In Short

‍

Jennifer Dempsey of Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects will present a project she has been working on  for the last seven years - the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago Illinois. This talk will focus on the role of architects as translators through the lens of coordinating and realizing a single project. We interpret, narrate, paraphrase, and edit…continually. Architecture is not a straight line. It is as much dependent on origination as it is relation and adaptation. By getting into the details of this project, we will investigate the evolution of the creative process through multiple phases of construction and formation.  Some ideas remain unchanged over time, while some change form, gain strength, or fall to the wayside. 

‍

‍

Jennifer Dempsey is an architect at the New York-based practice Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects (TWBTA) located in New York City. Currently, she is one of the project team leaders for the 19-acre campus of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. The project is currently under construction and expected to celebrate its completion in 2026. She is also a project manager for the National Gallery Museum of Art in Washington DC, which is in pre-design phases. Her past experience at TWBTA includes working as a senior project architect for the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College. Before joining TWBTA, Jennifer was a project manager at GLUCK+, a New York City design-build firm.

‍

In parallel to her professional experience, Jennifer taught an advanced design studio at Cooper Union with Billie Tsien in the fall of 2024. She has lectured and participated in architectural juries at Yale, Pratt Institute, Cooper Union, City College of New York, and the Parson’s School of Design, among others.

‍

Jennifer received her Bachelor of Architecture from Pratt Institute, and received her Master of Architecture II from the Yale School of Architecture.

‍

She lives in Long Island City with her husband and 2 year-old daughter.

‍

‍

Q&A

If we opened your fridge, what would we find? I'm not totally sure; my husband is the cook!

‍

What class did you enjoy most in high school? All of them, I love school. But if I had to pick - history.

‍

How do you take your coffee? Iced all year, mostly milk, one shot of espresso and sweet.

‍

What was your first job? BIM manager when I was in high school, Revit 2004

‍

How many times have you been to Maine? Many! My sister in-law is from Norway, ME.

‍

Do you get a flu shot? Yes!

‍