Bill ChomikCreating Impactful Built Environments

Bill Chomik has practiced architecture for over four decades. Throughout his career, he has steadfastly focused on enhancing people’s lives through powerful design which blends, with equal weight, form and function. Bill has consistently striven to create impactful built environments that are at once beautiful and utilitarian.

His work, which includes the design of over 700 buildings, spans the globe. He is considered the world’s leading architect in the design of planetariums and observatories, and is currently working on projects in Finland, Helsinki, USA, France, Saudi Arabia and New Zealand. Bill’s Canadian accomplishments include the Calgary Courts Centre, National Music Centre, Calgary Humane Society, Alberta Children’s Hospital, Galt Museum, Taylor Family Digital Library, and Simon Fraser University Observatory and Science Park, to name a few.

Bill is committed to engagement in professional and community organizations having served as the president of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, chair of the Alberta Association of Architects (AAA) Banff Sessions, chair of the Calgary Urban Design Review Panel, chair of the Calgary Downtown Business Revitalization Zone, and chair of the Calgary Science Centre, to name only a few. He currently chairs the Calgary Subdivision and Development Appeal Board.

He has been the recipient of many prestigious awards throughout his career, including, among others, the AAA Tom Sutherland Award for Lifetime Achievement in Architecture, AAA Awards of Excellence, and a Governor Generals Medal for Architecture.

Bill is married to his wife of 45 years, Diane, and takes great pleasure in spending time with his children and grandchildren. An accomplished pianist, Bill also enjoys travelling, cooking, writing and golfing.

Media

Introducing our PACE: Impact Beyond Speed speakers...


PACE2025speakers

 

Announcing the full list of speakers for PACE: Impact Beyond Speed on October 25th! 

Individual speaker profiles will continue to appear over the next couple of weeks, but here's the overview of our speaker line-up.


Top Row, Left to Right

Chad Lefevre

Transformational Changemaker

Julien LePage

Registered Social Worker (BSW, MSW Leadership), trauma specialist, and lifelong drummer

Dr. Kerry Black, PhD, PEng

Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair (Integrated Knowledge, Engineering & Sustainable Communities), in the Center for Environmental Engineering Research and Education (CEERE) and the Department of Civil Engineering, at the University of Calgary

Kate Thompson, Architect, AAA, FRAIC

President & CEO of Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC)


Middle Row, Left to Right

Dr. Chelsea Matisz, PhD, MSc

Gut-Brain Scientist and Science Communicator

Wish Bakshi

Founder & AI Systems Engineer | Specialist in Commodities Trading & Operations (OT) | Power, Nat Gas, Data Centers, LNG, SCADA

Shone Thistle

Calgary Poet Laureate, 2024-26, author, poet and multidisciplinary artist

George Damian

Philanthopist and Tech Investor


Bottom Row, Left to Right

Gayathri Shukla, PEng., MBA

Storyteller and founder of Campfire Kinship

Dr. Laleh Behjat, PhD, PEng (b. 328/423 ppm*)

Professor in Electrical and Software Engineering at the University of Calgary and the NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering – Prairies

Dr. Linah Kattan, PhD. P. Eng.

Professor in the Schulich School of Engineering, the Urban Alliance Professor in Transportation System Optimization, and program director of CREATE-Integrated Infrastructure for Sustainable Cities

The Honourable Leela Aheer

Former Alberta MLA and Minister of Culture, Multiculturalism and Status of Women (2019 - 2021)

 


*A personal measure of what the Earth's CO2 levels were at birth, compared to now. All of us should know this!

 

 

PACE: Get tickets now!

Tickets are on sale! Join us on October 25th for a day of ideas and interactions at the pace of insight...

 

 

ticket 13

 

Check out our list of Past Events, complete with links to all the amazing talks we've recorded!

We're immensely proud of all our speakers, and encourage you to enjoy the talks.

The TEDxCalgary Team

 

Learn more about what to expect at a TEDxCalgary event!

Being at an event is a unique experience, quite different from simply watching a TED or TEDx talk online after the fact. Click to learn more about what to expect about attending one of our events in person, and why it's so worth the price of admission!