Roger Williams FAIA

 AIA Seattle President 1987-88

A native of Bakersfield, California, Roger Williams FAIA had an early vocation for architecture.  He earned the BArch in 1968 at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and beginning a tradition of activism, joined in the creation of a Community Design Center and attended the AIA Convention as President of the nation's largest AIAS chapter.  After an Army tour as an architect with the Corps of Engineers that included design of facilities in Okinawa, Roger and his young family moved to Seattle to allow him to pursue a career in teaching, via graduate studies at the University of Washington (MArch 1978). 

Beginning before graduation, Roger established his pattern of combining teaching and practice.  Following internship and licensure, he established Roger Williams Architects as a unique "learning place" for students, emerging professionals, and clients.  His early residential and commercial work attracted public and professional attention, as did his unusual practice.  The ongoing connection with architectural learning, innovation, and research includes Roger's regular guest lecturing at the UW College of Architecture and Urban Planning and at WSU, and service on the Professional Advisory Council of WSU's School of Architecture and Construction Management.

AIA activism also drew his energy.  He became involved with Architects in the Schools, then saw the potential in the newly-organized Intern Development Program (IDP, in 2016 renamed Architectural Experience Program/AXP) –- and he became the champion of young professionals at AIA Seattle.  Elected to the Board of Directors in 1983, he made IDP not only a viable program but also a springboard to professionalism for many emerging practitioners.  This led to a four-year leadership role as an AIA member of the national IDP Coordinating Committee.

As AIA Seattle President 1987-88, he energized a range of activities that helped earn Seattle architects a place in the national scene –- including the growing Seattle Architectural Foundation and the nation's first-ever client-focused street-front Resource Center for Architecture -- expressions of a commitment to innovation, public outreach, and interdisciplinary dialog.

Roger's interest in Japanese culture burgeoned and became the driving force in his leadership of international practice initiatives beginning in the late 1980s. Through trade missions and lecture tours undertaken as a representative for various US and Japanese government and trade organizations, Roger expanded his portfolio as an international emissary for American design and for sustainable building technology and products.  His special credibility and perspective as an architect paved the way for technology transfer that increasingly characterizes the global design and construction market.

Returning benefit to his fellow professionals, Roger brought his ever-widening international perspective to local, regional, and national colleagues, as planner and convenor of "Design for Pacific Cultures," the AIA Northwest & Pacific Region 1994 Conference with elements in Seattle and Fukuoka, well-attended by architects from both the US and Japan.  This effort engendered relationships with Japanese architectural colleagues that made Roger an effective part of the AIA mission to Kobe in 1995 following the Great Hanshin Earthquake.  He went on to join and to chair AIA's International Practice group, writing the chapter on international practice for the Architect's Handbook for Professional Practice 13th Edition; and continuing to lecture extensively at home and abroad.

In 1985, Roger Williams Architects merged with Mithun Partners, and Roger played a key role as the firm became one of Seattle's and the nation's most dynamic firms.  In 2004, he reestablished independent practice as Roger Williams Architecture + Design + Photography, continuing his role in education both at WSU and in international assignments.