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Tom Wiscombe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tom Wiscombe
Born (1970-04-04) April 4, 1970 (age 56)
La Jolla, California, United States
CitizenshipAmerican
OccupationArchitect
Years active1993 to present
Known forSpeculative Realism and contemporary architecture
Notable workKinmen Passenger Service Center; The Main Museum of Los Angeles Art
Websitetomwiscombe.com

Tom Wiscombe (born April 4, 1970) is an American architect based in Los Angeles, California. His work has been influenced by contemporary ecological theory.[1][2][3]

Qiddiya Performing Arts Centre (2024)

Career

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Wiscombe began his career as an intern at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, where his father served as a chief scientist. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in architecture from the University of California, Berkeley in 1992 and a Master of Architecture degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1999.

Between 1993 and 1998, Wiscombe worked at the Viennese architecture firm Coop Himmelb(l)au as chief design architect under design principal Wolf Prix. During this period, he contributed to the design and construction of the UFA Cinema Center in Dresden.[4] After returning to the firm as chief designer and project partner, he led several international projects, including BMW Welt in Munich,[5] the Musée des Confluences in Lyon,[6] and the Akron Art Museum in Ohio.[7]

During this time, Wiscombe received the MoMA P.S.1 Young Architects Program Award, which resulted in the construction of a crystalline canopy in the P.S.1 courtyard.[8]

Render of Qiddiya Performing Arts Centre at night (2024)

In 2006, Wiscombe established the architectural firm Tom Wiscombe Architecture (TWA) in Los Angeles.[9] In 2014, he won second prize in the international competition for the Kinmen Passenger Service Center in Taiwan.[10][11]

That same year, planning and design began on the Main Museum of Los Angeles Art with Tom Gilmore.[12]

Partnering with Orange Barrel Media and MOCA, Wiscombe won the West Hollywood Sunset Spectacular billboard competition in 2016.[13] The project functions as both a contemporary bell tower and a public space and combines site specific art with interactive and commercial content.

In 2018, Wiscombe, together with EYRC Architects, designed the megaproject known as Blockchains City for Blockchains, LLC on a 67,000 acres (270 km2) property in Sparks, Nevada.[14][15]

Kinmen Passenger Service Terminal, 2014
West Hollywood Sunset Spectacular, 2016 to present

In 2019, construction was completed on Wiscombe's Dark Chalet on Summit Powder Mountain. The project was reported to be 362 percent energy positive and uses residential solar technology.[16] The project received the 2020 AIA LA NextLA Honor Award in the Single Family Residential category.[17]

In 2021, TWA began developing The Flat Out Large, also known as Earth Protector, which addresses housing and ecological challenges in Los Angeles through a proposed urban form based on megalithic slabs, large scale indoor outdoor spaces, district scale shade, and inner city solar fields.[18]

In 2022, Wiscombe resigned from his teaching position at the Southern California Institute of Architecture following allegations of labor exploitation and a subsequent investigation.[19]

Wiscombe won the international competition for the Qiddiya Performing Arts Centre in 2023. The project is located on the cliffs of Qiddiya City near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.[20]

Recognition

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ICON magazine listed Wiscombe among architects noted for their influence on contemporary architectural practice in its May 2009 issue. His work is held in the permanent collections of the FRAC Centre Orleans, the Art Institute of Chicago, the SF MoMA, and the MoMA New York. Wiscombe received AIA Design Awards for the Kinmen Passenger Service Center in 2014, the Main Museum in 2015, and the Sunset Spectacular in 2017. The Qiddiya Performing Arts Centre received a Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award for culture and entertainment.[9]

Teaching

[edit]

Wiscombe taught at the University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, and the Southern California Institute of Architecture. At SCI Arc, he served as undergraduate program chair.

References

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  1. ↑ Wiscombe, Tom (February 16, 2012). "Beyond assemblies: system convergence and multi-materiality". Bioinspiration & Biomimetics. 7 (1) – via IOP Science.
  2. ↑ Gannon, Todd; Harman, Graham; Ruy, David; Wiscombe, Tom (2015). "The Object Turn: A Conversation". Log (33): 73 to 94. ISSN 1547-4690.
  3. ↑ Wiscombe, Tom (2010). "Extreme Integration". Architectural Design. 80 (2): 78 to 87. doi:10.1002/ad.1047. ISSN 1554-2769.
  4. ↑ "UFA Cinema Center by Coop Himmelb(l)au". Arcspace. October 22, 2001. Archived from the original on September 18, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  5. ↑ "BMW Welt / Coop Himmelb(l)au". ArchDaily. July 22, 2009. Archived from the original on August 23, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  6. ↑ Giovannini, Joseph (December 19, 2014). "Confluence Museum Opens in Lyon, France". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 20, 2014. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Akron Art Museum by Coop Himmelb(l)au". Architecture News Plus. Archived from the original on September 14, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Young Architects Program 2003: Light-Wing by EMERGENT Architecture". The Museum of Modern Art. Archived from the original on July 10, 2025. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
  9. 1 2 "Tom Wiscombe Architecture". Retrieved August 19, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Results of Taiwan's Kinmen Passenger Service Terminal competition". Bustler. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Kinmen Passenger Service Center". Archello. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
  12. ↑ "New Main Museum in downtown Los Angeles reveals Beta plans and focus on art in L.A." Los Angeles Times. June 30, 2016. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
  13. ↑ "There's a New Billboard in Town, and You Can Walk in". August 18, 2022. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
  14. ↑ "In Nevada, a Utopian Vision Gets a Blockchain Twist". Archived from the original on August 26, 2024. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
  15. ↑ Gibson, Eleanor (November 6, 2018). "Blockchain millionaire plans smart city in Nevada desert". Retrieved August 19, 2025.
  16. ↑ Kamping-Carder, Leigh (September 19, 2019). "In Utah, These Entrepreneurs Are Creating Their Own Version of Eden". Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Design Award Winners for 2020 Announced by AIA LA". Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Flat Out Large". Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  19. ↑ Dreith, Ben (April 7, 2022). "Tom Wiscombe and Marrikka Trotter apologise for high pressure office culture after being suspended by SCI Arc". Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  20. ↑ Hammond, Andrew (June 27, 2024). "Futuristic architect lands arts centre in Saudi's Qiddiya". Retrieved August 19, 2025.
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