Interview With Bill Leddy of LMSA, 2017 AIA Firm of the Year

The Modern Architect radio show and podcast recently welcomed Bill Leddy, Architect and Principal at Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects (LMSA), who was awarded the 2017 National AIA Architecture Firm Award.

In this episode, Leddy discusses how his award-winning firm, who has completed such works as Firehouse No. 1 and Merritt Crossing, stays ahead of the curve by remaining curious and inventive, while also keeping objectives of sustainability at the core of each project.

Listen to the full podcast here.

"It's about taking the power of design and helping populations who don't normally get design to improve the quality of their lives."

The idea of serving people is instrumental to Leddy's professional and personal philosophy. During the interview, Leddy discusses one of his proudest projects, the Ed Roberts Campus, that was designed specifically to allow disabled individuals a higher quality of living. Through extensive surveys and market research, his team was able to create an infrastructure equipped to accommodate their user's diverse needs. For Leddy, his passion is delivering designs that are not just aesthetically pleasing but created with utmost functionality in mind.

LMSA heavily focuses on mission-driven design and is able to do so with an effective staff of 25 people galvanized by the idea of enhancing the lives of others. The firm's work ranges from housing for the homeless to university buildings.

2017 AIA National Firm of the Year

The AIA National Firm of the Year Award is the highest honor the American Institute of Architects bestows on an architecture firm, recognizing a practice that has consistently produced distinguished architecture for at least a decade, demonstrating a depth and breadth of work that has had a cumulative effect on the profession of architecture. LMSA is the third San Francisco based firm and 54th firm overall to have received this award.

"It's kind of like making a really good stew. The sum of the parts transcends the whole."

Leddy compares the process of architectural design to that of making a stew. Finding independent ingredients and being able to arrange them into one cohesive story is essential for good design. For him, understanding each nuanced facet that makes up a building and steadfastly following guiding principles culminates into a structure that is both beautiful and livable.

Listen to the full podcast here.

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