Join AIA Grand Rapids for an evening with Tod Williams and Billie Tsien. Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners are a husband-and-wife architectural firm founded in 1986. Paul Schulhof joined the studio in 1999 and became the firm’s third partner in 2013. Headquartered in New York, the studio focuses on work for institutions including schools, museums, not-for-profit organizations, and people who value issues of aspiration and meaning, timelessness and beauty.

Their buildings are carefully made from the inside out to be functional in ways that speak to both efficiency and the spirit. A sense of rootedness, light, texture, detail, and most of all, experience, are at the heart of what they design.

Over the past three decades they have received more than two dozen awards from the American Institute of Architects, as well as numerous national and international citations. Outside the studio, Tod and Billie are devoted participants in the cultural community and have long-standing associations with many arts organizations. They maintain active academic careers and lecture worldwide. As both educators and practitioners, they are deeply committed to making a better world through architecture.

Well-known for their masterful design of the iconic Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia and, most recently, chosen to design the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. Locally Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners was responsible for leading the Design Team for the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park expansion. The firm was selected as part of a rigorous international search that began with more than sixty firms. Guided by Tod and Billie, the design team will ensure that the new Meijer Gardens campus is an expression of the mission of Meijer Gardens in both form and function. Local partners Progressive AE and Owen-Ames-Kimball Co. have been heavily involved with the design and construction process.

In their own words…

“We are deeply honored to have been selected by Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park for this special project,” said Tod Williams. “From our very first visit, we were struck by the incredible quality of the sculpture collection and its sensitive installation throughout the grounds, as well as by their magnificent Japanese Garden. We saw that the place and the people here are unique.”

Williams and Tsien see architecture as “an act of profound optimism.” They have discovered a similar spirit in Meijer Garden’s unique marriage of beautiful art and inspiring green spaces.

— Tod Williams and Billie Tsien

Make plans to join us for an opportunity to hear from these recognized, national experts in the architectural profession.

Notable works: Logan Center for the Arts, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL; The Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, PA; LeFrak Center at Lakeside, Brooklyn, NY; Center for the Advancement of Public Action, Bennington College, Bennington, VT

When: Wednesday, September 22, 2021

Where: Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park

Schedule:

Guest Arrival / Registration | 6:15 - 6:30 PM
Catered Social Hour Reception | 6:30 - 7:00 PM - Balk Café
Keynote Speaker Presentation | 7:00 PM - Huizenga Grand Room
Optional Tour | 8:00 - 8:30 PM (FMG Interior Spaces)

Please be mindful of the following COVID Event Policies:

AIA Grand Rapids highly encourages everyone (including fully vaccinated individuals) to wear a mask while in attendance at the 2021 Keynote Lecture.

Please note that the CDC recommends universal indoor masking in public indoor settings to help prevent spread of COVID-19, especially the Delta variant, and to protect others.

Please adhere to the following:

No one with a fever or symptoms of COVID-19, or has recently been sick, is permitted to attend the Keynote Lecture Event.
We will be observing mask wearing and social distancing protocols mandated by the State at the time of the event.

Should federal, state, or local public health guidelines change, we will update you as soon as that information becomes available.

Thank you to our 2021 Keynote Lecture Sponsors:

Progressive AE: Premiere Event Sponsor

Owen Ames Kimball Co.: Beverage Sponsor

Ghafari Associates: Beverage Sponsor

An Evening with Tod Williams and Billie Tsien Keynote Lecture Event