Marianne McKenna
- January 5, 2024
- Architect
Quick Facts
Marianne McKenna Biography
| Name | Marianne McKenna |
| Birthday | Sep 25 |
| Birth Year | 1950 |
| Place Of Birth | Montreal |
| Birth Country | Canada |
| Birth Sign | Virgo |
Marianne McKenna is one of the most popular and richest Architect who was born on September 25, 1950 in Montreal, Canada. McKenna was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1950. McKenna graduated in The Study, a Canadian private all-girls’ school located situated in Westmount, Quebec in 1968 and was honored in 2008 by The Study in 2008 with the Judy Elder Alumna Award. For the students at The Study, she explained her decision to pursue a career in architectural studies as follows: “I originally saw the profession as a balance between creative and business skills. I found out quite early that it is much more than that. It is a creative profession but requires the leadership skills of innovator, arbitrator, negotiator, communicator, along with strong design talent and business acumen. The pleasure of architecture is in the range of challenges that only increase from day to day.”
In 1987, when Barton Myers relocated his office to Los Angeles in 1987, McKenna created Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB architects) along with Bruce Kuwabara, Thomas Payne and Shirley Blumberg. Early in the practice, the Editorial Director of Progressive Architecture, Thomas R. Fisher, wrote: “…KPMB is particularly noteworthy because it has developed a more open, hybrid form of architecture and has taken the much more unusual step of structuring its practice along the same lines. The partnership, for example, is a mix of people of different genders, religious beliefs, ethnic backgrounds and political inclinations…theirs, in other words, is neither the autonomous individualism of the ‘star’ design firm nor the rather anonymous specialization of corporate-type firms, but a more diverse and less structured hybridization of those older models.”
With her partners, McKenna developed an approach where each of the four partners is either in charge of their respective projects or collaborates strategically to combine strengths in leadership and design on large-scale, complex initiatives, leading teams through all phases from design concept to delivery. Simultaneous to the project work, the partnership shares responsibility for directing the strategy and management of all four core areas of practice: business development, design, finance, marketing and administration. In 2012, the name of the partnership changed to KPMB Architects. KPMB Architects is today recognized as a leading Canadian practice.
McKenna also developed and implemented the professional practice course at the University of Toronto’s John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design. In the fall of 2016, she was the Lord Norman R. Foster Visiting Professor at Yale University and she currently serves on the Advisory Board for The McEwen School of Architecture at Laurentian University. In June 2017, Marianne received her Honorary Doctorate of Laws (honoris causa) degree from Laurentian University.
Following her graduation at Yale, McKenna worked for Bobrow & Fieldman, Architects in Montreal from 1976 to 1978 as well as Denys, Lasdun, Redhouse & Softely in London between 1978 and 1979. In 1980, she was a member of Barton Myers Associates (BMA) in Toronto and was promoted to associate in the year following. In BMA she got to know the future partners of her choice, as well as friends with Myers: Bruce Kuwabara, Thomas Payne and Shirley Blumberg. Some notable projects she worked on during this time are those of the Hasbro Inc. New York showrooms as well as 35 East Wacker Drive in Chicago.
Marianne McKenna Net Worth
| Net Worth | $5 Million |
| Source Of Income | Architect |
| House | Living in own house. |
Marianne McKenna is one of the richest Architect from Canada. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Marianne McKenna 's net worth $5 Million. (Last Update: December 11, 2023)
Marianne McKenna (OC, FRAIC, OAA, OAQ, AIA, RIBA) (born on September 25, 1950) is an Canadian architect, and the founder associate in KPMB Architects, a Toronto-based firm founded in 1987. She is an investiture Officer of The Order of Canada “for her contributions as an architect, designing structures that enrich the public realm”. Her current projects include the restoration and extension of The Royal Conservatory TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning and Koerner Hall. McKenna along with KPMB were chosen to be selected by The Brearley School, an independent all-girls ‘ school on the outskirts of New York City, to manage the restoration of its school’s building in the Upper East Side. The current projects she is working on include the Banff Center for Art as well as Creativity located in Banff, Alberta and an expansion and renovation of the historic Massey Hall in Toronto In 2010, she was named one of Canada’s most powerful women. 100 Highly Influential Women. Likewise, in 2014, she was named as one of Toronto’s Top 50 Most Powerful People according to MacLean’s Magazine.
McKenna is a graduate from Swarthmore College (B.A. 1972) and holds an M.Arch. in Architecture from Yale University (M.A., 1976) in which she worked under the architects Harry Cobb of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and Charles Moore. While at Yale University, she also made life-long friendships with aspiring actor Meryl Streep. Streep gave her insights into Marianne’s work as an architect during the documentaries “Making Space: 5 Women Changing the Face of Architecture”.
McKenna is responsible for the transformation and expansion of The Royal Conservatory into a cultural destination. Her work began with the 1990 Master Plan, continued for over a decade with phased and various projects including Ettore Mazzoleni Concert Hall and culminated in 2009 with the TELUS Performance and Learning Centre and the Michael and Sonja Koerner Hall. The design achieved numerous awards, including the Governor General’s Medal in
- For her outstanding contribution and commitment, Marianne was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Conservatory in 2011.
Height, Weight & Body Measurements
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Who is Marianne McKenna Dating?
According to our records, Marianne McKenna is possibily single & has not been previously engaged. As of December 1, 2023, Marianne McKenna’s is not dating anyone.
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Facts & Trivia
Marianne Ranked on the list of most popular Architect. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in Canada. Marianne McKenna celebrates birthday on September 25 of every year.