In the UK a recent study found that the male to female ratio in the architecture profession is 80 : 20 while this ratio is super low for now the future presents the opportunity for these statistics to change and for the women who are passionate about architecture to confidently pursue their dreams. Fortunately, in recent years we have seen and are seeing some amazing and influential women becoming successful architects but this page is going to look back at some of the women to had to knock down these barriers. Unfortunately, there is so much about the history of women's accomplishments that we might not uncover. To read more about the accomplishments of female architects in modern times, see these pages.
Elizabeth Wilbraham dubbed by some as the ‘lost romantic genius’ her interest and study of architecture is known to have begun when she was 19 years old. For centuries she was known to have been an important patron of architecture however, in recent years after 50 years of research, historian John Millar uncovered evidence which led him to believe that she was not only responsible for the design of family homes, churches and the layout of Mayfair St. James, but that she may be linked with the design of over 400 buildings. However, there is so much about her and the work she did that is unavailable to us due to the necessity of secrecy about her projects. Unfortunately, due to architecture not being considered a suitable profession for a woman at the time, she couldn’t have pursued her architectural career openly so instead it is theorized she used male architects to oversee construction and take credit for her designs. Her case is unique as due to being from a wealthy family and marrying a Baron, she has the leverage of class and status allowing her to circumvent the restrictions of society to an extent but not enough to have left her legacy in a clearer light. Learn more about her story here: 1 2.
Encouraged by her father to pursue a profession, Ethel Charles and her sister Bessie began to study architecture, she ended up becoming the first female member of RIBA in 1898 once she passed the RIBA examinations, while they couldn’t oppose her joining as a member, it triggered a campaign in opposition of women wanting to join the institution. While she was much more interested in large public and commercial projects to showcase her talent, these eluded her due to the discrimination against her and thus mostly worked on residential projects such as housing projects cottages or commissions from female clients.
Learn more about her story and see some of her designs here:
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Edith Hughes was the first woman to be nominated to RIBA in 1927, unfortunately, the council denied her membership thus maintaining the all male institution until 1938 where Josephine Miller became an elected member. Edith was however, made an honorary fellow of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland. She studied throughout Europe, including the Sorbonne until she joined Gray’s School of Art and completed her degree in 1914. While she focused on designs for residential buildings, she is also credited to have designed several public works including her works on the St Marys Episcopal Cathedral and Music School. She also opened her own architectural firm in Glasgow in 1920 and continued working until her retirement in the late 1960s.
Read more about her story here:
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My personal favourite story in this list concerns Norma Merrick, the first black woman to be a licensed architect in California and New York. Throughout her career she won numerous awards and received honours and became the first female director in 1966 for the Gruen and Associates Architectural firm and went on to co found the women owned firm Siegel Sklarek and Diamond. All this was preceded by years of hard work to overcome the barriers the industry set for not only women but women of colour to succeed in the architectural profession. Encouraged by her father she pursued her interest and talent for art and mathematics through studying architecture at Barnard College and then Columbia University. Upon graduation, she faced difficulties in being hired so while she studied to pass the test to get her license (which she did on the first try in 1954) she worked a public service job in New York City's Department of Public works. Even after gaining her license she still struggled against discrimination when at her first architectural firm they would only allow her to complete menial projects. Even later in her career when she began working at Gruen where she was working on more substantial projects, she wasn't always properly credited even though she worked on buildings such as the Pacific Design Center and San Bernardino City Hall. She was however, credited for her work on US Embassy in Tokyo.
I could go on about her many achievements but I strongly encourage you to read more about her story here:
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