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Architects have been shaping the way we live for decades. From Wright to Gehry, the way we interact with the world around us has been shaped by these designers, their stylistic choices and their cultural, associations. However, we usually only hear about the men. Despite the fact that women like Zaha Hadid—arguably the most famous woman architect in the world—have been making headlines for their talent and determination, we don’t readily think of women as being masters in this man’s game. Here we look at 10 American female architects who are shaping architecture, urban planning, and the way we live. Take a look and find inspiration in these amazing women.
Karen Bausman
Karen Bausman was educated at The Cooper Union and currently holds the Eliot Noyes Chair at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and the Eero Saarinen Chair at Yale School of Architecture—she is the only American woman to hold both design chairs. Bausman is most notably known for her work regarding sustainable natural structures and their implementation in architecture. Her applied theory can be seen in many of her projects, including her work on the Warner Bros. Performance Theater in Los Angeles. Bausman has won awards for her work including the Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome and The Copper Union citation for Outstanding Contribution to the Field of Architecture.
Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk
Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk is both an architect and urban planner. She was born in Pennsylvania and received her BFA from Princeton and Masters in Architecture from Yale. Plater-Zyberk now resides in Miami, where she co-founded the firm Arquitectonica with her husband Andrés Duany, Bernardo Fort-Brescia, Laurinda Hope Spear, and Hervin Romney. The firm’s work became famous for its dramatic, expressive, and high-tech modernism. However, in 1980, Plater-Zyberk and Duany broke off to form their own studio, Duany Plater Zyberk & Company, focusing on New Urbanism and retrofitting existing suburbs into livable downtowns. Plater-Zyberk has taught at the University of Miami School of Architecture since 1979 and has been serving as dean of the school since 1995.
Sharon Sutton
Sharon Sutton, who grew up in Cincinnati and graduated from Columbia University with a Masters in Architecture, was the first African-American woman to become a professor in an accredited Architectural degree program. Her eclectic background of music, psychology, and architecture positioned Sutton as a socially conscious and thoughtful architect, focusing mostly on community-based research and design, particularly in low-income and minority youth/disenfranchised populations. She has been a fellow in the AIA (second African-American woman to be elected), and has received awards from ACSA, AIA, and the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame.
Denise Scott Brown
One of the most influential architects of the 20th century, Denise Scott Brown (along with her husband Robert Venturi) has revolutionized what architecture can be. Through her theory and practice, Scott Brown has pushed the concept of architecture. Her concept of the “duck and decorated shed” (opposing viewpoints on architecture) is still prevalent in architectural criticism and theory today. Scott Brown strives to understand cities from social, economic, and cultural perspectives, allowing her work and teachings to better integrate with the lives of the inhabitants. Scott Brown has won many awards for her work, including the Edmund N. Bacon Prize from the Philadelphia Center for Architecture, the Design Mind Award from Cooper-Hewitt, the National Medal of Arts, and the United States Presidential Award.
Jeanne Gang
Jeanne Gang leads Studio Gang Architects in Chicago and New York and is one of the “Children of Rem,” a group of successful architects who previously worked at OMA/Rem Koolhaas. Gang’s work focuses on renewal and innovation, even publishing a book on renewing Chicago’s waterways in 2011. In 2010, her first skyscraper, Aqua, was completed. The building is the third-tallest building in the world to have a woman as lead architect. Gang has taught architecture at Illinois Institute of Technology since 1998 and has served as visiting professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. She has also held the Louis I. Kahn Visiting Professorship of Architectural Design at the Yale School of Architecture.
Maya Lin
Maya Lin is a Chinese-American architect from Ohio. In 1981, while still in school at Yale, Lin won a public design competition to design the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (beating over 1,400 other applicants). Her work has been praised for its innovative and unique styling—a piece that is much more conceptual than other war memorials. To date, it is one of the most celebrated architectural pieces in America’s history. After completion of the Vietnam Memorial, Lin designed the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Ala. and the Wave Field at the University of Michigan, among other notable works.
Toshiko Mori
Born in Japan, Toshiko Mori has been innovating American architecture since she received her degree in architecture from The Cooper Union in 1976. Mori is most well-known for her public and cultural work that deals with the concerns of material innovation and conceptual clarity. Mori also serves as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Future of Cities, leading research on sustainable architecture and urban services. She is also on the board of directors for Architecture of Humanity, a non-profit dedicated to design innovations in communities. Her projects include A.R.T. New York Theater, the canopy at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Pembroke Hall at Brown University, and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Mori has won numerous AIA and American Architecture Awards, in addition to Copper Union’s inaugural John Hejduk Award.
Carol Ross Barney
Carol Ross Barney came to notoriety when she became the first woman to design a federal building, the replacement for the bombed Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Ross Barney’s projects have been described as “noble” for their important cultural and social ties. Because of this, Ross Barney has been able to develop an acute understanding of the unique needs of public clients, allowing her to deliver work that is both thoughtful as well as innovative. Currently, Ross Barney is teaching at the Illinois Institute of Technology and serves on the College of Architecture Board of Overseers. She has won 10 AIA awards for her work since 1991.
Rocio Romero
Rocio Romero is a Chilean-American architect in St. Louis. Her work is most notable for its consideration of space, cost, and sustainability. Her most iconic work is the LV series of prefabricated homes (in addition to home accessories and furniture), which has been praised by both Paul Goldberger of The New York Times and architectural critic Karrie Jacobs. Her work has been featured in a number of publications and museum exhibitions, including the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.
Michelle Kaufmann
In 2007, Michelle Kaufmann was named the "Henry Ford of green homes" by Sierra Magazine. This grand statement was not given without merit; Kaufmann, a California-based architect, is well known for her dedication to sustainable design. Since 2002, Kaufmann has focused on creating single-family and multi-family green homes utilizing prefabricated technology. Her firm, Michelle Kaufmann Studio, offers a variety of prefabricated homes that are environmentally conscious, functional, and aesthetically pleasing. Kaufmann has received awards from Residential Architect magazine, Social Venture Network, and the National Association of Home Builders, among others.