Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, founding partners at Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners (TWBTA), will present Concrete and Abstract at the Tilt-Up Concrete Association (TCA) International Convention in New Brunswick, N.J. on Oct. 1, 2015. The talk will precede a dedication and tour of their newly designed Hurricane Sandy Memorial Pavilion. The talk will feature the firm’s use of concrete and their thoughts on the architectural potential of tilt-up concrete construction.

“In our work we have always used concrete as a primary material because it is long lasting and because it can be transformed in so many ways – from the smoothness of terrazzo grinding to the revealing of aggregate that occurs with heavy sandblasting,” said Tsien.

In March 2015, TWBTA began working with a team of experts in tilt-up design and construction to explore the method’s architectural potential and application for the memorial. “While our primary experience has been with cast-in-place concrete and precast panels, through the design and construction of the Hurricane Sandy Memorial Pavilion, we have begun to explore the tilt-up process,” said Williams. “In the past few months we have learned that tilt-up offers efficiency and speed, as well as quality and control of construction.”

During this talk they will elaborate on this experience and their understating of a variety of approaches to working with concrete.

Complimentary registration and lunch for design professionals and students is sponsored by LJB Inc. Space is limited and attendees must RSVP to lbloomquist@tilt-up.org or by calling (319) 895-6911 by Sept. 25, 2015. RSVP not required for those with full convention registration.

Attendees will receive a free copy of Tiltwallism: A Treatise on the Architectural Potential of Tilt Wall Construction by architect Jeffrey Brown, courtesy of Arch-Con Corporation. Tiltwallism encourages architects to re-engage everyday architecture neglected by many professionals and stimulate an interest in tilt-up for designers. In addition to serving as an introductory resource to architects and an inspiration to contractors, developers and structural consultants familiar with the building system, the book presents a serious investigation into the absence of tilt-up in architectural theory and critical practice. A copy of the TCA’s The Architecture of Tilt-Up will also be distributed to attendees courtesy of T&T Construction. Attendees will also receive a free t-shirt designed by TWBTA featuring the Hurricane Sandy Memorial Pavilion. (All gifts, while supplies last)

Additional information can be found at www.tilt-up.org/convention.

About Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners

Tod Williams and Billie Tsien began working together in 1977 and nine years later established their partnership, Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, in a ground floor space on Central Park South where they still work today. The studio focuses on work for institutions – museums, schools and non-profits; organizations that value issues of aspiration and meaning, timelessness and beauty. Their buildings are carefully made and useful in ways that speak to both efficiency and the spirit. A sense of rootedness, light, texture, detail, and most of all, experience are at the heart of what they build.

Along with recurrent acknowledgment from the American Institute of Architects, the firm has garnered local, national, and international acclaim and press. Most recently, Williams and Tsien were awarded the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama, and the 2013 Firm Award from the AIA.

About the Tilt-Up Concrete Association

The Tilt-Up Concrete Association (TCA) is the international nonprofit trade association for the global tilt-up concrete construction industry and was founded in 1986 by a dedicated group of contractors, professionals, and manufacturers with the interest of improving the quality and acceptance of tilt-up construction, a building system whereby large concrete elements (walls) are cast on the building slab or elsewhere on site and then lifted (tilted) into position. The mission of the Tilt-Up Concrete Association is to expand and improve the use of tilt-up as the preferred building system by providing education and resources that enhance quality and performance. For more information, visit www.tilt-up.org or contact TCA at (319) 895-6911.