James Williams: designing excellence.

• Author: Creager, Janine S.
• Position: Spotlight

To say that James Williams started out young in the architectural and construction business is an understatement. Before he had graduated from high school, he had already designed homes that were built near the Cascade Golf Course in Orem.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

As a child, Williams was interested in art and drawing and while he was in junior high, teachers told him that he ought to be an architect. He recalls his grade from a drafting assignment that was worth 100 points back then.

"I ended up getting 350 points," he says. "I outperformed everybody." That outperformance continues to this day.

Williams, of AE URBIA and J.M. Williams and Associates, received the prestigious Irving Gill Distinguished Architect Award for the year 2010. This award recognizes a TCA (Tilt-Up Concrete Association) member who is "committed to pursuing architectural design excellence and advancing the industry." Far from being the first award Williams has received, it is his most cherished award to date.

"This industry only recognizes one architect internationally each year," he explains. "And this year I was fortunate to receive this great honor. We strive to combine both form and function with materials and methodologies and find creative solutions to improving the quality of life."

It is rare to find someone in the industry who is both an architect and an engineer. But Williams is more than that; he is a civil engineer, a licensed professional engineer, a structural engineer, an architect, and a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) accredited professional. This means that Williams not only knows how to draw up architectural plans, he also knows that the structure can actually be built.

"I look at it more of holistic approach to design," he says. "I...