His main leitmotif in his work is that architecture be an act of "profound optimism" and a service that can reflect the values of public institutions that share this opinion. The couple and their projected buildings are characterized by integrating perfectly into their surroundings, they are a clear reflection of the hands that project them and give priority to the experience of the lives lived in them. According to the award statement "its resulting spaces imbue warmth, familiarity and serenity."
Over their thirty-year career, they are responsible for numerous projects both domestically and overseas, including countries such as Hong Kong and India. They quickly gained attention for their design for the Neurosciences Institute (1995) in California, referred to as a “monastery for scientists”. The Barnes Foundation (2012) in Philadelphia, skillfully reproduces the majestic atmosphere of its former location while offering new elements for the public to engage with its inimitable art collection.
In 2016 they were selected by former President Barack Obama to design The Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, scheduled for completion in 2022. Throughout their body of work, no matter the complexity, they retain the values of their practice and endeavor to leave good marks upon the Earth.
Williams and Tsien come from different cultural backgrounds and personalities; Williams is characteristically mid-western – honest and hardworking with boundless energy. Tsien, a Chinese-American born in Ithaca, NY describes herself as culturally American and temperamentally Chinese. She is frequently found nose-deep in a novel, broadening her understanding of the world. “If I bring the ripples and the weather, she brings the sun,” says Williams. These differences are balanced by a mutual respect, integrity and collaborative spirit reflected in their design approach. “We do get into arguments,” Williams laughs. “However, we like working with each other. If we worked individually, the quality of our output would drop by half.”
The list of previous Praemium Imperiale award winners in the Architecture category includes Ricardo Legorreta, Kenzo Tange, Tadao Ando, Zaha Hadid, Frank Gehry, Norman Foster, Alvaro Siza, David Chipperfield, Peter Zumthor, Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, and more recently, Christian de Portzamparc, Rafael Moneo, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, Dominique Perrault, and Steven Holl.
An awards ceremony will be held in Tokyo on October 16 where each laureate will be presented with a medal by Japanese Prince Hitachi along with a testimonial letter and a honorarium of 15 million Yen (€125,243).
