Named in honor of former League president Ulrich Franzen, the newly - established Franzen Lecture on Architecture and the Environment is an annual presentation by an architect, designer, or other cultural figure whose work has significant implications for architecture and environmental responsibility.

Pritzker Prize - winning architect Renzo Piano has been selected to give the inaugural presentation of the Franzen Lecture. The work of the Renzo Piano Building Workshop exemplifies an approach to architecture in which sensitivity to the natural world is fully integrated into the firm's design process and in which each project is an opportunity to realize innovative solutions for environmental responsibility. Current and recent projects include the new headquarters of The New York Times, and the additions to the Morgan Library and the Whitney Museum of American Art, all in New York; the addition to the High Museum, Atlanta; and the Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, Switzerland.