Marion mahony griffin biography of barack
Four Women Who Built Illinois
How You Can Help
Landmarks Illinois welcomes additional research on women not yet included in the Women Who Built Illinois database, as well as those listed but for whom more information is needed. The organization also welcomes photographs of women in these fields and their built works. Please send information to Lisa DiChiera, Landmarks Illinois' director of advocacy, at LDiChiera@
Along with DiChiera, the research and development of the database was led by Erica Ruggiero, principal at McGuire Igleski & Associates, Inc., and Landmarks Illinois intern Cray Kennedy. Additional research and peer review was provided by Julia Bachrach, a Chicago-based architectural historian, planner, and preservationist, and student volunteer Jared Saef, who also contributed research and photography.
This project is a part of the National Trust's commitment to share stories of women in preservation as part of the campaign for Where Women Made History.
Kaitlyn McAvoy is the communications manager at Landmarks Illinois.
5 women architects in Chicago history
by Hanan Shoubaki
The challenges and setbacks these women faced in their lives still affect female architects today. As recently as the s—decades after some of these women made their contributions to the field—it was reported that less than 1 percent of AIA (American Institute of Architects) Chicago members were women.
Today, the number of local licensed women architects is still small. It’s estimated that about 50 percent of architecture school students are female. However, many never embark on a full-time career in architecture due to a lack of pay equity, professional support and sensitivity to gender differences, among other reasons.
While there's more work to be done to increase the number of women in the field, we can look to the past for inspiration. Here are five women architects who paved the way for other females pursuing careers in design and architecture in Chicago.
1. ELISABETH A. MARTINI—CHICAGO’S FIRST WOMAN-RUN FIRM
Born in , Martini was the first sole woman owner of an architecture firm. She attended the Pratt Institute of Design in New York and moved to Chicago in When she began looking for work in the city, almost 90 firms rejected her due to her gender. She eventually took a job as a secretary in an architect’s office where she eventually worked her way into the drafting room. Martini applied for her architect’s license in One year later, she opened her own office at 64 W. Randolph, with a focus on residential projects. Feeling professionally isolated, Martini published a notice in a newspaper calling upon other female architects to reach out and come together. Thus, the Chicago Women’s Drafting Club was born. The club is considered the first organization in the city for women architects.
2. SOPHIA HAYDEN BENNETT—FIRST FEMALE ARCHITECTURE GRADUATE FROM MIT
Hayden Bennett grew up in Boston with her grandparents, but was born in Chile in She developed an interest in architecture in high school Name: Marion Mahony Griffin Date of Birth / Location: February 14, / Chicago, Illinois Date of Death / Location: August 10, / Chicago, Illinois Education: Bachelor of Science in Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Firms and Partnerships Firms she was involved with: Office of Dwight Heald Perkins, Chicago, –95; Office of Frank Lloyd Wright, Chicago, –98; Marion has been credited with executing a large percentage of the drawings within the Wasmuth Portfolio, which helped establish Wright's reputation in Europe. Oak Park Studio of Frank Lloyd Wright, Oak Park, Ill., –; Principal Designer, Office of Hermann Valentine von Holst, Chicago, –12; Office of Walter Burley Griffin, Chicago, –13; Office of Walter Burley Griffin, Melbourne, Australia, –25; Office of Walter Burley Griffin and Eric Nicholls, Sydney, Australia, –circa ; Office of Walter Burley Griffin, Lucknow, India, –37; Her practice moved to Sydney Aus. in Professional Organizations & Activities: Marion was the first woman registered to practice architecture in Illinois (she became a licensed architect in the State of Illinois in ) and the second woman to graduate from MIT with an architecture degree. Chicago Arts and Crafts Society, founding member; Chicago Architectural Club, member; Illinois Chapter of AIA, member. Awards & Honors: Winning design for the Australian Federal Capital at Canberra, Federal Design Competition, , with Walter Burley Griffin. Primary Field: Architect .Marion Mahony Griffin
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