KPMB founders to open Design Colloquium with keynote address

March 16, 2026

On March 19, KPMB founding partners Marianne McKenna and Shirley Blumberg will present the 2026 Spring Design Colloquium’s keynote address in San Francisco. 

The two-day forum, hosted by Cameron MacAllister Group, has historically welcomed recipients of the AIA National Architecture Firm Award to deliver a presentation. The Colloquium now extends the invitation to architects who have received the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) Gold Medal, which McKenna and Blumberg were awarded in 2025.  

The theme of the 2026 Design Colloquium is “Navigating External Forces & Internal Evolution Together”. The forum will focus on strategies, tools, and actions designers can undertake to create meaningful impact in times of uncertainty and transformation, with discussion of projects, activism, and policy change.  

McKenna and Blumberg’s address will explore both their respective architectural practices and their partnership of nearly 40 years. Through their presentations, they will engage with topics like the evolution of design practices, the pressures that firms are currently facing, and the role of design in times of change. 

Melissa Higgs, principal at Vancouver-based HCMA, will deliver introductory remarks prior to the keynote.  

Founded in 2005, the Design Colloquium is a forum for leaders in architecture, engineering, and related disciplines to exchange ideas and experiences on relevant and timely topics.  

Learn more at the Design Colloquium.