USC Architecture: Lecture with Billie Tsien

WHAT: USC Architecture: Lecture with Billie Tsien

Billie Tsien is a founding partner of the New York-based Architecture studio 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 permanence and enduring vision.  A sense of rootedness, light, texture, detail, and most of all, experience, are at the heart of what they design. The firm has been especially recognized for their precedent-setting designs for visual and performing arts institutions.  Their work in this sector ranges from individual artist studios to iconic cultural facilities such as the American Folk Art Museum in New York, the Phoenix Art Museum, the Hood Museum of Art, Asia Society Hong Kong Center, and the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia.  Other notable public projects include the Lefrak Center at Lakeside in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, the renovation of David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, New York, and The Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park, Chicago.  Their dedication to this work has been recognized by numerous national and international citations including the National Medal of the Arts from President Obama, the 2013 Firm of the Year Award from the American Institute of Architects, and the 2019 Praemium Imperiale presented by the Japan Art Association.

In parallel to her practice, Billie teaches at Yale University as the Charles Gwathmey Professor in Practice and is a devoted participant in the broader cultural community.  She's been inducted to many esteemed institutions including American Academy in Rome, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, National Academy of Design, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society.

Over the course of her career, she has held leadership positions with several arts organizations. In the past, she has served on the Board of Directors for the Public Art Fund as president of the Architectural League of New York, and as president of the Academy of Arts and Letters. 

In 2021 Billie was appointed by President Biden to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, currently serving as the first Asian-American and woman to be chair.  She is steadfast in her mission to create a better world through architecture and support a broader and more diverse cultural landscape.

DATE: Friday, October 27, 2023

TIME: Noon PT

WHERE: GIN D. WONG AUDITORIUM - HARRIS 101, University of Southern California

MORE INFO:  https://arch.usc.edu/events/billie-tsien