Gala Dinner in New York City

Thierry Despont

Photo by Julie Skarratt

Thierry Despont elegantly embodies the spirit of Sir John Soane. With a passion for architectural history combined with a deep understanding of materials and furnishings, Mr. Despont produces masterful works across the classical-modernist spectrum.

Sir John Soane was a passionate collector who created inventive architectural settings for his assemblages. So too Mr. Despont works in the grand tradition of the Cabinets of Curiosities in which he explores his compelling personal collections and art projects.

Mr. Despont began his architectural career in the New York firm of Llewelyn Davies with Jacquelin Robertson, a past Soane Honoree. He opened his own firm a few years later, and among his first projects was a commission to work on the restoration of the Statue of Liberty in celebration of the American bicentennial, an honor he cherishes as a French native beginning his career in his adopted country.

Throughout the thirty-year history of his firm, Mr. Despont has received a multitude of important private and public commissions throughout the world. Among his public commissions in New York are the restoration of the Cartier Mansion, the Safra Synagogue on 63rd Street, the restoration and conversion of the Woolworth Building, the conversion of the Stanford White mansion on 44th Street, and the renovation of the Carlyle Hotel.

The Athenaeum of Philadelphia

Photo courtesy of Tom Crane

Founded in 1804, The Athenæum of Philadelphia houses one of the most significant collections of architectural drawings and books in the nation, beginning with the works of America’s earliest professional architects, such as Thomas Ustick Walter, William Strickland, and Robert Mills. The Athenæum and its drawing collection from that period intriguingly parallels the life and times of Sir John Soane.

With the introduction of the public library at the beginning of the twentieth century the role of athenaeums and other privately supported libraries was greatly diminished. But under vigorous new leadership in the latter part of the century, The Athenæum underwent a major revitalization program.  Building on the treasures of its early architectural collection, the Athenæum acquired the extensive works of Paul Cret and the archives of other notable architects of the twentieth century, 

Today, as a result of its major investment in preservation, expansion, and accessibility of resources, the Athenæum has become a vibrant twenty first century institution: an integral  part of the cultural fabric of Philadelphia and beyond; and a vital resource for the architectural profession at large as well as an informative pleasure for enthusiasts.