Tod Williams and Billie Tsien: Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen

Person Place Thing is an interview show hosted by Randy Cohen based on the idea that people are particularly engaging when they speak, not directly about themselves, but about something they care about. 

Cohen’s guests talk about one person, one place, and one thing that is important to them. The result: surprising stories from great speakers. This installment of Person Place Thing will be a conversation with Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, Founders and Partners of Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners.

For more information and to hear past episodes, visit PersonPlaceThing.org.

Speakers:
Tod Williams, FAIA, Principal, Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners
Billie Tsien, AIA, Principal, Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners
Randy Cohen, Host, Person Place Thing

Tod Williams and Billie Tsien founded their eponymous New York architecture office in 1986. Their studio is committed to contributing and inspiring their surrounding communities, focusing on projects such as schools, museums, and not-for-profits. Notable projects include The Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia and the Asia Society Hong Kong Center. In 2016, they were selected as the architects for the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. Over the past three decades, their work has received numerous national and international citations, including the National Medal of the Arts from President Obama and the Firm of the Year Award from the American Institute of Architects. They are deeply committed to making a better world through architecture. 

Randy Cohen’s first professional work was writing humor pieces, essays, and stories for newspapers and magazines (The New Yorker, Harpers, The Atlantic, Young Love Comics). His first television work was writing for “Late Night With David Letterman,” for which he won three Emmy awards. His fourth Emmy was for his work on Michael Moore’s “TV Nation.” He received a fifth Emmy as a result of a clerical error, and he kept it. For twelve years he wrote “The Ethicist,” a weekly column for The New York Times Magazine. His most recent book, Be Good: How to Navigate the Ethics of Everything, was published by Chronicle.

This event is offered in person; proof of vaccination (for those 12 and over) with photo ID and masking are required in order to attend. Read our full Health and Safety Protocol here.*