Billie Tsien was born in Ithaca, New York in 1949. She received her undergraduate degree in Fine Arts from Yale in 1971 and her Masters in Architecture from UCLA in 1977.
She has worked with partner Tod Williams since 1977 and has been in business with him since 1986.
Their built work, bordering on minimalism, pays careful attention to context, detail and the subtleties of a subdued but rich materiality.
The Neurosciences Institute in La Jolla, California incorporates laboratories, a theoretical studies building and a chamber music auditorium. On the Cranbrook School campus in Michigan, The Natatorium houses a competitive swimming pool under two thirty foot open-air oculi. The Museum of American Folk Art in New York City is clad in shimmering flat-cast white bronze panels, the result of a rigorous material investigation. These projects have been awarded National AIA Awards and the Arup World Architecture award for Best Building in 2002, respectively.
Billie Tsien maintains an active teaching career parallel to her practice. Most recently, she held, along with Tod Williams, the Bishop Visiting Professorship of Architectural Design at Yale University.
Billie Tsien, AIA
