Michael G. Turnbull

Who is Michael G. Turnbull?

Michael G. Turnbull, FAIA is a Canadian-born American architect who has spent much of his career in the public sector as a custodian of major public buildings, notably the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC as the Assistant to the Architect of the Capitol and as the Director of Design and Construction at the Art Institute of Chicago. In recognition of his achievements in architecture and his dedication in maintaining these national treasures, the American Institute of Architects elected him to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects in 2005.

He was born in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. His father, Gordon McKinnon Turnbull, was a soldier and World War II veteran of The Royal Canadian Regiment, frequently stationed in Great Britain as part of Canada's contribution to the Imperial Forces of the British Empire defending the political and cultural center of the Empire, the United Kingdom, during the Battle of Britain. Michael's mother, Catherine Agnes Turnbull, was an Irish immigrant who had moved to Manchester, England following the Irish War of Independence and became a war bride during World War II, moving to Canada with her Canadian husband following his discharge. In 1960, on the same night of the U.S. presidential election, 1960 that saw the election of John F. Kennedy, Michael moved with his family as a child to Chicago, Illinois and would become a U.S. citizen seven years later.