MODA “Please Be Seated” Exhibit
Equity in Architecture is so excited to be participating in MODA’s current “Please Be Seated” exhibit which will be on display from January 21st, 2024 through March 24th, 2024 (extended).
Our contribution to the exhibit is in exploration of Shirley Chisholm's iconic statement, "If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair."
Chairs were contributed by local artists, designers, and community groups and ask visitors to think about chairs as symbols of space, identity, and empowerment.
“A SEAT FOR FEMALE ARCHITECTS”
By: Ai-Lien Vuong, Namrata Dani, Heli Shah, Bridget Ellgass, Carissa Shrock
Architect Beverly Willis challenged the status quo by asking, “Can you name five female architects?” It was her way of shedding light on the overlooked contributions of women in a male-dominated field and highlighting gender disparities in architectural recognition and historical narratives. Inspired by Willis, who passed away last October, the volunteer-led Equity in Architecture (EQiA) designed a seat that acknowledges the contributions of 50 female architects whose work has positively impacted the industry from its early days to the present.
The design of the seat is thoughtful and symbolic. The top is adorned with measuring tape, a tool essential to the architect’s craft. The tape also represents the idea that progress—often made in inches—results from the perseverance of women, people of color, and marginalized groups who strive for representation in architecture. The legs are wrapped with lights, ribbons, and strings, representing the diverse contributions to architecture, from the renowned “Starchitect” to the unsung draftswoman. The seat is adorned with full-color photographs of contemporary female architects, while those no longer living are shown in black and white. The photos of those from Georgia are distinguished with a gold reflective backing.
Additionally, spaces are reserved for “Future Madame Architects,” a tribute to the next generation of female architects, and an invitation and inspiration for young women aspiring to leave their mark on the world of architecture.
Read more about the accomplished women we highlighted below:
Anne K. Smith
Women of Georgia
Anne Smith, FAIA is a native Savannahian whose professional career has spanned over 30 years. Anne’s work experience consists of both preservation and new construction for a wide variety of project types. She has served as past-chairman for Women in Architect and currently serves on the Georgia State Board of Architects and Interior Designers.
Carmen Stan
(1980-2022)
Women of Georgia
Carmen’s career started in earnest in October of 2005 with Robert M. Cain, Architect, shortly after arriving from Romania with a degree in Architecture and Urban Planning. She became a registered architect in the state of Georgia in 2012. Carmen’s drive and talent led her to numerous accolades and awards, as well as membership and eventual leadership in a number of committees in her local community in Atlanta. The passion Carmen held for sustainability in architecture and urban communities was a common thread throughout her professional career. Carmen was passionate about uplifting women in the profession and was a leader and founding member of Equity in Architecture. EQiA dedicates this chair exhibit in her memory, as she would have loved seeing such a celebration of female architects.
Denise Scott Brown
Denise Scott Brown is an architect, planner, writer, educator, and principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates in Philadelphia. Denise Scott Brown and her husband and partner, Robert Venturi, are regarded among the most influential architects of the twentieth century, both through their architecture and planning as well as theoretical writing and teaching. A recent campaign has been initiated for an “inclusion” ceremony to adjust the 1991 Pritzker Prize received by Robert Venturi in recognition of Scott Brown’s essential and equal role in their design partnership.
Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk
Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, FAIA is an architect and urban planner and dean of the University of Miami’s School of Architecture. She is a founding principal of Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company, Architects and Town Planners (DPZ). She is also a founder and emeritus board member of the Congress for New Urbanism and currently serves on the board of the Institute for Classical Architecture & Classical America. In her work at DPZ, she has been a principal in the creation of the Traditional Neighborhood Development ordinance, a prescription for pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use, compact urban growth which has been incorporated into zoning codes across the country.
Ethel Bailey Furman
(1893-1976)
Ethel Furman is considered the earliest known African-American female architect to practice architecture in Virginia. When Furman began her career as an architect, city administrators, and the architecture community, "refused to accept her as the architect of record" on any projects she designed. This discrimination forced Furman to ask male contractors to sign her proposed designs and submit them for approval. Throughout her long career, Furman designed an estimated two hundred residences and churches in central Virginia as well as two churches built in Liberia.
Jean League Newton
(1919-1991)
Women of Georgia
Jean League Newton was an accomplished architect and quiet community force in Macon, GA. She trained at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in the 1940s and brought elements of the Bauhaus style to her early residential work in central Georgia. She was also the daughter of architect Ellamae Ellis League, the first woman elected FAIA in Georgia.
Julia Morgan
(1872–1957)
Julia Morgan was a lifelong trailblazer. She was the first woman admitted to study architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1898 and the first licensed to practice architecture in California. Over the first half of the 20th century, she left an indelible mark on the American West. In 2014, the American Institute of Architects' posthumously awarded her its Gold Medal; she was the first female recipient.
Kazuyo Sejima
Kazuyo Sejima is a Japanese architect and director of her own firm, Kazuyo Sejima & Associates. In 1995, she co-founded the firm SANAA. In 2010, Sejima was the second woman to ever receive the Pritzker Prize, which was awarded jointly with Nishizawa. Also in 2010, Sejima was appointed director of architecture sector for the Venice Biennale, which she curated for the 12th Annual International Architecture Exhibition. She was the first woman ever selected for this position
Leah Crist Bush
Women of Georgia
Leah Crist Bush attended the University of Georgia, graduating in 1933 with her Bachelor of science in landscape agriculture - making her the first woman in the South to do so. UGA had only established that degree in 1928 and was the only one in the South. Crist was the only girl in her class of 15 and the newspaper wrote she “Mastered engineering, forestry, art, chemistry, physics, architecture, botany, horticulture and liberal arts in preparation for her degree in landscaping, which seems rather an ambitious program for a mere slip of a girl who is essentially feminine.”
Lois Lilley Howe
(1864–1964)
Lois Lilley Howe, FAIA was the founding member of Howe, Manning and Almy, Boston’s first all-female architecture partnership, and only the second such practice in the United States. In 1931, she was elected as a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects.
Marion Mahony Griffin
(1871-1961)
Marion was a founding member of the Prairie School and worked as an architect in the United States, Australia and India. She graduated from MIT in 1894. She passed the inaugural licensing exam for architects held in Illinois, in 1898. She was already a known architect, with several commissions to her name, when she joined Frank Lloyd Wright’s practice, as his first official employee. Many of the illustrations of Wright’s designs that were included in his Wasmuth Portfolio were Marion’s work. Working with Wright she developed a Japanese inspired style of illustrating commissions that became her signature.
Merrill Elam
Women of Georgia
Merrill Elam is an architect and educator based in Atlanta, Georgia. She is the co-founder and principal of the Atlanta-based studio Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects where their work spans between buildings, interiors, planning, graphics and exhibition design, and research. She has been a visiting professor at Harvard University, Yale University, University of Toronto, University of Virginia, Ohio State University, Syracuse University, and University of Texas at Austin. The firm received the prestigious Rothschild Award from the AIA-Georgia in 2022.
Nora Grainger Webb
(1859-1939)
Women of Georgia
Nora Grainger Webb ran Webb Construction Company, where she was an architect, contractor and builder of numerous apartment homes throughout the 1920s. She was 63 years old when she developed the Earle and the Walter Apartments in 1922, along North Highland Avenue.
Sophia Tarkhan
Women of Georgia
Sophia Tarkhan, AIA, NOMA is a principal of the K–12 Education Studio at Cooper Carry in Atlanta, and currently the President of AIA-Georgia’s Board of Directors. A trailblazer advocating for diversity, she played a pivotal role in establishing Cooper Carry’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Council. Sophia graduated from the University of Florida and spearheaded initiatives as the 2017 President of NOMA’s Atlanta Chapter. Recognized for her leadership, she is part of the inaugural cohort of Next To Lead by the American Institute of Architects, focusing on ethnically diverse women in architecture.
Tulia Scott
Women of Georgia
Shelly-Ann Tulia Scott, AIA, NOMA is an architect born in Trinidad & Tobago. She’s currently serving as the President of the National Organization of Minority Architects - Atlanta Chapter. Scott is a graduate of the Christopher Kelley Leadership Development Program, Grassroots Leadership, and Leadership Greenville (SC). She is passionate about being a change agent in the profession and community and is a member of the Equity in Architecture planning committee.
Future Madame Architect
This is a shout out to all the future female architects aiming to make the world a better place!
Beverly Willis
(1928-2023)
Beverly Willis, FAIA was a pioneering women’s advocate and industry leader whose legacy lives on across the U.S. through architecture, urban planning, and public policy. She founded the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation (BWAF) to help create a more equitable future for women in architecture. BWAF’s mission was to expand the historical knowledge and recognition of American women architects of the 20th century. Willis was a founding trustee of the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., where The Beverly Willis Library was opened in 2008 to honor her contributions to the museum.
Cheryl McAfee
Women of Georgia
Cheryl McAfee, FAIA, NOMA is the CEO of McAfee3 Architects with over 40 years of architectural experience, Cheryl was the senior program manager of design and construction for all 33 sports venues of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. In the 156 – year history of the AIA, McAfee3 Architects is the only firm in which a father and his two daughters have been elevated to the College of Fellows of the Institute. She is also a recent recipient of AIA Georgia’s prestigious Rothschild Award.
Tamara Eagle Bull
Tamara Eagle Bull, FAIA is the first Native American woman in the U.S. to become a licensed architect, Tamara Eagle Bull advocates for culturally relevant and responsible design in contemporary Native American architecture. A member of the Oglala Lakota Nation, Eagle Bull channels three decades of experience through her firm Encompass Architects in Lincoln, Nebraska, which concentrates on projects for native groups.
Ellamae Ellis League
(1899-1991)
Women of Georgia
Ellamae Ellis League, FAIA practiced as an architect in Macon, GA for more than fifty years, from 1922 until she retired in 1975. League was elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) in 1968. At the time of her death on March 4, 1991, League was still the only female member of the FAIA in Georgia, and one of only eight nationwide.
Henrietta Cuttino Dozier
(1872–1947)
Women of Georgia
Henrietta Dozier is considered the first female architect in the state of Georgia and was the first woman in the Southern United States to receive formal architectural training from a national school of architecture. Dozier specialized in residential and institutional architecture and was known for her innovative designs that combined elements of various architectural styles, including Classical Revival and Colonial Revival. She was also a founding member of the Georgia Association of Women Architects
Jeanne Gang
Jeanne Gang is Founder and Principal of Studio Gang Architects, an award-winning architecture and urban design practice based in Chicago and New York. She is also a MacArthur Fellow and a Professor of Practice at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Gang was first widely recognized for the Aqua Tower, the tallest woman-designed building in the world at the time of its completion.
Julie Ju-Youn Kim
Women of Georgia
Julie Ju-Youn Kim, AIA, NCARB is the Chair of the Georgia Institute of Technology School of Architecture and founder and principal of c2 architecture studio, an award-winning architectural practice. At Georgia Tech, she is the Founder and Director of the Flourishing Communities Collaborative, a Design and Research Research Lab that endeavors to educate, advocate and offer design solutions to neighborhoods who are traditionally under-resourced and underserved by the design disciplines.
Kimberly Dowdell
Kimberly Dowdell, AIA, NOMA is a Chicago-based architect, real estate developer, and educator. Dowdell is currently a principal at HOK's Chicago office and the firm’s Director of Strategic Partnerships. She served as the 2019-2020 National President of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA). In 2024, she will be the 100th president of the American Institute of Architects and the first Black woman to serve in the role.
Leila Ross Wilburn
(1885–1967)
Women of Georgia
Leila Ross Wilburn was a pioneering female architect who made significant contributions to the field of architecture in the early 20th century. She was born in 1885 in Cedartown, Georgia, and became one of the first licensed female architects in the state..
Louise Blanchard Bethune
(1856-1913)
Louise Blanchard Bethune, FAIA is widely considered to be the first woman to practice as a professional architect in the United States. She participated in the design of approximately one hundred fifty buildings in the Buffalo and New England areas in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and was also the first woman member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and AIA’s first woman Fellow.
Mary Gregory Jewett
(1908-1976)
Women of Georgia
Mary Gregory Jewett graduated from the University of Georgia in 1930 and became an outstanding leader in historic preservation in Georgia. In 1960, Jewett was appointed Executive Secretary and was later named Director of the Commission, becoming one of the first women to head a state agency.
Minerva Parker Nichols
(1862–1949)
Minerva Parker Nichols was a pioneering American architect, and perhaps the first woman to independently practice architecture in the U.S. In 1889, she took over Frederick G. Thorn's firm after his death, later establishing her successful solo private practice in 1896. Nichols designed over 80 buildings, including the Woman's New Century Club in Philadelphia and the Queen Isabella Pavilion at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Nichols also contributed to architectural education in her community.
Norma Merrick Sklarek
(1926–2012)
Norma Merrick Sklarek, a pioneer in the field of architecture, was the first registered black female architect in New York. In 1962 she became the first black female licensed architect in California. In 1990 she became the only black woman elected to the American Institute of Architecture (AIA) College of Fellows. Among many prominent designs, her best known projects are Terminal One at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and the U. S. Embassy building in Tokyo, Japan.
Tatiana Bilbao
Tatiana Bilbao is a Mexican architect whose works often merged geometry with nature. She founded Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO in 2004. Her practice focuses on sustainable design and social housing. Bilbao's work has been recognized with the Berliner Kunstpreis in 2012, the 2010 Architectural League Emerging Voices, the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture by the LOCUS Foundation in 2014, and the Impact Award 2017 to the Architizer A+Awards Honorees, along with the 2020 Tau Sigma Delta Gold Medal and the 2019 Marcus Prize Award.
Yasmeen Lari
Yasmeen Lari is Pakistan's first female architect. She is best known for her involvement in the intersection of architecture and social justice. Since her official retirement from architectural practice in 2000, her UN-recognized NGO Heritage Foundation Pakistan has been taking on humanitarian relief work and historical conservation projects in rural villages all around Pakistan. She was awarded the prestigious Fukuoka Prize in 2016 and the RIBA's Royal Gold Medal in 2023.
Anna Colquitt Hunter
(1892-1985)
Women of Georgia
Anna Hunter was an American preservationist who, in 1955, founded the Historic Savannah Foundation—an organization dedicated to the purchase and renovation of historic sites. Her work led to the restoration of 1,100 irreplaceable historic sites and buildings. She also increased awareness about the value of public spaces and squares in what is now one of the largest national historic districts in the nation.
Billie Tsien
Billie Tsien is an architect and a founding partner of the New York City-based studio Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners. The firm’s work is committed to reflecting the values of non-profit, cultural, and academic institutions through an architecture that is serene and enduring. Her work has been recognized with the Thomas Jefferson Medal Award in Architecture, the Architecture Firm Award of the American Institute of Architects, the Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize, and the National Medal of Arts.
Clermont Huger Lee
(1914-2006)
Women of Georgia
Born in Savannah, Lee attended the Smith College Graduate School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (formerly the Cambridge School) obtaining a Master of Landscape Architecture degree in 1939. After almost 10 years, Clermont Lee left the Sea Island Company to set up her own practice in 1949, thereby becoming the first female professional landscape architect in private practice in Savannah.
Elizabeth Diller
Elizabeth Diller is an American architect, educator, and co-founder of the firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Diller’s cross-genre and culturally influential work has been distinguished through numerous awards. She was included in TIME’s “100 Most Influential People” list, recipient of the Jane Drew Prize, Wolf Prize in the Arts, Women in Architecture award, and became the first MacArthur Foundation fellowship awarded in the field of architecture.
Ellen Dunham-Jones
Women of Georgia
Ellen Dunham-Jones directs the MS in Urban Design and hosts the “Redesigning Cities” podcast series at the Georgia Institute of Technology. An authority on sustainable suburban redevelopment, she was Architectural Record’s 2018-19 Woman Educator of the year and was recognized in 2017 by Planetizen as one of the 100 most influential urbanists. Ellen is co-author with June Williamson of the award-winning Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban Design Solutions for Redesigning Suburbs and recently published Case Studies in Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban Design Strategies For Urgent Challenges in 2021.
Ivenue Love-Stanley
Women of Georgia
Ivenue Love-Stanley, FAIA, NOMA was the first African-American woman to graduate from the Georgia Institute of Technology’s College of Architecture, and in 1983, she became the first African-American woman licensed architect in the Southeast. Love-Stanley's projects include the Aquatic Center for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games, the Lyke House Catholic Student Center at the Atlanta University Center, the Southwest YMCA, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, the Auburn Market in Sweet Auburn, and the National Black Arts Festival headquarters.
Julia Lester Dillon
(1871–1959)
Women of Georgia
Julia Lester Dillon was one of the first women to write extensively about gardening in the south and ran a regularly featured column which appeared in several newspapers and magazines. Based on her experience, she then served as Sumter Superintendent of Parks and Trees for twenty years. She was inscribed upon the Georgia Women of Achievement roster in 2003.
Kathryn Bedette
Women of Georgia
Kathryn Bedette, AIA is an award-winning architect in the State of Georgia and Professor of Architecture at Kennesaw State University. Kathryn has an accomplished record of advocating for the profession of architecture and the built environment through her work as Advocacy Chair on the AIA Georgia Board of Directors and served as the 2018 President of AIA Georgia. As President, she led a successful national campaign to create a new leadership development pipeline that encourages a range of ethnically diverse women to pursue national AIA leadership positions.
Janice Wittschiebe
Women of Georgia
Janice Wittschiebe, AIA is an architect and Principal at SSOE and Chair of the Georgia State Board of Architects & Interior Designers. She is also a recent recipient of AIA Georgia’s prestigious Rothschild Award.
Liz York
Women of Georgia
Liz York, FAIA works to strengthen understanding of the impact that design and the built environment have on equity, gender issues, and health. Embracing the architect’s role as steward of societal values. Liz focuses on policy and tools that help move the profession toward problem solving for these larger issues. In 2008, Liz York was appointed as the first Chief Sustainability Officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She holds a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in Architecture from Georgia Tech.
Mabel O. Wilson
Mabel O. Wilson is the founder of Studio &, a firm exploring different facets of art, architecture, and cultural history. She is the Nancy and George E. Rupp Professor at the Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, as well as the director of the graduate program in Advanced Architectural Research, the co-director of GSAPP’s Global Africa Lab and the Project on Spatial Politics.
Melody Harclerode
Women of Georgia
Melody Harclerode, FAIA is an architect, author, columnist, and civic leader, Melody was elevated as a 2018 AIA Fellow by the American Institute of Architects for the local, regional, and national impact of her K-12 design education initiatives, design advocacy, and writings. She has received numerous awards and appointments over her career, recognizing her innovation; commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity; and visionary leadership.
Mónica Ponce de León
Mónica Ponce de León is a Latina architect, educator, and dean of the Princeton University School of Architecture. A National Design Award winner, Ponce de León has focused on the application of robotic technology to building fabrication and architecture education. She has previously served as Dean of the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan and Professor at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University.
Paula McEvoy
Women of Georgia
Paula McEvoy’s dedication to producing and sharing knowledge forged a global pathway for healthful, high-performance buildings. Her service to the profession, leadership in sustainability and transparency enhanced design at Perkins + Will and the building industry.
Tiffany Brown
Tiffany Brown, NOMA, Assoc. AIA is the founder of 400 Forward, an initiative that seeks, inspires, and mentors the next generation of women designers. Named in light of the licensing of the 400th African American woman architect in 2017, the program aims to familiarize young girls with architecture, giving them tools to address social injustice issues. In 2021, she became the Executive Director of the National Organization of Minority Architects.
Zaha Hadid
(1950–2016)
Zaha Hadid was a visionary architect and designer. Hadid was the first woman to receive the Pritzker Prize for Architecture in 2004. She also received the UK’s most prestigious architectural award, the Stirling Prize, in 2010 and 2011 as well as became the first woman to be individually awarded the Royal Gold Medal from RIBA. Hadid is known for the dynamic, curving forms in her powerful, elongated structures.