view all images ( of 4 shown)

Male, US, born 1935-04-01, died 1997-06-26

Associated with the firms network

MLTW/Moore-Turnbull, Architects; MLTW/Turnbull Associates, Architects; Moore Lyndon Turnbull Whitaker (MLTW) Architects; Moore and Turnbull, Architects; Turnbull Griffin Haesloop, Architects; Turnbull, William, and Associates, Architects


Professional History

Résumé

Intern, Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill (SOM), San Francisco, CA, 1960-1962. According to University of California, Berkeley, archivists Betsy Frederick-Rothwell and Laura Tatum: "One of his achievements at SOM was as a designer of the Big Sur Coast Master Plan, which has been written into law and protects nearly 100 miles of pristine California coastline from development." (See Online Archive of California.org, "Inventory of the William Turnbull, Jr./MLTW Collection, 1959-1997," processed 12/2004, accessed 11/09/2021.)

Partner, Moore Lyndon Turnbull Walker (MLTW), San Francisco, CA, 1962-1965. Turnbull met Charles W. Moore (1925-1993) while the two studied as graduate students at Princeton University in the late 1950s.

Partner, MLTW/Turnbull Associates, San Francisco, CA, 1966-1970. In 1970, MLTW/Turnbull Associates had its office at Pier 1 1/2, The Embarcadero, San Francisco, 94111.

After Turnbull's death, the firm became known as "Turnbull Griffin Haesloop, Architects."

Teaching

Instructor, University of California, Berkeley (UCB), Berkeley, CA, c. 1970.

Professional Activities

Member, American Institute of Architects (AIA), Northern California Chapter, 1965- .

Registered Architect in the States of CA and WA (1970). When surveyed in 1970, Turnbull indicated that he also had been NCARB certified.

Juror, AIA Southwest, Awards, date unknown.

Juror, AIA SW Washington Chapter, Honor Awards, 1968.

Juror, AIA (National), Honor Awards, 1969.

Juror, US Army Corps of Engineers, Design and Environmental Awards, 1973 and 1979.

Juror, Progressive Architecture Magazone, Design Awards, 1974-1976.

Juror, AIA Washington Chapter, Honor Awards, 1975.

Juror, AIA Dallas Chapter, Honor Awards 1976 and 1979.

Juror, Plywood Design Awards, 1976-1977.

Juror, AIA (National), Honor Awards, 1977.

Juror, AIA Illinois Chapter, Honor Awards ,1977 .

Juror, ASC/AIA Competition, 1977-1979.

Juror, AIA Iowa Chapter, Design Awards, 1978.

Juror, AIA Nebraska Chapter, Honor Awards, 1978.

Juror, AIA Southern California Chapter, Honor Awards, 1978.

Juror, Provincetown Theater, Provincetown, MA, 1978. The Board of Directors of the Provincetown Playhouse, Provincetown, MA, selected seven New England architectural firms to compete to design a new theatre. Among the jurors were Turnbull, architect Stanley Tigerman (born 09/20/1930) of Chicago and the Editor-in-Chief of the Architectural Recordfrom 1967-1985, Walter Frederick Wagner, Jr., (1927-1985) of New York and Weston, CT.

Juror, ASC/AIA, McDonald's Competition, 1978.

Juror, AIA Portland Chapter, Design Awards, 1978.

Juror, Red Cedar Shingle and Handsplit Shake Bureau, Awards, 1979.

Turnbull attended a reception for 12 "Home of the Month" participants and owners, hosted by the AIA Seattle Chapter, 02/16/1984.

Professional Awards

Fellow, American Institute of Architects (FAIA), 1976.

Rome Fellow, American Academy in Rome, Rome, Italy, 1980.

Recipient, AIA California Council (AIACC), Firm of the Year Award, 1986.

Recipient, AIA (National), Firm of the Year Award, 1995.

Archives

Turnbull's papers have been preserved at the University of California, Berkeley, Environmental Design Archives, in the William Turnbull, Jr./MLTW Collection, 1959-1997. (See Online Archive of California.org, "Inventory of the William Turnbull, Jr./MLTW Collection, 1959-1997," accessed 11/09/2021)

Education

College

A.B., Architecture, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 1956. Turnbull played soccer at Princeton, and was a sport manager and involved in dramatics.

Dipl., École des Beaux-Arts, Fontainebleau, France. Summer 1956.

M.F.A., Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 1959.

College Awards

Recipient, American Instittute of Architects (AIA) Student Medal, 1960. His Master's thesis on the redevelopment of Ellis Island won the AIA Student Medal in 1960. The architect Louis I. Kahn (1901-1974) supervised Turnbull's Princeton thesis.

Personal

Relocation

Born in New York, NY, Turnbull spent his childhood living on a farm in Far Hills, NJ.

In 1970, he resided at 26 Darrell Place, San Francisco, CA.

He passed away in Sausalito, CA, at the age of 62.

Parents

His father and great-grandfather, George Browne Post (1837-1913), both worked as architects. Post was one of the more successful architects of his time, working primarily in New York, NY. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) awarded Post its highest award, the AIA Gold Medal, in 1911.

In 1947, William Turnbull, Sr., (born c. 1912) worked as a manufacturer.

His mother was Elizabeth Howe (born c. 1912), who managed their household.

Spouse

William Turnbull, Jr., married twice.

In 1967, he wed Wendy Woods.

He remarried to architect Mary Griffin in 1985.

Biographical Notes

In 1947, a 12-year-old William Turnbull flew with his parents and brother from Bermuda to New York, NY, aboard Pan American Airlines on 03/29/1947.(See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1947; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Microfilm Roll: Roll 7313; Line: 3; Page Number: 144, accessed 12/06/2018.)

Two years later, William accompanied his parents to Liverpool, England aboard the Cunard liner H.M.S. Brittanic from New York. They arrived in Liverpool on 06/24/1949. Their London destination was Windsor House on Victoria Street. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives of the UK; Kew, Surrey, England; Board of Trade: Commercial and Statistical Department and successors: Inwards Passenger Lists.; Class: BT26; Piece: 1246, accessed 12/06/2018.)

During the 1980s, Turnbull and a partner started a vineyard in Sonoma, CA. The University of California, Berkeley, College of Environmental Design Archives archivists, Betsy Frederick-Rothwell and Laura Tatum, said of this part of Turnbull's life: "In the early 1970s, Turnbull and his friend (and lawyer, and client) Reverdy Johnson went into business together growing grapes in an esteemed region of the Napa Valley. When, one year, the winery to which they usually supplied their grapes declined to purchase them, Turnbull and Johnson invested in winemaking equipment and began (with the expert assistance of oenologist Kristin Belair) to produce their own award-winning Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay throughout the 1970s and 1980s under the name Johnson Turnbull Vineyards. Turnbull designed all of the facilities for the winery, as well as for their neighbors, fellow winemakers Jack and Dolores Cakebread. Johnson and Turnbull remained active in the Napa Valley winemaking community until the vineyards were sold in the mid-1980s." (See Online Archive of California.org, "Inventory of the William Turnbull, Jr./MLTW Collection, 1959-1997," processed 12/2004, accessed 11/09/2021.)

SSN: 571-54-1722.


PCAD id: 141


"1968 A.I.A. Honor Awards", American Institute of Architects Journal, 49: 06/1968. "The Sea Ranch (Book Review)", Architectural Review (London), 215: 1285, 95, 03/2004. Woodbridge, Sally, "Arcadia Revisited", Bay Area Houses, 314-317, 1988. "USA Sea Ranch", Domus, 3, 5/1967. Kalman, Harold, Exploring Vancouver 2, 240, 1978. Bovill, Carl, "Sea Ranch and Nantucket", Fractal Geometry in Architecture and Design, 180-183, 1996. Gebhard, David, Winter, Robert, Guide to Architecture in San Francisco and Northern California, 387, 1985. Filler, Martin, "Vernacular virtuoso", House Beautiful, 139: 10, 114-116, 1997-10. "Talbert House", House and Garden, 96, 1966-01. "House of our time, latticed with light", House and Garden, 136: 4, 118-123, 1969-10. Gebhard, David, Winter, Robert, "Psychoanalytic Building, Westwood", Los Angeles An Architectural Guide, 113, 1994. Iovine, Julie V., "Open House", New York Times, Section 6: Page 40; Column 2, 7/30/1995. "William L. Turnbull Jr., Architect, 62, Dies", New York Times, Section D: Page 13; Column 4, 6/30/1997. Moore, Charles W., Allen, Gerald, Place of Houses, 160-163, 1974. Turnbull, William, "The Sites We Build On", Places, 11: 38-43, Winter 1998. Temko, Allan, "William Turnbull, Jr.", San Francisco Chronicle, 1997-06-30. Ketchum, Diana, "Master Builder", San Francisco Examiner, 1997-07-06. Lyndon, Donlyn, Sea Ranch: An Early Story of Ecology and Design, 2004-07-12. Shepherd, Roger, Structures of Our Time, 61-65, 80-83, 2002. Brown, G. Z., DeKay, Mark, "Rooms & Courtyards: Layers", Sun, Wind & Light, 144, 2001. Gregory, Daniel, William Turnbull, Jr.: A Regional Perspective, 1992. Lyndon, Donlyn, Schwarzer, Mitchell, William Turnbull, Jr.: Buildings in the Landscape, 2000.