-01).
"Peas and Carrots" . Oz . 18 (1).
doi :
10.4148/2378-5853.1278 .
ISSN
2378-5853 .
^ Williams, Tod; Tsien, Billie (2003-01-01).
"Talking Houses" . Oz . 25 (1).
doi :
10.4148/2378-5853.1401 .
ISSN
2378-5853 .
^ Tsien, Billie; Williams, Tod (2009). "Roxy Paine". Bomb . 107 . New Art Publications: 38–45.
^ Tsien, Billie (1981). "Liberty". Heresies . 11 . Heresies Collective, Inc: 38.
Sources
Tod Williams, "Ascension", in Archipelago: Essays on Architecture , edited by P. MacKeith, Helsinki, Rakennustieto, 2006
Billie Tsien, "The cuts through the heart", in Archipelago: Essays on Architecture .
Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, The 1998 Charles and Ray Eames Lecture , Michigan Architecture Papers, University of Michigan Press, 1999.
Douglas Heller, Tod Williams Billie Tsien and Associates: An Annotated Bibliography , Council of Planning Librarians, 1993.
Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, Work/Life , New York, Monacelli Press, 2000.
Kester Rattenbury, Robert Bevan, and Kieran Long, Architects Today , New York, Laurence King Publishing, 2006.
External links
Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects Homepage
“Meadow Lane Residence, Southampton, New York, USA : Tod Williams Billie Tsien.” 2019. GA Houses , no. 165 (July): 44–59.
Stephens, Suzanne. 2020. “Back in the Hood: Record Returns to Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects’ Redo of a Charles Moore Museum.” Architectural Record 208 (2): 62–65
Williams, Tod, Billie Tsien, and Josephine Minutillo. “Tod Williams and Billie Tsien: The Husband-and-Wife Team behind the New Barnes Foundation Building Discusses the Creative Process and Why Smart Architects Work in Pairs.” Architectural Digest 69, no. 6 (June 1, 2012): 62.
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