Billie Tsien/Tod Williams to receive PennDesign's Kanter Tritsch Medal for energy efficiency in architecture

Billie Tsien and Tod Williams have been selected to receive the University of Pennsylvania School of Design's inaugural Kanter Tritsch Medal in Energy and Architectural Innovation for their commitment to efficiency, building performance, and resilience in architecture. PennDesign Dean Frederick Steiner praised the decision by saying: "We want to elevate beauty and efficiency in their highest form."

The new award program also includes the annual Kanter Tritsch Prize, a $50,000 fellowship, which went to second-year graduate architecture student Alexandra Mae Adamski.

PennDesign MArch’85 alumna, designer Lori Kanter Tritsch, initiated the Medal and Prize with a $1.25 million gift to the school and also served on the selection committee along with Dean Steiner, architecture chair Winka Dubbeldam, KPF chairman Eugene Kohn, and WEISS/MANFREDI co-founder Marion Weiss. "Making the world a better place is personal for Tod and Billie," she said. "You can see it in their work."

The honors will be officially presented to Tsien, Williams, and Adamski on October 15.