Bio

Marc Simmons is the Thomas W. Ventulett III Distinguished Chair in Architectural Design. A leading advocate for innovative and critical practice, Simmons has produced seminal works in contemporary architecture including most recently:

• the China Central Television Headquarters with OMA;
• the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center with Renzo Piano Building Workshop;
• the Dee and Charles Wyly Theater with REX;
• the Yas Hotel with Asymptote; and
• the Glass Pavilion at the Toledo Museum of Art with Sejima Nishizawa Associates.

His firm, Front, is known widely for its successful execution of original and ground-breaking work, and for its progressive approach to design integration among building disciplines.  Front’s work methodology embraces architectural, engineering and cultural challenges with a first-principles approach for the evolution of creative and buildable designs.

Prior to establishing Front in 2002, Simmons worked for the international façade engineering practices Dewhurst Macfarlane & Partners and for Meinhardt Façade Technology. Originally trained in architecture, Simmons graduated from the University of Waterloo School of Architecture, Canada, and worked for Foster and Partners. He served as faculty member at Princeton University School of Architecture from 2005 to 2012, conducting graduate seminars on the subject of façade technology and practice, and teaching collaborative design studios.  He has also lectured widely on the work of Front.