Women have been involved in architecture in the United States since the earliest days of the profession. But they have faced persistent barriers to participation, and their past work was too often overlooked or intentionally downplayed. Today, as their accomplishments are gradually gaining recognition, and their numbers continue to climb, Chicago is home to a number of remarkable women in the field. Here are resources about just a few Chicago-based, female architects throughout the city’s history.
From CAC, “4 women architects in Chicago history you should know”
An article from AIA Architect magazine about the development of the Women’s Pavilion at the Columbian Exposition: “Women and Women Architects in the 1890s”
https://info.aia.org/aiarchitect/thisweek06/0224/a150_tw022406.htm
An article by historian Julia Bachrach, “Early 20th Century Women Architects in Chicago”
https://www.jbachrach.com/blog/2019/9/27/early-20th-century-women-architects-in-chicago
A collection of images of projects designed by women compiled by Chicago Women In Architecture
http://archive.cwarch.org/projects/
In addition, here are some short articles featuring women in current practice:
An article at ShareArchitect.com, about Carol Ross Barney, discussing her ideas about design, a few of her projects, and her recognition over decades of work: “Excellent design is a right, not a privilege”
https://share-architects.com/excellent-design-is-a-right-not-a-privilege/
A DeZeen interview with Jeanne Gang about pay equity in the profession and at Studio Gang.
https://www.dezeen.com/2019/03/08/jeanne-gang-interview-gender-pay-gap-respect-women-architecture/
An article by Block Club Chicago about TnS Studio, a Black woman-led architecture firm, and the plans to open a home base in South Shore: “Black Woman-Led Architecture Firm Opening South Shore Studio”
And finally, for developing the next generation of talent, here’s a WGN story about CAC’s Girls Build” program for high school girls, designed to interest them in architecture and engineering.
https://wgntv.com/news/girls-build-program-inspires-next-wave-of-chicago-female-architects/
We will follow up with another post in a few weeks with resources about women in the profession outside of Chicago. When the next comprehensive listing of resources is shared, it will include more than a dozen architecture firms headed by women or with female principals. Please note that, with Open House Chicago starting on October 16, we will take a two-week break from posting these online resources. Stay tuned for the next article on October 30.
The 2015 CAC tour, Churches By Bus, featured St. Paul Lutheran Church in Park Ridge, designed by their member, Elisabeth Martini. When the Great depression came along in 1930 the church was unable to complete their final payments to Ms. Martini. Instead, she agreed to receiving a monthly annuity that would pay for the rest of her life. She lived well into her 90’s and collected quite a lot more than she had been owed in the first place!