MATRIARCHS PIONEERING WOMEN ARCHITECTS IN OREGON
WELCOME MatriArchs – Pioneering Woman Architects of Oregon
The original MatriArchs exhibition documented the lives and careers of thirteen of the first women to practice architecture in Oregon. The exhibit was created by the Women In Architecture (WIA) committee and opened in 1992.
fostered dialogue and collaboration, and placed heavy emphasis on the integration of building arts and fine arts, including painting, sculpture and ceramics. Many women included in this exhibit are UO graduates.
Building off of the content of the original exhibit here is documentation of 7 exceptional women Fellows of the American Institute of Architects and the American Society of Landscape Architects.
The first woman architect licensed in the State of Oregon is included here, as is one of the first woman members of the Oregon Chapter of the Construction Specifications Institute. Their individual specialties represent the broad range of possibilities that comprise a career in architecture – specifications writing, urban planning, residential and commercial design, landscape architecture and architectural education. Many were encouraged by supportive fathers, many married fellow architects, most married late, delayed by educational pursuit, the Great Depression or World War II. Some had children, some did not. Some never married. Many assumed the burdens and joys of community service in addition to their personal and professional responsibilities.
The original thirteen subjects were pioneers in their chosen field of architecture. One was the first woman to graduate from the University of Oregon’s newly accredited (1922) Architecture and Allied Arts program. Both the dean, Ellis Lawrence, and the head of the architecture department, W.R.B. Willcox, were supportive of women in architecture. The program was developed in contrast to the prevailing Beaux Arts tradition which encouraged competition among students. The UO program instead
All of them looked back with pride on their career accomplishments, even if their work was not recognized in the same way as that of their male counterparts. These women are heroines who saw only challenges where today we might see discrimination. They forced ahead, valiantly, gracefully, laying the foundation for the next generation of women architects. The seven women whose stories have been added to the original exhibit entered university during seemingly more enlightened times. They bring a wealth of accomplishment and an updated perspective, providing the opportunity for viewers to assess progress or lack thereof for women in design. A consortium of representatives of AIA Portland, Center for Architecture, ForWARD and the Architecture Foundation of Oregon have reprised and refreshed the original exhibit, and added to its content for exhibition here.
60 Years of Architecture and Development in Portland paper-based communication (1950s-1980s)
(1980s-1990s)
2011
2005
2007
2006
2005
2008
2004
2002
2007
2012
2006
2005
Composting
Mult. Cty. Central Library renovation
New Columbia Hope VI project
2013
Membership expands to all interested parties
Continued scholarships for arch students
PDX streetcar S. Waterfront Expansion
2007
2004 Rose Garden Arena
Aerial Tram
Measure 49 passed
Portland Living Smart Homes
1997
1995
Oregon Convention Center
MAX yellow-line Rose Qtr. to Expo Center
2015
2010
2008
1st five S. Waterfront towers complete
2004 2004
2001 PDX streetcar PSU to 23rd
1993
Portland Ctr. for Perf. Arts
CFA opened
2000s
Schnitzer Concert Hall
1990
1984 Pioneer Square
MAX airport red-line
Portland Climate Action Plan
1990
1988 Central City Plan
1982 1978
National AIA Conference support
Calligraphy project for env concerns
1971
1970
Portland Bldg.
1968
1960s
late 1950s
1953
Comprehensive Plan
Oregon Global Warming Comm.
S. Waterfront construction begins
2001 multi-modal transit 1990s-present
1987
1st Urban Growth Boundry
Memorial Coliseum opens
WAL est as aux of nat’l AIA; mbrs were women archs & wives of archs
OR state lottery approved by voters 2-1
1980
1979
1977
1978 Metro formed
1985
Oregon’s land-use planning law became effective
Bud Clark Commons
2000 1998 MAX Westside downtown to Hillsboro
1986
Downtown Plan
AHC opened
2001
1993
1990 1982
1986
Final I-205 link
1984
Oregon Portland State Beach College achieves Bill university status
1973
1972
1969
1967
1960 first PDC project South Auditorium renewal area
OR% for Art Program
2000
1988 1983
1980 1980
1977
1983
First MAX line Downtown to Gresham
Tanner Springs Park
Brewery Blocks
Gerding Theater at the Amory LEED Platnum adaptive re-use
City of Port Green Bldg. Policy
US Bank Building 42 stories
Glen I-84 Jackson Bridge
Harbor Transit Drive Mall demolished
Jamison Square
Condo boom begins 4,000 condos added by 2004
1980 Fremont Bridge
1974
1973
TriMet founded
Lan Su Chinese Garden
EcoTrust Bldg. 1st LEED Gold historic renovation
Leadership in Energy & Env Design (LEED)
1986
1983
AFO incorporated
Portland Building
1970 1969
1966
Col River Gorge Nat’l Scenic Area
1982
Portland Development Commission created
2000s
1990s
1980s 1000 Friends of OR
1975
1974
1973
1972
Architects in Schools
1972
1963 Marquam Bridge
Irving Street Lofts 1st condos in Pearl
1979 1980
1970
1966
1969
Clean Water Act
Wells Fargo Building 41 stories
1960 1958
Land Cons & Dev. Comm.
1960
OSU Extention becomes Portland State College
Public Projects
Women’s Architectural League
desk-top computers
auto-oriented transit 1950s-1990s
1958
Public Action
Oak St Row Houses
Earth Day, EPA Oregon Clean Air Bottle Act Bill
Portland Hilton 22 stories
OR City to PDX streetcar line closes
Banfield Freeway
last 3 PDX city streetcar lines close
1955
Public Transportation
1955
1950
1950
1957
1962
Public Service Bldg.
Computer Aided Design (CAD)
1980s
Forecourt Fountain
SOLV
Urban Skyline Development
1973
1971
1964
1960s
1963
Lovejoy Fountain
Design & Environmental Awareness
Standard Plaza Building 16 stories
Mobile phones in wide use
CAD in wide use
First hand-held mobile phone
CDC Movement
Portland Japanese Garden completed
Central City
Desk top computers
Xerox introduces comm’l. fax machine
1971
All-electric Homes
1970
Paul Allen born
1953
Television
1950s
Technology
explosion of computer tech (1990s-present)
computer-based communication
100 + mbrs $ for UO scholarship from home tour
Support of OR Ceramic Studio
Urban Tour Group branches from WAL
Community Caravan public bus tour of homes
Free public architecture tours
M’ships support Bosco-Milligan Fdtn, AHC, AFO, Archs in Schools
dues inc. for contributions
e l i z a b e t h
K I N N E
EDUCATION B. Arch, University of Oregon
1930
REGISTRATION State of Oregon (#319)
1943
EMPLOYMENT Johnson and Wallwork Johnson Wallwork and Dukehart John K. Dukehart Dukehart and Kinne, Architects
Early Exposure to Architecture During her long career, Elizabeth Kinne has been involved in the design of commercial projects, school and university buildings, churches, housing and private homes. She is a native Oregonian born in Portland and raised in Coos Bay. Her father was in the plumbing business and exposed his only child to plan drawing and construction at an early age and encouraged her in her study of architecture. She entered the University of Oregon in 1926 as a violin student in the music department. Befriended by a student in the Interior Decorating Department,
she began visiting the design studio and transferred into the architecture program her second term. She was one of six or seven women enrolled in the program at the time. In 1930 the Depression forced her to abandon her studies, but she shortly found work as a drafter with Johnson and Wallwork in Portland. Dukehart and Kinne Architects She worked for John Dukehart from 1947 until 1953 when she became a partner in Dukehart and Kinne Architects. Her husband, Bruce Kinne, became an associate partner in 1954.
1930-34 1934-37 1947-53 1953-70
PROJECTS First Christian Church Portland Multnomah County School District #1 The Port of Portland Catlin Gabel School St. Peter’s Episcopal Church The Boys’ and Girls’ Aid Society of Oregon Goodwill Industries Albertina Kerr Homes, Inc. L.C. Binford Apartments Pacific University Forest Grove Women’s and Men’s Dormitories The School of Optometry The Harvey Scott Memorial Library State Board of Higher Education
College of Optometry, Pacific University Forest Grove, Oregon Photo: Laurie Black
“Architecture school didn’t really teach that much of a practical nature. There were no real obstacles, but also very little encouragement from the architectural school staff. I learned more working for Carl Wallwork. He gave me a great deal of knowledge, support and encouragement to study and take the state architectural examinations.”
Portland, Corvallis, Hillsboro and Astoria
“ I HAD THE GOOD FORTUNE TO BE IN THE ARCHITECTURAL WORLD AT A VERY EXCITING PERIOD. THE OLD BELIEFS - THAT BANKS SHOULD BE CLASSIC, CHURCHES GOTHIC, HOUSES COLONIAL - WERE BEING REPLACED BY NEW DESIGN FREEDOMS AND CONCEPTS.”
L.C. Binford Apartments Portland, Oregon Photo: Laurie Black
Member Emeritus, Portland Chapter AIA Elizabeth and Bruce Kinne had no children of their own, but enjoyed a close working relationship during their marriage and years together at Dukehart and Kinne. She closed
her office in 1970 and became a member Emeritus of the Portland Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, Elizabeth Kinne enjoyed her retirement and always felt that life had been good to her.
“Studying The Binford, along with its precedent Baldwin Hills Village, one is struck by the generosity and beauty of the common landscaped spaces in both. An important fact about these projects is that both were children of the Depression, . . . They were colored by New Deal optimism and idealism, as well as being influenced by the unemployment and low building prices. Instead of being driven by (a) need for maximum profit, the designers of The Binford and Baldwin Hills Village concerned themselves with pedestrian safety, coupled with really adequate car parking - all the while exercising a fine eye for site planning and grouping.” Walter Gordon, FAIA “Architalk”, 1987 Harvey Scott Memorial Library Pacific University Forest Grove, Oregon Photo: Laurie Black
Povey Brother’s Glass Company Lillian Myrtle “Polly” Povey Thompson practiced architecture in partnership with her husband, Raymond Kermit Thompson from 1953 until Polly’s death in 1993. Theirs was an enduring personal and professional pairing since their elopement in 1929. She was born in Portland and was the daughter of David Lincoln Povey. Her father’s work at the Povey Brother’s Glass Company was highly influential in her decision to persue architecture. She worked for a year in the Povey Brother’s studio before entering the University of Oregon’s architecture program.
polly povey
THOMPSON EDUCATION B. A. with Honors University of Oregon 1927 - 1929, 35 B. Architecture Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1938 REGISTRATION State of Massachusetts State of Oregon EMPLOYMENT DeYoung and Roald, Portland, OR Archie Riskin, Boston, MA Polly Povey Thompson, Ray Kermit Thompson, Architects PROJECTS Ray F. Mooers Residence City Hall & Emergency Building Wasco Fire Station Alpha Omicron Pi Remodel Shopping Center
1943 1953
POLLY: “When I went down there (to U of O”) I wasn’t going to get married. I was going to have a career. RAY: “She did a freshman problem and it was such a beautiful drawing, I fell in love with her.”
The summer of 1928, she worked at DeYoung and Roald, AIA in Portland. Denver to St. Louis to New York In June of 1929, Polly left school to join Ray. They traveled that fall from Idaho, to Denver where she found work as a drafter for Temple H. Buell, AIA. In February 1930, she traveled to New York to nurse a sister stricken with cancer. The Thompsons then moved to St. Louis. Ray designed a Catholic church and Polly found work as the secretary to the director of the St. Louis Art League. Ray went on to New York and when he had secured a position as structural engineer with the Brooklyn Edison Company, Polly joined him. She was hired as an artist/secretary in the advertising department of a large New York bakery, because she was the only one to submit a drawing with the job application.
“In 1940 I started working for Ray and Morris’ firm. We had a child at that time, too. He fitted into our architectural life easily. In 1941, Ray’s navy orders and our daughter arrived the same week. I was a volunteer member of the Red Cross Motor Corps while Ray was overseas.”
1953 - 1993
SERVICE AIA Design Awards Comm. Portland, OR Girl Scouts city-wide Board Lecturer Portland, OR Lincoln High School Portland, OR University Women’s Club Portland, OR Ohio State University Columbus, OH Secretary, MIT Women’s Association
MIT The Thompsons drove cross country, and once back in Oregon, Polly earned a B. A. with Honors at the University of Oregon. She then applied for a scholarship to MIT and graduated from their program in 1938. They “mortgaged” Ray’s salary and went to Europe. Polly returned to work for Archie Riskin (a MIT classmate), in Boston, and Ray opened an office with Morris Olsen in Pittsfield. To Boston Ray won a scholarship to MIT in Boston and the Thompsons moved north. Polly worked for one term and audited courses at MIT. She volunteered for
the League of Women Voters and was secretary for a relief fund organized by the Boston, New York and Washington chapters of the AIA. “There was no work. Everybody was out of work.” Teamwork Working together since her Oregon registration in 1953, the Thompsons prefered to generate their initial design solutions separately. They then compared notes and critiqued each other’s efforts to arrive at mutually satisfactory design. One or the other assumed primary responsibility for the project, with ongoing input and advice from the “secondary” partner.
“I think if my father had lived, I might have had a stained glass career...Often I would go with my mother and father for dedications, but I was often very disappointed with the building (the glass was in). I didn’t think they were half as nice as the glass. Finally, I decided, well, if I didn’t like the buildings, but I like the glass, maybe I should design churches. That’s where I got the idea to begin with.”
1929 1930’s
Cathamet, MA Culver, OR Wasco, OR Eugene, OR Monroe, CT
Rendering: Shopping Center in Monroe, Connecticut
Ray F. Mooers Residence, Cathlamet, Washington
‘They did their best to “discourage” me by showing me all the things I’d have to do. They were awfully nice. Mr. DeYoung had the drawings for two adjacent buildings which are now the Schnitzer Theater and the Heathman Hotel. I didn’t get paid. The daughter of Mr. DeYoung worked at the studio of Povey Brothers... she got paid five dollars a week.’
“I DECIDED , IF I DIDN’T LIKE THE BUILDINGS BUT I LIKED THE GLASS, MAYBE I SHOULD DESIGN CHURCHES.”
Alpha Omicron Pi Sorority House Expansion Eugene, Oregon BEFORE
Born An Architect Margie Largent feels she was “born” an architect. Her family moved from Missouri to Salem, Oregon when she was thirteen and she lived there most of her life. The guidance of high school art teacher, Jean Kendall Glazer, fostered her interest in the profession. After graduation in 1941, she spent one year studying at the Capital Business College in Salem, to have some “tools” to pay her way to becoming an architect. Using these tools she participated in the war effort, working in Portland’s shipyards. She then attended two years at the Art Center School in Los Angeles, supporting herself by working as a streetcar conductor.
m a r g i e LARGENT CSI
EDUCATION The Art Center School, L.A., CA Willamette University, Salem, OR B. Arch, University of Oregon REGISTRATION State of Washington State of Oregon State of Alaska EMPLOYMENT Stone and Webster Eng., CA, MA Jon Konigshofer, Carmel, CA DMJM & Associates, L.A., CA Various Oregon Architects Independent Practice
1944-46 1946-47 1950
Perseverance After the Art Center School, she attended Willamette University in Salem while waiting for a place to open up at the University of Oregon’s School of Architecture where she received her degree in 1950. Ten years passed before she accumulated enough work experience to qualify for the architectural licensing exam. She obtained her Washington registration first and received her Oregon registration through reciprocity, and in 1984 was also licensed to practice in Alaska. She feels that the support of her husband, Creig Anderson, was critical to her persevering as an architect.
1963 1964 1984
Long Beach to Boston to Carmel to Portland Margie Largent’s husband was instrumental in her obtaining her first job after college. A friend at the time, he answered a help-wanted ad with her resume and qualifications and was hired over the phone. He explained that he had called for a female friend - did she not have the job? She was hired as a senior drafter for Stone and Webster Engineering Corporation and for a year worked on the restart of the Long Beach, CA, Power Plant. She then worked for Stone and Webster in Boston when she was unable to secure further employment out west. In 1952, she returned to Carmel, CA and worked for John Konigshofer, a designer specializing in “posh” housing. This work did not count toward apprenticeship time so she worked next as production coordinator for a large firm in Los Angeles and did “a Safeway store every blessed week.” Margie Largent and her husband moved to Portland in 1955 and she worked for various firms until 1960 to qualify for the exam. She opened her own office in 1960. Her commercial work includes the Shon Tay Professional Center Campus, the Lake Oswego Medical Center, the then Lake Oswego Chamber of Commerce and the Kinder Kollege in Tigard. Of her residential projects, she is perhaps proudest of a solar home she designed and built in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, Washington.
Anderson Triplex, Prefabricated Residence Cordova, Alaska (Everything was shipped via Sea Land containers except for concrete and wood siding) Photo: Margie Largent
C o n s t r u c t i o n Specifications Institute Margie Largent was one of the first women members of the Portland chapter of the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) and was active on local land use planning boards. She worked to generate the Urban Growth Boundary land use legislation. She has received numerous public service awards for her work in community planning and CSI.
‘I took the structural option at Oregon. I was the only woman in the class. I sat in the front row all alone. The professor drew a force diagram on the blackboard and gave all the forces except one. Would we please tell him - “should that force be acting up or down?” He asked for a show of hands. “That’s very interesting,” he said. “This is the first time I have ever seen one woman right and eighteen men wrong!” There I was sitting in the front and they all knew I had to be wrong...!’
1950-51 1952 1954 1955-60 1960-1995
AWARDS Lake Oswego Distinguished Service Award CSI Service Awards Numerous BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS Lake Oswego: City Hall Advisory Committee, Downtown Redevelopment Screening, Board of Appeals. Portland Chapter CSI: Board of Directors, President 1976 and 1986, Chair Regional Conference 1977, Editor of “The Predicator” Newsletter 1978 and 1983. PROJECTS Shon-Tay Prof. Center Prefabricated Residence Earth Sheltered Residence
Lake Oswego, OR Cordova, AK San Juan Island
Earth-sheltered Residence San Juan Islands Photo: as featured in Earth Shelter Digest
‘I would have given up a long time ago, except Creig always had his hand right behind me, resisting retreat. My dad was also one of my major boosters. My very first job was a house for my parents. He said, ”If I don’t have confidence in you, how can I expect others to?”’
Shon-Tay Professional Center Lake Oswego Photo: Laurie Black
“I THINK I WAS BORN AN ARCHITECT. WHEN I WAS A CHILD I WAS ALWAYS INTERESTED IN PUTTING THINGS TOGETHER IN SPACIAL SOLUTIONS RATHER THAN PLAYING WITH THEM AFTERWARDS.”
First Woman Minority Architect in Oregon Edith Yang practiced as an architect and was involved in community service in Corvallis, Oregon. She received a Bachelor of Science degree from University of Oregon and a Master of Science degree from the Oregon State University, before earning her degree in architecture from the University of Oregon in 1950. Four years in art school lead her to study the “father of all arts” - architecture - which she saw as a challenging career. She attended Reed College, the Portland Museum Art School and Columbia University, School of Architecture in New York City.
e d i t h Y A N G EDUCATION B.S., University of Oregon M.S., Oregon State University B. Arch, University of Oregon Columbia University, School of Architecture REGISTRATION State of Oregon EMPLOYMENT Cleo Jenkins, Corvallis, OR Oregon State University Physical Plant Independent Practice PROJECTS Oregon State Seed Lab Unitarian Universalists Fellow Chi Phi Fraternity House
After graduation from the University of Oregon, her early jobs in piping, ventilation and structural drafting, production illustration, and isometrics furthered her impression of architecture as a challenging profession. To amass sufficient experience to qualify for her registration exams she worked for three architects in Portland and Corvallis on a variety of
public and private projects. She received her license in 1954, becoming the first licensed woman minority architect and went into private practice. From 1979 to 1991 she served as staff architect for the Oregon State University physical plant. City Beautification Programs Edith was deeply committed to community service. She was the 1970 Theta Sigma Phi Woman of Achievement. She was President of the state-wide Arts in Oregon Council and past board member of the Corvallis Arts Center. As Chairman of the Corvallis Zonta Club in 1961-62, she initiated the city beautification program of street tree planting and was active in that city’s waterfront beautification program. She donated in-kind assistance with the general planning of Whispering Winds, the 1970 acre Santiam District Girl Scout camp near Kings Valley. In addition she served a five year term as member of the Linn/ Benton Housing Authority, and was a charter member of Citizens for Corvallis, and Focus Club.
1946 1948 1950
1954 1950 - 54 1979 - 91 1954-2000 Corvallis, OR Corvallis, OR Corvallis, OR
SERVICE AND HONORS Theta Sigma Phi 1970 Woman of Achievement Arts in Oregon Council Past President Corvallis Arts Center Past Chair Citizens for Corvallis Charter Member Southwestern, OR, AIA Board Member Corvallis Building Code Board of Appeals
“I have two children, now grown and with children of their own. While they were growing up I had a sitter to help care for them and the household. Having my own practice with my involvement in community activities meant I often worked evenings, nights and weekends.”
Oregon State University Seed Lab, Corvallis, Oregon Photo: Sally Painter
Regional and Social Concerns Her major projects include a six story office building in Anchorage, Alaska, and the Chi Phi Fraternity House, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and the Oregon State Seed Lab, all in Corvallis. Her publications reflect her regional and social concerns. Her Masters’ Thesis was “A Proposed Farmstead Plan for an Irrigated Area in Central Oregon.” “Case Study: OSU Seed Lab,” was published in
the Spring of 1990 WOOD DESIGN FOCUS, and she was co-editor of LIVE WITH GOOD DESIGN and LIVE WITH THE ARTS IN OREGON, a pocket guide. Edith Yang was a member of the American Institute of Architects from 1955. In 1958 she served on the board of directors of the Southwestern Oregon chapter. She believed that women tend to be more sympathetic to good planning and human needs.
“I experienced discrimination both because I was a woman and because I was Chinese. To help overcome these obstacles I became knowledgeable on building codes and regulations. I have continued my education in Codes for the past fourteen years. I am a State Certified A Level Plans Examiner, State Certified A Level Structural Inspector and, currently, Vice Chairman of the Corvallis Board of Appeals for the Uniform Building Code.”
Chi Phi Fraternity House Corvallis, Oregon Photo: Sally Painter
“I experienced discrimination both because I was a woman and because I was Chinese. To help overcome these obstacles I became an knowledgeable on building codes and regulations. I have continued my education in Codes for the past fourteen years. I am a State Certified A Level Plans Examiner, State Certified A Level Structural Inspector and, currently, Vice Chairman of the Corvallis Board of Appeals for the Uniform Building Code.”
“I RECOMMEND THE PROFESSION OF ARCHITECTURE TO ANY WOMAN WHO REALLY CARES AND WANTS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.”
Unitarian Universalists Fellowship, Corvallis, Oregon Photo: Sally Painter
“We are in the midst of an economic and moral crisis, which includes environmental issues, poor planning, erosion of the democratic process, global concerns, alienation of races, sexual harassment, unemployment, homelessness, misuse of the taxpayers dollars, etc. Women are particularly attuned to sociological and economic considerations. I recommend the profession of architecture to any woman who really cares and wants to make a difference.”
Michigan to Klamath Falls Nina Pence has been a practicing architect, living and working in Klamath Falls, OR, since her graduation from the University of Michigan in 1950. She feels that she got “as good an education (at Michigan) as anyone could have gotten then or now.” Special emphasis was placed on the fine arts, and most of the professors were practicing architects. After graduation Nina Pence apprenticed with Howard Perrin and received her Oregon Registration in 1954. She then worked briefly for Harwell Hamilton Harris in Austin, Texas. She returned to Klamath Falls in 1955 and begun her own practice.
n i n a PENCE EDUCATION B. Architecture, University of Michigan Diploma: American School of Music & Fine Arts Fontainebleau, France REGISTRATION State of Oregon State of California EMPLOYMENT Howard Perrin, Klamath Falls, OR Harwell Hamilton Harris, TX Independent Practice Klamath Falls, OR
1950 1957 1954 1975
Residential and Commercial Nina Pence’s work includes many residences in Southern Oregon and Northern California, several of them large homes for ranchers; as well as houses in Coos Bay, Ashland, Medford and Eugene. Commercial and institutional work includes the Favell Museum of Western Art and Artifacts; numerous banks, stores, office buildings, and many projects at Merle West Medical Center, all in Klamath Falls.
Oregon State Board of Architect Examiners Nina has been a member of the American Institute of Architects since the 1960’s and feels that it is important to have contact with other architects. From 1977 until 1983 she was a member of the Oregon State Board of Architect Examiners. She laments the post modern influence on design today. She takes particular exception to the Portland Building. “Frankly, I think it’s a reflection of our society in the last ten years, the phoniness and the greediness...I truly believe the architecture reflects the society. Portland architects should never have let the Portland Building happen. They didn’t say a word when they should have screamed to high heaven. I watched that building go up and was very vocal about how awful it was. I still am vocal because of the far-reaching detrimental influence it has had on the profession. I graded national architectural design exams from 1977 until 1983 and I watched the design solutions change to reflect the post-modern influence. By 1983 it was almost total.”
1950 - 54 1954 - 55 1955 - 92
PROJECTS Klamath Falls, Oregon Favell Museum of Western Art & Artifacts Various projects at the Merle West Medical Center Forest Products Federal Credit Union Mountain View Professional Building APPOINTMENTS AND SERVICE Oregon State Board of Architects and Examiner 1977 - 83 LCDC Member Citizens Involvement Committee 1st Oregon Energy Conservation Board Member
Forest Products Federal Credit Union Klamath Falls, Oregon Photo: Laurie Black
Working with Clients She likes to help choose the site and believes, “if you can’t give them anything else, give them a good floor plan that works for them.” She agrees strongly with Frank Lloyd Wright’s philosophy of using materials honestly and his emphasis on relating plan to site. Nina Pence enjoys, “working with the client on the front end and the workers on the job on the other end...It is really satisfying to meet someone on the street and have them say, ‘ come up and see your house’... There is also pleasure in meeting a retired carpenter and talking
construction. I really enjoy knowing all the workmen, the contractors. I have learned as much from carpenters and plumbers and electricians as I have from professors.” She questions clients closely in the initial design process to establish their work and activity patterns and to discern their needs. “I try to tell my women house clients ‘Let’s not duplicate a bad work pattern that you’ve developed because you had to adjust to this kitchen.’ But if they feel they can only do dishes right to left, then I’ll include that in the design.”
“I guess I am an independent sort of person. The right partner never showed up and I didn’t go seeking one. I was invited to join a local firm some years ago and seriously considered it. I don’t think I would have had any trouble with the architectural part, but these people had families and financial responsibilities and it would have meant that we would have had to take work we might not have wanted to do. The way I work is not typical of most architect’s practices. Not too many people could survive financially the way I do. My overhead is very small, and I personally perform all phases of the services.”
Favell Museum of Western Art & Artifacts Klamath Falls, Oregon Photo: Laurie Black
“I don’t buy the idea that we have to fight the contractor or that I have to educate the client or that we’re all battling each other to see who comes out winner, because we’re all going to win if it works.”
Mountain View Professional Building Klamath Falls, Oregon Photo: Laurie Black
“I NEVER WORKED AS IF I WAS A WOMAN ARCHITECT. I WAS A WOMAN WORKING IN ARCHITECTURE.”
amy porter R A P P EDUCATION B.A., University of Oregon EMPLOYMENT Independent Practice PROJECTS Single Family Homes First Congregational Church Remodel First Congregational Church Basement Remodel SERVICE First Congregational Church Building Committee Performing Arts Center Jury
1931 1945 - 1955
University of Oregon, 1931 Amy Porter Rapp is a Portlandbased architectural designer who was able to combine family and profession by working out of her home. Born December 15, 1908 on a 600 acre farm in the Willamette Valley, she moved with her family to Portland in 1919. After graduating from Grant High School, she attended the University of Oregon, graduating in 1931 with a major in architecture. She and Clotheil Woodard Smith (FAIA, Washington D.C. award winning architect) were sorority sisters and became close friends. A highlight of her years at the U of O was the campus visit of Frank Lloyd Wright, a friend of department head W.R.B. Willcox, from his years in Chicago. Wright attended the weekly Wednesday night at the Willcox home, gave critiques of current student projects, and spent an informal evening with a dozen upper class students. In the fall of 1931, she married Lee Rapp, a 1927 U of O geology graduate.
Pearl Harbor Day Pearl Harbor and the excavation for the house were one day apart. Materials were being snapped up for the war or not available. “We hid the furnace and everything we could lay our hands on and stuck it in a garage until we could use it. Workmen were scarce - good ones. After two winos, I painted the inside of the house myself.” Independent Practice Lee worked for the Office of Price Administration during the War. In 1946, some veterans came into the office frustrated that government money was available for new homes but they had little ready cash. Lee suggested Amy might help them. Thus - 15 years after graduation, with no office experience, and pregnant with their third child, Amy Rapp started designing homes. In 1938, Lee started to work for S.P. Fuller & Co. and they had their first child.
“When Joel, the youngest, was about four, I heard the front door open and these tippy toes coming in. I heard, ”Shush, Mama is architecting.” I thought - that’s it. I burned the midnight oil after that until he was in school. It isn’t fair to have a child tip-toeing around the house because you happen to be working.”
Rapp Residence Portland, Oregon Photo: Laurie Black
“In 1941 we bought this 50’ x 150’ lot and I had my first commission - my own. I designed a home that flowed down the hill. The contractor’s bid was out of sight. Lee said, ”No more bids.” I picked up the plans and threw them in the garbage. Then I picked up my pencil and went, “whoosh, whoosh, here’s the house.” I’ve been pushing the walls out and raising the roof ever since.”
“THE FACT THAT I WORKED DIDN’T MEAN I DIDN’T TAKE CARE OF MY KIDS AND THE GARDEN AND THE HOUSE AND EVERYTHING.” Church Work As a volunteer Amy Rapp chaired the Building Committee of the First Congregational Church in Portland. For the 100 year anniversary celebration in 1952 she drew the plans to excavate the basement for church school rooms. She fought to keep the wonderful stone work and brick exposed.
Oregon Great Falls, MT Portland, OR
Portland, OR Portland, OR
Rapp Residence Portland, Oregon Photo: Laurie Black
“In 1931, with the Depression, no jobs were available for a geologist and certainly no job for a fledgling architect - in fact no jobs at all. We were lucky - we managed my dad’s apartment building.” Mt. Tabor Residence Portland, Oregon Photo: Laurie Black
Another volunteer experience was representing the church on the jury and design committees for the Portland Performing Arts Center. The two new theaters were to be built on three quarters of the block. The church owned two of them and needed at least 1,500 square feet of the area for future expansion and for required parking. She
found it to be an education in the use of a soft but firm approach. Family Business She finished her last home commission in 1955, and turned her energy to helping her husband in their new business. They had purchased the Green Furniture Hospital, a refinishing and repairing shop, and later added an antique business. By working in her home, Amy Rapp could keep track of her three children with all their joys and problems - from Cub Scouts to being ‘mama’ for 15 years to groups of 40-60 high school young people at the Congregational Church. The family came first, her career second. “ I have no regrets for three fine children and six grandchildren.”
ebba wicks BROWN EDUCATION B. A., University of Oregon B. Arch., University of Oregon M. Arch. and Urban Design, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan REGISTRATION State of Oregon State of Washington State of Michigan EMPLOYMENT J.E. Wicks, Astoria, OR Pietro Belluschi, Portland, OR A. Glenn Stanton, Portland, OR Sheldon Brumbaugh, K. Falls, OR E&E Brown, Michigan Wicks and Brown, Astoria, Oregon Brown, Brown and Grider
1936 1938 1946
Cranbrook Academy While at Cranbrook, Ebba Wicks met her future husband, Ernest Brown, who worked in Bloomfield Hills studio of Eero and Eliel Saarinen. He was a widower who was left with four young sons so she had her hands full with a readymade family. They included a small studio in their home they designed and built near Birmingham. The Washtenaw Court Building was one of the projects completed at the home studio. Wicks & Brown The family moved to Astoria in 1954 to join Mr. Wicks, and the firm became Wicks & Brown. In 1960, Governor Mark O. Hatfield appointed Ebba Wicks Brown - the first woman - to the Oregon State Board of Architect Examiners for a five year term. In 1963, the firm became Ernest & Ebba Brown, adding a partner in 1969. They practiced until retirement in 1979 as Brown, Brown and Grider.
Albany Hospital Addition Albany, Oregon Photo: Sally Painter
“In 1945, eight men and I were enrolled to study urban design under the direction of Eliel Saarinen at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Mr. Saarinen’s eyes twinkled as he greeted me with ‘You are here to learn, but I don’t teach.’ ... Our presentations were in model form - most showing little elevation - except Astoria! When Mr. Saarinen toured guests through the studios, he could be heard saying ‘now we shall see the mountains.’ Presentations at home were received with interest but heads shook in an ‘it can never be done’ mode, yet a few things have come to pass and I have to laugh when making the Young’s River crossing.”
“Our long-lasting friendship with Margaret Fritsch came about through my father having served three full terms, including the first one, on the State Bourd of Architect Examiners. In about 1923, Margaret (an architecture student) was selected to be the part-time paid board secretary. I knew then that women could also become architects.”
1942 1949 1952 1936-49 1942 1943 1944 1951-53 1963-69 1969-79
PROJECTS Washtenaw Court Building Michigan Columbia River Maritime Museum Astoria, OR Albany General Hospital Albany, OR APPOINTMENTS/AWARDS State Board of Architect Examiners Portland Cement Association “White Cement Award of Excellence”
First Woman Architect of Oregon by Examination Ebba Wicks Brown was the daughter of Astoria architect John E. Wicks. A graduate of the University of Oregon, she received her Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1938. She worked for her father during school and immediately after graduation. This experience enabled her to qualify for the exam and in 1942, she became the first woman registered by examination in the State of Oregon. She points out that Margaret Fritsch was the first woman licensed architect in Oregon, receiving her registration under the ‘grandfather clause’ which granted licenses to all architects practicing prior to the institution of the exam requirements. During the early war years she worked for two Portland architects Pietro Belluschi and A. Glenn Stanton and for Sheldon Brumbaugh in Klamath Falls.
1960-65
Astoria Library Addition Astoria, Oregon Project architect: Rod Grider Photo: Sally Painter
Columbia River Maritime Museum Astoria, Oregon Project architect: Rod Grider Photo: Sally Painter
“At Belluschi’s I met Sheldon Brumbaugh, a former Cranbrook student who encouraged me to study urban design. When the work at Belluschi’s slowed, I went to Glenn Stanton’s office where several war housing projects were on the boards. I left when that work was completed and the Seattle office of the Federal Housing asked me to lay out three temporary housing trailer camps, the largest of which was the present site of Sunriver near Bend. That work did not make me popular at Glenn’s!”
“When private work came to a standstill at the onset of World War II, rather than becoming a draftsman in a shipyard, I accepted an offer from Vancouver Housing Authority to complete the work left by the departure of Don Edmunson. After about a month, there was little to do except to watch the dentist across the alley pull teeth. That was neither interesting or enlightening. So, when Mary Alice (Hutchins) called, I expressed my boredom and reluctance to accept payment for doing nothing. She said, ‘Come over to Pietro’s because they need some help’.”
“CRANBROOK WAS UTIOPIA - I LEARNED THE TRUE MEANING OF THE FINNISH WORD - ‘SISU’ - TENACITY OF PURPOSE.”
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HUTCHINS EDUCATION Stanford University, Liberal Arts B.S. in Architecture, University of Oregon REGISTRATION State of Oregon State of Hawaii EMPLOYMENT Portland R. Burke Morden Architect A.E. Doyle and Associates Pietro Belluschi Independent Practice Hawaii and Oregon Law and Wilson Architects Independent Practice
1935-1937 1941 1946 1957
“Spec writing is something that any architect is happy to turn over to someone else. I was much more interested in the materials rather than the design of the thing. After all, every top designer needs backup people to relieve him of having to worry about what happens when you combine metals, for instance. Materials and the way things were put together were my particular interests...I wasn’t forced into
specifications writing because I was a woman.” Specifications Writer for Pietro Belluschi Mary Alice Hutchins quickly worked her way up from office “boy” to specifications writer under head draftsman/ architect William Crowell. During the war she simultaneously worked on an army hospital, barracks in Alaska and temporary housing for shipyard workers. With Belluschi’s encouragement she took her exam in 1945, passing every part except design on her first try. Back at the office, Pietro Belluschi reassured her that “inspired design” was something “you have to be born with” and told her that success in architecture can be obtained, “Only when you are so involved that you cut yourself shaving!” She took the structural part of the exam on VJ Day, the day “peace broke out” in the Pacific. She stayed with Belluschi’s office for ten years. One of the outstanding projects there was the Equitable Building (now the commonwealth building) in downtown Portland, one of the very first of the “curtain wall” designs.
Specifications for: Commonwealth Building Portland, Oregon (Formerly the Equitable Building)
After getting her license she joined the AIA and was very active. She served as Chapter secretary in 1955. In addition to being an FAIA member Mary Alice was also a founding member of the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) in 1948, member number 49. Their goal was, “to replace slowly and with great difficulty and much effort on the part of its members the old American Institute of Architects’ specification
1941 1941-1943 1943-1951 1951-1954 1954-1962 1962-1970
SPECIFICATIONS PROJECTS Hawaii and Maui Department of Transportation Office Building Housing Authority Kaahumanu Homes 1st National Bank of Hawaii, Aina Hina Punahou School Classrom Building Portland and Salem Commonwealth Building (formerly the Equitable Building) Portland Morning Oregonian Building Woodrow Wilson High School Surgical Wing Holladay Park Hospital Marion County Courthouse Federal Reserve Bank
“THEY FOUND OUT THEY COULDN’T DO WITHOUT US WHEN THE WAR CAME ALONG.”
Stanford University to Portland Mary Alice Hutchins’ architectural specialty was specifications writing. Sent to college by a family that believed a young woman should be prepared to support herself, she attended Stanford University in California and the University of Oregon in Eugene. After graduating from the University of Oregon’s architecture program in 1941, she was immediately hired by A.E. Doyle and Associates (which shortly became Pietro Belluschi’s firm). Mary Alice Hutchins was licensed in 1946, and stayed with Belluschi until 1951 when she entered private practice in Portland. In 1954 she took a job with the firm of Law and Wilson in Honolulu, Hawaii and worked on a number of large-scale projects, including the Hawaii State Capitol. When she inherited the family home in 1964, she returned to Portland.
Specifications for: Federal Reserve Building Portland, Oregon Photo: Sally Painter
“I was really fortunate. I didn’t have any obstacles to overcome. World War II had begun and the architectural offices were hurting for help. They were grateful to include women in offices where they hadn’t (been welcome) before. I did check out offices before I graduated and there just wasn’t a chance. They wouldn’t think of having a woman in the drafting room, but they found out they couldn’t do without us when the war came along. I came into the workforce at the time office boys were being drafted - so, I started out as an office boy.”
Specifications for: The Portland Morning Oregonian Newspaper Plant Portland, Oregon
filing system” in use since 1922. When Belluschi left Portland in 1951 to become Dean of Architecture at MIT, Mary Alice Hutchins spent a summer traveling through Europe before returning to Portland to free-lance. After her stint with Law and Wilson in Hawaii, she again returned to private practice commuting between clients in Oregon and Hawaii. After she retired she received awards for her participation in Portland civic groups and the Portland Chapter of the CSI.
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WINTERMUTE EDUCATION B.A., University of Oregon Portland State University Art History and Urban Studies REGISTRATION State of Oregon EMPLOYMENT Bonneville Power Authority Standard Oil, San Francisco, CA Pietro Belluschi, Portland, OR Independent Practice Architects Northwest, Principal Architect-in-Residence, Washington County Educational Service District Architect-in-Residence, Department of Defense Schools, Asian Region Coordinator and Program Trainer, Architects-in-Schools program Timberline Lodge Restoration Project
1941 1969-1973
1945 1941 1942-1943 1943-1948 1948-1970 1970-1980 1975-1991
Working at Belluschi’s Office Marjorie Wintermute carved out a unique niche for herself in the architectural community with her Architects in Schools program. A native Oregonian, she was born, raised and educated in Oregon. She worked her way through school keeping books for 35 cents per hour. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Oregon in 1941. Trained in interiors, but disillusioned with the field, she applied for a secretarial position with the Bonneville Power Authority. Her skills landed her a position as the sole woman in a drafting room with 175 men working on plans for hydroelectric dams. She worked for Standard Oil in San Francisco for two years and designed, among other things, a city for Arab workers in Bahrain. This experience gave her the confidence to return to Portland and apply for work in Pietro Belluschi’s office. She worked in the drafting room along with Mary Alice Hutchins. “The design portion of the architectural exam that we all took was on VJ Day - it was some day, I’ll tell you, and all the havoc was breaking loose out in the streets. I was engaged to someone who was overseas at the time and I thought, ‘How can I concentrate on this?’ I don‘t know how I passed it but I did. Then I did a thing which I would never have done today. I got married in 1947 and quit working for Pietro’s office because that was what was expected in my time. I continued working out of my home - mostly residential work - and, of course there
was a lot of that because everyone was getting married, coming back and setting up homes. When I think of it now... I was working for Pietro and I quit! Can you imagine! Stupidest thing I ever did.” Architects-in-Schools Program and Timberline Restoration Marjorie Wintermute focused on residential work while raising her two children. She worked on a drafting board set up at home from 1948 until 1970. She then became a principal in Architects Northwest and enjoyed the active interchange of the office for the next ten years. In 1975 she became the Architect-in-Residence for the Washington County Education Service District and began her second career in architectural education. She was hired by the Department of Defense Schools as architect-inresidence for the Asian region; in 1981-1983 she traveled under their auspices to Okinawa, Korea and the Philippines. She has sought out additional travel opportunities by leading European tours for students and adults. Beginning in 1985 she was the coordinator and program director for the Oregon Arts Commission for teachers and architects working in the Architects-in-Schools program. That same year she was hired to design and supervise the restoration work at Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood. A Visionary Individual In conjunction with her educational work, Marjorie Wintermute has written three books: STUDENTS, STRUCTURES AND SPACES (1978); BLUEPRINTS A BUILT ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION PROGRAM (1983); and ARCHITECTURE AS A BASIC
Timberline Lodge Lobby Restoration Project Mt. Hood, Oregon Photo: Sally Painter
“I was employed to do a restoration of the ground floor of Timberline Lodge. The space had been so misused - that was where everybody waxed their skies and cooked hamburgers and there was a deli where they fried french fries. When we started doing the main lobby, all the wood was black! We screened the whole thing off with plastic and used 409 wire brushes and water pressure. It took six weeks but we were able to get the original wood.” CURRICULUM BUILDER (1991). She served as chair of the local and national American Institute of Architects Public Education Committee. In 1978 she was granted AIA Fellowship status. Of the 1,880 architects who had become fellows only sixtysix were women. Additionally, she served on an advisory board for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Oregon Arts Commission Planning and Implementation Board. For public service related to architecture, she received a Gold Medal from the Heart Association
1981-1983 1985-1991 1985-1990
AWARDS AND SERVICE AIA (American Institute of Architects) Fellow 1978 Heart Association Gold Medal NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) Advisory Committee Campfire, Inc. Gulick Award Portland Historic Landmarks Commission Award
“I’M REALLY TRYING TO RETIRE. I JUST HAVEN’T MADE IT QUITE YET.”
Architects-in-Schools Program Oregon Photo: Sally Painter
“The office worked on the Equitable Building (in downtown Portland) which is the original prototype of the first skin-type building. It wasn’t controversial at the time; it was innovative. It was the first time heat pumps had been installed and there was supposed to be a Calder mobile in the lobby - which didn’t ever happen. It was the first skin-type building where nothing projected more than 3/4” beyond the frame - it was the prototype for all those buildings that came after it. Pietro is probably sorry he started it. It was a very important building.”
Private Residence Portland, Oregon Photo: Sally Painter
for a children’s activity magazine and a Gulick Award, the highest national award of Campfire Inc, for development and implementation of a city-wide environmental awareness program for the 10,000 member Portland Council. Her Portland Historic Landmarks Commission Award was inscribed: “A visionary individual - for instilling in Portland’s youth an appreciation of our architectural heritage.” She was awarded the Oregon Governor’s Award for the Arts in 1997.
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BARBOUR EDUCATION B Arch, University of Oregon
1942
REGISTRATION State of Washington State of Oregon State of Alaska
1973 1973 1983
EMPLOYMENT Where ever there was interesting work, because the pay was never what you could call ‘good!” Margaret Fritsch, Oregon early 1940’s Oregon Heart Association early 1950’s Freelance Writing early 1950’s John Beaver, Oregon 1950’s Bob Thompson, Oregon 1950’s Cobern E. Ackerly Washington 1960’s-1983
“I found it impossible to get a job at any of the architects in town. There wasn’t any work - at least not for me. I finally went to work for John Beaver, as a consulting engineer. I got down to the Pensalt building and we did paper mills, plywood plants, and container plants. He didn’t like to fly, so I took up flying to go do inspections. I worked for him the better part of three years until I decided I would be happier and closer to my children if I opened a boat shop and marina close to my riverfront home.
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The Thompsons Barbour did that ”for a while” and supplemented her income by working nights for Bob Thompson. She met Polly and Ray Thompson at this time, as Ray likewise worked the night shift. Ray taught her to write specifications. Slowly, she began to do more architectural work. Set Adrift During the summers, in between sessions, she worked for Margaret Fritsch and other architects. When the war came, it ended all the “nonessential” construction. Mid Barbour credits Fritsch for the reinforcement she received during this time. Shortly after graduation in 1943, she married. She worked “as a wife and stayed home and took care of the kids.” Although not working as an architect, she pursued her interest in art, painting many water colors. When her husband died in 1951, she cast about for ways to support her family. She wrote about boating and did classification work for the Oregon Heart Association. Her chief form of recreation was boat racing (hydroplanes). She participated in this sport for 33 years, building her own boats and engines. She set world speed records in the 48 cubic inch inboard class. Vancouver, Washington The boat business was sold, and Barbour secured a position as drafter with the firm of Coburn E. Ackley in Vancouver, WA. She worked her way up to chief drafts person, associate and finally partner in the firm. In 1971, the principal of the firm died.
The Hubb Portland, Oregon Photo: Sally Painter
PROJECTS Terwilliger Plaza Portland Oregon Parkview Center Portland, Oregon The Fontaine Apartments Portland, Oregon Metzger Park Washington County, Oregon The Smith Block Restoration Portland, Oregon The Marshall Center Vancouver, Washington Marshall House Restoration Vancouver, Washington SW Washington Health Center Vancouver, Washington Elahan Vancouver, Washington Recreational Center Vancouver, Washington School for the blind
“I WAS THE FIRST ONE TO BE LAID OFF WHEN WORK WOULD SLOW UP. THEY ALWAYS FIGURED THE FELLOWS WERE FAMILY MEN. NO ONE WANTED TO GIVE ANY THOUGHT TO THE FACT THAT I HAD A FAMILY, TOO.”
George Marshall Recreation Center Portland, Oregon Photo: Sally Painter
“I found myself with an office and no license. I called on Jean Spear, who had a license, to join me and finish up the work of the office. We did do that and I took a couple of years off and studied and obtained the required Washington license.” Office Struggles Registered in Oregon in 1973, she did some more work with Jean. They struggled and did “several nice things” but found they often ended up #2 when submitting design applications. “It costs a lot of money to be #2...after all architecture is a business as well as a profession.” The Fontaine Apartments Portland, Oregon Photo: Sally Painter
The “Lazy” Life After Jean left to work for a contractor in Tigard, Mid Barbour says she “just got lazy” and closed the Vancouver office and obtained an Alaska License. After that she traveled in Europe and Mexico, spending most of her time fishing, here in the Pacific Northwest, British Columbia, the Yukon Territory and Alaska.
Astronomy to Architecture Born in Russia in 1921, Lidija was raised in Latvia. on her grandparents farm, enjoying a happy childhood. At the University she was discouraged from pursuing her interest in art. Instead she studied astronomy, math, physics and the natural sciences. During the war, she fled to Germany and continued her studies at the Baltic University in Germany. Lidija and her husband emigrated to the United States in 1950. They lived for a while in Lincoln, Nebraska, where Lidija
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continued her studies. She found employment doing alterations for a dry cleaner for 60 cents/hour. By 1952, Lidija was living in Chicago, working as a master gear designer for Illinois Tool Works, making gears for large gear testing machinery ordered by Ford and John Deere plants. Laid off in the post-war industrial slowdown in 1954, she applied to the architecture school at IIT and entered as a third year student in the five year program.
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BALODIS EDUCATION Astronomy and Mathematics, University of Riga, Lativa Architecture, Baltic University, Germany B. Architecture Illinois Institute of Technology M.S. City and Regional Planning Illinois Institute of Technology Associate of Arts, PCC, Portland REGISTRATION State of Oregon EMPLOYMENT SOM/Chicago SOM/Portland, EKK, Western Homes Prefab Construction Bonneville Power Administration
Service and Art During her time at BPA, she was named Engineer of the year and was involved with the organization of Federally Employed Women (the aptly acronymed F.E.W.). She has served on the State of Oregon Advisory Board for Certification and Training of Building Officials, was secretary of her church board for years, and is a member of two earth science and six different art clubs.
“White Season” painting Photo: Laurie Black
“I had five years of college in Europe and got two years credit. Mies van der Rohe was the head of the school and Caldwell was the construction specialist. Caldwell was very strict. Details through here, details through there... ‘Details, full sheet tomorrow, eight o’clock, full scale. And no one look up any material!’”
1943-1944 1949 1957 1959 1990 1968 1956-1959 1959-1961 1961-1980
PROJECTS Parke-Davis Labs Ann Arbor, MI Cadet Quarters, Air Force Academy Colorado Upjohn Co. Kalamazoo, MI Power Poles & Maintenance Buildings BPA HONORS AND AWARDS Engineer of the Year, BPA Service Award, Portland Federal Executive Board
“I was late in school because of coming over from Europe. I called up this office in Chicago for summer employment. I had quite a lengthy talk with the man. He said ‘Bring your samples’, then gave me the date and hour, but his one final word was ‘Are you a woman?’ Everything else I said didn’t matter. ‘We don’t hire women. We don’t have facilities for women.’ This was in the mid fifties.”
1968 1970
“LEARN, LEARN, LEARN! THERE IS SO MUCH MORE TO LIFE!”
Balodis Residence Tigard, Oregon Photo: Laurie Black
IIT While finishing her studies at IIT, Lidija began working for SOM in Chicago as junior structural designer. Her projects included work on the Parke Davis Labs in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Cadet Quarters, Air Force Academy, Colorado; and Upjohn, Kalamazoo, Michigan. She did further studies in city planning and obtained her Masters in Urban Design and Planning from IIT and hoped to persue her doctorate at Carnegie Tech. Her husband, however, did not want to move to
Pittsburgh. Instead they moved to Portland. After a short stint at SOM, Lidija worked for a year at Edmunson, Kochendoerfer, and Kennedy. She did some work on the new Pendleton Hospital. Laid off in a work slowdown, she found a job as a designer for Robert Oringdulph’s father’s company, Western Homes Prefab Construction. She worked seven days a week for $3/hour and found the work uninteresting. In 1961, when a position with the BPA opened up, the benefits and security offered were too good to turn down.
Parke-Davis Labs Ann Arbor, Michigan Photo: Louise Bankey
“I was hired as an engineering technician. I was anxious at that time because I did need architectural experience to qualify for the exam. I worked in engineering five years designing steel towers. Finally, I got into the architectural division, working on buildings! I did the preliminary design for maintenance buildings, also landscape site design at substations: Chemawa, Troutdale, J.D. Rose, North Bend, Sickler, Snohomish... There’s nothing there to brag about.”
Born October 3, 1899, in Portland, Oregon, she was the fourth of five children born to Richard Bennet Goodin and Ella Emily Buck. First Woman to Graduate Margaret Fritsch entered the University of Oregon as a pre-med student because her father thought “girls should be teachers or nurses.” She would visit with friends at the architecture school and, when she expressed an interest, was encouraged by Dean Ellis Lawrence to pursue the fine arts because no woman had ever graduated from the school of architecture at the time. “It was a surprise to me that I continued with it, and it surprised me that I graduated and it surprised me when I got my first job.” In 1923 Margaret Fritsch became the first woman to graduate from the University of Oregon’s newly accredited School of Architecture and the Allied Arts. First Jobs Just out of school, Margaret Fritsch worked for the firm of Houghtaling
and Dougan, and then joined the office of Morris H. Whitehouse. During the same period, she met her hustbandto-be, Fred Fritsch who had designed several notable projects for Whitehouse and Fouilhoux, including the University Club in Portland. In 1926, Margaret Fritsch became parttime secretary for the Oregon Board of Architectural Examiners. This Governor appointed original board included John E. Wicks (the father of friend and future architect Ebba Wicks Brown) of Astoria. Late in 1926 she became the first woman licensed to practice architecture in the State of Oregon. Temple Beth Israel Margaret Fritsch was with Whitehouse during the period 1926-1928 when he collaborated with Herman Brookman on the design for Temple Beth Israel in Northwest Portland. The first design of her own was an addition to the Delta Delta Delta (Tri-Delt) Sorority House at the University of Oregon; it was also constructed during this time.
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Delta Delta Delta Sorority House Addition University of Oregon Photo: Sally Painter
Philadelphia and the Crash In 1929, Fred Fritsch fell ill and they traveled to Philadelphia seeking treatment. In Philadelphia they collaborated for the first and only time on the Tri-Delt Sorority House at the University of Pennsylvania. “(It was) the only time we really fought...I remember he said, ‘If you’d just draw a little less and think a little more’.” Then came the Crash of ‘29 and the Great Depression. After moving back to Portland in 1930, Margaret Fritsch found work with the school district transferring plans from paper to linen for $16.50 a week.
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Independent Practice Margaret Fritsch adopted an eleven year old girl in 1935, shortly after Fred’s death. Margaret overcame her grief, and went into independent practice designing new homes. The house she is the proudest of is a beachhouse in Gearhart, Oregon. Portland Housing Authority When World War II started there were no architecture projects and she began site planning and construction supervision for the Portland Housing Authority. The PHA was the largest housing authority in the United States at that time, with more than 40,000 units.
EDUCATION B. Architecture, University of Oregon
1923
“I drew my last check and put it in the bank and the next day the bank didn’t open...By that time Fred was an invalid so that made it tough.”
REGISTRATION State of Oregon
1926
Urban Planning and Alaska Margaret Fritsch did planning work for many Northwest communities and the Alaska Housing Authority. In 1964, at the age of 64, she moved permanently to Alaska to become the first Planning Director for the Greater Juneau Borough. She was responsible for preparing, adopting and administering subdivision regulations for the newly formed 3,000 square mile borough.
“Margaret’s mother came across from Ohio to Oregon in an oxdrawn cart. Her husband died. She went back to Ohio. She married Margaret’s father. They came out by ox cart to Oregon. That is really pioneering. And here is Margaret at age 64 taking on a job and moving to Alaska. You have to wonder about genetics - what role it plays in the pioneering spirit.” -Adrianne Brockman on Margaret Fritsch
Three Centuries Margaret Fritsch had a goal to live to be 100 years old and thereby to have lived in three centuries, 18992000. She passed away in 1993, seven years shy of her goal.
“In her mid-eighties she inherited a little money, and invested in a second story addition to her cabin for a more commanding view. Instead of a bed she had a futon. She never thought about limitations... She has been an inspiration to all who have known her.” -Adrianne Brockman
EMPLOYMENT Portland and Lake Oswego, Oregon Houghtaling and Dougan Morris H. Whitehouse (later Whitehouse, Stanton, Church) Jamieson Parker Independent Practice Portland Housing Authority Urban Renewal Planning Planner with Ivan Block & Assoc. Partner, Harlan Nelson & Assoc. Fritsch & Koslovski, Planning Juneau, Alaska Planning Director Planning and Special Projects
1923-1924 1924-1931 1931-1932 1933-1940 1941-1949 1949-1950 1950-1957 1957-1959 1960-1963
Beachhouse: Gearhart, Oregon Photo: Sally Painter
“That changed my life a lot because after the war architecture just wasn’t fun anymore... Everything was stock... In the meantime I had gotten the feel of something that was for a lot of people instead of just one family. So I stayed on in that business and was associated with Harlan Nelson as a city planner.”
1964-1969 1969-1974
PROJECTS Tri-Delt House Addition University of Oregon Beachhouse Gearhart, Oregon City Planning: Umatilla and Molalla, OR; Kent and Camas, WA; Juneau and Douglas, AK National Assoc. of Housing Officials President Volunteers at Home for Working Girls Chair AIA (American Institute of Architects) 50 years
Comprehensive Plan Greater Juneau Borough, Alaska
“ONE OF THE THINGS AN ARCHITECT NEEDS...IS NOT TO STAY IN ONE OFFICE. YOU CAN LEARN SO MUCH IN EVERY OFFICE...IT’S VERY NICE WHEN...YOU GET MORE THAN ONE IDEA OF HOW TO DO A THING.”
The New Landscape Design Barbara Fealy was a landscape architect whose work at Salishan Lodge on the Oregon Coast received national recognition. Her projects in Oregon included work at Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood, the ADEC Industrial Park in Newberg and the Oregon School of Arts and Crafts in Portland. She was later selected to design a “Portland Garden” in Yarigihara Park in Sapporo, Japan.
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EDUCATION B.A., University of Illinois, Department of Landscape Architecture REGISTRATION Landscape Architect, Oregon
1925
Fealy grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her father, owner of the Utah Nursery Company had high expectations for her. He previewed the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Illinois, met with the Dean of Women and called on the faculty. Satisfied with the program’s excellence, he sent her for four years of training in Landscape Architecture.
The Depression Years After graduation, Fealy returned to Salt Lake City to assist with the family business. In 1928, she took her first drafting/design job in Denver with McCrary, Culley and Carhart, Landscape Architects. Three years later, she again returned to Salt Lake to develop a private practice. Being extremely resourceful, she managed to find a variety of small jobs during the Depression. She secured a position with the first Utah State Planning Commission in 1932. In 1934, as the Depression eased, she married and resumed her practice, gaining clients by word of mouth. During this period she was widowed with an infant son. Fortunately she was in a position with her career to proceed as the sole support of her family. “I’ve always had to earn money, but I’ve always liked being independent.”
“You’ve heard a tune where the notes were all there, but it wasn’t music? You add the harmony and the arrangements; there are crescendos and obbligatos. I have a friend who is a musician and she’s been wanting me to help her make a garden. I said, ‘This is what we’re trying to do. We’re playing music out here’.”
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EMPLOYMENT McCrary, Culley and Carhart 1926-1929 Denver, Colorado Barbara Fealy, 1929-1947 Landscape Architect, Salt Lake City, Utah Barbara Fealy, 1947-2000 Landscape Architect, Beaverton, Oregon PROJECTS Salishan Lodge Glenenden Beach, OR Timberline Lodge Mt. Hood, OR ADEC Industrial Park Newberg, OR Oregon School of Arts & Crafts Portland, OR Sister City Garden Sapporo, Japan HONORS & AWARDS Fellow, ASLA ASLA Honor Award, Salishan Lodge ASLA Merit Award, Lewis Residence Portland Garden Club Award Portland Beautification Association Timberline Lodge “Special Award”
College of Optometry, Pacific University Forest Grove, Oregon Photo: Laurie Black
1985 1988 1989 1984 1990 1991
“THIS IS WHAT WE’RE TRYING TO DO. WE’RE PLAYING MUSIC OUT HERE.”
“Salishan was a perfectly wonderful challenge. My part of it was to restore the forest. The site had to be restored with grading, native plants collected from the wild and rocks to bring back its natural beauty. That seemed the greatest challenge of all, doing everything in a completely natural way... I just looked at the way things were growing in the woods and did more of that.” Harvey Scott Memorial Library Pacific University Forest Grove, Oregon Photo: Laurie Black
L.C. Binford Apartments Portland, Oregon Photo: Laurie Black
From 1921-1925 Barbara Fealy studied under Stanley White, “a very exciting and imaginative man, the shining light of our faculty.” During field trips with Jens Jensen (famous for avocacy of indigenous plants and developer of ‘Prairie Style’), she developed a keen appreciation for native landscapes in a period when most landscapes were patterned after the formal, ornamental gardenst of Europe. Frank Lloyd Wright, whose architecture is noted for its response to the landscape, as well as Frederick Law Olmstead’s parks and campuses, directly influenced her work. She also studied pencil drawing, sketching and watercolors to develop her sense of composition and style of illustration. Fealy received her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1925, one of 8 women among the 48 graduates in the program.
Discovering the Beauty of the Northwest With her second marriage came Barbara Fealy’s second child, a daughter born in 1946. Her husband was transferred to Portland in 1947. She gave up her successful practice in Utah to move to Oregon, sight unseen. She was initially unprepared for the contrast of climate. “It took me about a year to adjust. Then I discovered the beauty of the Northwest.”
Salishan Lodge Landscape Architect In the early 1950’s, Barbara Fealy became the landscape architect for Willamette View Manor in Milwaukie, Oregon. This sizeable project helped add stability to her practice. In the 1960’s she was chosen as landscape architect of the design team to oversee the site planning and landscape design for Salishan Lodge.
“Architecture is a vocation, an art, a science – it’s a perfect profession for someone like me who is interested in pretty much everything and is constantly curious about the world around me. It can be obsessive because it can always be better, but this keeps us on our toes. We are always learning, always improving. It’s certainly not a way to make a fortune but it is a way to have a rich life. This isn’t a story, I guess. But it’s why I’m an architect. ”
b e c c a CAVELL EDUCATION BA in Architecture, University of Liverpool UK B Arch, University of Liverpool UK
Becoming an Architect Becca had first contemplated pursuing a career in architecture when she was only 15 years old. This dream was realized at 21 when she started her path through 5 years of schooling and 2 years of professional work to become licensed in the UK. When she moved to the United States her RIBA qualifications were not recognized so she was put through the harrowing experience of verifying her education, establishing an IDP record, and taking the Architect Registration Exam’s.
THA As the Practice Principal with THA Architecture, Becca leads a design-first company that was the AIA Northwest and Pacific Region Firm of the Year in 2013. Her work focuses on public architecture and is founded in the principles of Modern and contextual design. It is fitting that her volunteer work expands on these two themes as she advocates for greater appreciation and preservation of regional Modernism.
1988 1991
EMPLOYMENT Robertson & Erksine Architects, Glasgow 1988 - 1989 Nicholas Hare Architects, London 1992 - 1994 SERA Architects, Portland 1994 - 1998 THA Architecture, Portland 1998 - Present
Education Advocacy Becca was awarded a Van Evera Bailey Fellowship in 2005 and leveraged the funding to initiate an education program at the University of Oregon, which in turn provided invaluable research material for her newly created tour event attended by thousands of tourgoers. Becca’s advocacy has resulted in greater public, professional, and academic awareness of the Pacific Northwest’s important trove of regional Modernist architecture.
“Our industry is facing many challenges, as buildings become increasingly complex and our world increasingly litigious. Drawing by hand was almost obsolete when I entered the professional, and now Building Information Modeling is the industry standard. The ability to conceptualize buildings in great detail before they are constructed has revolutionized many aspects of architecture including how buildings are delivered – design/build is becoming increasingly common and the future, I hope, lies in highly integrated teams of architects and contractors working towards a common goal of design and craft excellence.”
VOLUNTEER WORK Streets of Eames Tour of Modern Homes 2005-2010 “Mid-Century Modern” Tour 2012 - Present Docomomo US National Tour Day 2013 - Present Design Matters Home Tour 2010 - Present Lewis Integrative Science Building The University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon
“DON’T WAIT TO BE ASKED - DON’T BE TOO POLITE. SHARE YOUR IDEAS, SHOW YOUR COMMITMENT AND YOUR PASSION. LISTEN WELL - LISTEN ACTIVELY. FORGE STRONG MENTORING RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN AND OUTSIDE OF YOUR OFFICE. SEEK OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE YOUR COMMUNITY - GET INVOVLED WITH VOLUNTEER WORK. UNDERSTAND THAT IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO NURTURE AND GROW YOUR OWN CAREER. ADVOCATE FOR YOURSELF AND OTHERS. ADVOCATE FOR EXCELLENCE IN DESIGN. SPEAK YOUR MIND.”
Broad Influence Street of Eames was a phenomenon from the start. Becca’s organizational skills helped guide its success; as co-founder and the sole architect on board, Becca curated the house selection. The tours’ influence is profound. Attended by thousands of design enthusiasts including national and international visitor, it enjoyed strong press coverage and raised over $500,000 for a program aiding homeless children. This tour has become a model for similar events around the country.
Woodstock Library Multnomah County Library Portland, OR
Devoting her career in landscape architecture to academic pursuit, Cynthia has generated a collective body of work that has advanced the academic, professional and cultural knowledge of landscape architecture. Her deep research into the human condition and the framework of social, humane and sustainable urban places has influenced the shape, form and character of community.
cynthia GIRLING EDUCATION: University of Manitoba, BES University of Oregon, BLA University of Oregon, MLA
EXPERIENCE: Vegelatos Associates Landscape Arch. Professor of Landscape Arch. University of Oregon Professor of Landscape Arch. University of Manitoba Professor of Landscape Arch. University of Oregon Professor of Landscape Arch. University of British Columbia PROFESSIONAL: RLA British Columbia Society of Landscape Architects Canadian Society of Landscape Arch. American Society of Landscape Arch. Registered Landscape Architect, OR Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture Fellow of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects
She has been invited to deliver more than thirty lectures throughout the US and Canada, has authored numerous award-winning technical publications and journal reviews and two internationally recognized books. In her academic practice, she has influenced and guided well over fifty master degree recipients
1975 1978 1980
in the fields of landscape architecture, community and regional planning. With Professor Ronald Kellett, she co-directs the elementslab, a research group in the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture and housed in the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability. The Lab creates sustainabilityoriented urban design tools, plans, codes, standards, guidelines and prototypes aimed at informing local planning and urban design processes. Girling and Kellett are co-authors of elementsdb, a database of field-measured examples of urban land uses. elementsdb is a decision-support tool for students, professionals and researchers in the quest to design more sustainable urban regions.
1980-86 1987-95 1994 1995-2004 2004- Present
1983-Present 1983-Present 1990-Present 1996-2013
PUBLICATIONS: Yard Street Park, The Design for Suburban Open Space Skinny Streets and Green Neighborhoods: Design for Environment and Community
2007 2011 2012
1994 2005
Illustration from Skinny Streets and Green Neighborhoods, Design for Environment and Communities by Cynthia Girling and Ronald Kellett
“Like many professionals, I deeply value landscape architecture and my friends and colleagues in the profession. When in a high density situation like a professional conference, I realize why- its the people.”
“As a woman in the profession I aspire to share the unique perspectives and values of this profession with my students, and young people as they move into the professional and academic world, and add to our tribe.”
Cynthia Girling demonstrating to students the multi-touch table to create and compare neighborhood designs that satisfy constraints
Cynthia is admired by her colleagues as the rare individual who at every juncture, in practice, as an educator, scholar, administrator and leader has distinguished herself, while skillfully finding ways to have her myriad activities reinforce each other. The influence of her work extends across the Canadian/U.S. Cascadia region, which is well recognized as one of the continent’s premier proving grounds for green urbanism. In the mid1990s she first refined
the guiding principles and mission that have consistently put her at the forefront of researchers, educators, and writers who themselves are the vanguard of sustainabledesign innovation. Her body of work— including lectures, technical papers, two books, and an extensive list of master’s degree recipients—promises to extend her stillevolving vision for shaping sustainable communities well into the future throughout North America.
“LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS VALUE NATURE, SUSTAINABILITY, JUSTICE, AND WELFARE, AND EXPRESS THOSE VALUES THROUGH CREATING INSPIRING AND MEANINGFUL OUTDOOR SPACES.”
Carol’s first experience getting into the design profession was in high school when she was not allowed to take a drafting class. “I was told I would, NOT ENJOY IT, and why don’t you take fine arts classes instead?” But undeterred and throughout college, Carol often found herself as one of two women in her design studios and lecture halls. “In early practice, contractors used to whistle and make catcalls at me on the job sites. Back then client contracts were negotiated over a two-martini lunch and the DJC used to have a good old boys business advice column or some such nonsense. So yes, things have changed for the better.”
carol mayer R E E D
EDUCATION: Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design, The Ohio State University Master of Landscape Architecture & Planning, Utah State University
1977
EMPLOYMENT: Warner, Walker & Macy John Warner Associates Mayer/Reed Landscape Architecture Mayer/Reed, Inc.
1977 - 79 1979 - 83 1983 - 86 1986 - Present
1973
“There are many more women in the design professions now and we tend to be very skilled at collaboration, listening
and thinking holistically about complex issues.” Carol is pleased to see the significant contributions of women over the last thirty years. Carol opened her practice in 1983 deeply inspired by her mentor, Barbara Fealy, FASLA. They met in Portland when Barbara was in her late 70s. She was a significant role model and encouraged Carol to pursue her design interests while raising a family. Barbara shared valuable advice; and through her positive attitude, she encouraged Carol to find out if her dreams might be possible. Most importantly, Carol has had tremendous support from her husband and business partner, Michael. As a team, they have achieved a good balance of professional interests and raising two children.
The Rain Garden at the Oregon Convention Center Portland, OR
Carol is amazed by how many talented, accomplished people have been a part of the firm at Mayer/Reed. The staff continues to find ways to creatively express and expand the work and unique office culture. For Carol, coming to work every day is a joy simply because of them.
“FOLLOW YOUR PASSIONS IN FINDING THE PART OF PRACTICE THAT SUITS YOUR INTERESTS. FIND WAYS TO WEAVE THE POWER OF DESIGN AND PROBLEM SOLVING INTO YOUR DAILY LIVES. TRAVEL, AND OBSERVE PEOPLE AND UNDERSTAND THE ENVIRONMENT. SPEAK UP AND SHARE YOUR INSIGHTS WITH OTHERS.” “If the work/life balance or professional demands turn out to be unsatisfactory I would encourage women to use their talents, if not in design, then in other related, creative or community pursuits. I do think it’s important for kids to see their moms as role models and professionals with ideas and contributions to make. ”
AWARDS: Bud Clark Commons American Society of Landscape Architects, National Honor Award, 2013 and American Society of Landscape Architects, Oregon Chapter Award of Excellence, 2012 Port of Portland Headquarters American Society of Landscape Architects, Oregon Chapter Honor Award, 2011 Nike World Headquarters North Campus Expansion American Society of Landscape Architects, National Merit Award, 2001 Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade American Society of Landscape Architects, National Merit Award, 2004 American Society of Landscape Architects, Oregon Chapter Award of Excellence, 2004 and The Waterfront Center, Excellence on the Waterfront Honor Award, 2001 The Rain Garden, Oregon Convention Center Expansion American Society of Landscape Architects, Oregon Chapter Honor Award, 2004
Demands “There are so many high demands in the design professions, we each have to find our areas of interest, expertise and balance. I managed to strike a life balance between working and being a spouse and a parent, but it was very difficult and it seemed quite chaotic at times. Lack of sleep and time management definitely took a toll! However, running my own business has allowed me to have more control over my fate and I was able to focus my work toward projects that suited my interests and values. “
Bud Clark Commons Portland, OR
“All of our projects share a common theme of collaboration. We enjoy both leading and being part of creative teams that work together toward the common goal of serving the public and private clients, while bringing the highest level of design and environmental quality”
Port of Portland Headquarters Portland, OR
Becoming an Architect Linda’s interest in architecture began when she found a book in her grade school library while researching for a report on careers. The book Lady Architect, loosely based on Julia Morgan, it was a clear message that… to Linda, “I could do that!”
l i n d a BARNES EDUCATION: B.Arch with Distinction, Arizona State University
1970
ARCHITECTURAL REGISTRATION: State of Arizona State of Oregon
1974 1980
After receiving an academic scholarship to Arizona State University, she began the road that led her to be the third woman ever to graduate from Arizona State University’s College of Architecture. Lacking years of work experience many of the other students had, Linda began her first year learning how to
sharpen a mechanical pencil, print accurately, and use a T-square. With her skills developed Linda finished the third of her five years at the top of her class. After graduating Linda worked at several Arizona firms, learning the profession and working towards becoming a licensed architect. The energy crisis in 1972 aroused Linda’s intellectual and architectural curiosity and inspired much of her later work. In 1974 Linda became licensed in Arizona. Two years later she moved to Portland, Oregon bringing her professional philosophies on energy issues, affordable housing, and empowering women to life.
“THE IMPACT OF COMPUTERS HAS BEEN HUGE! IT IS SO UNEXPECTED THAT HAND DRAWING OR EVEN SKETCHING IS DISAPPEARING” “Don’t get pigeon holed. Develop a depth of experience at each firm you work for. I chose the small firm route of experience …just for the variety and I enjoy the different skills and abilities that are required.”
TITLES / POSITIONS: LEEDTM Accredited Professional Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, 2000 Portland Building Code & Fire Code Appeals Board EXPERIENCE: Arizona architectural firms Robert Harvey Oshatz Architect Sax Associate Architecture Robertson, Merryman, Barnes Architects, Inc. Merryman Barnes Architects PROJECTS: Classical Chinese Garden (Lan Su Garden) Old Town Lofts PSU Smith Center Improvements PSU Urban Plaza Portland Parks and Recreation: Flavel Maintenance Facility PDC: Dawson Park Gazebo Renovation PDC Offices at the Mason Ehrman Building
Old Town Lofts Portland, OR
1988-1992 1992-2007 2007-Present Portland, OR Portland, OR Portland, OR Portland, OR Portland, OR Portland, OR Portland, OR
COMMUNITY & PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATION: Elected to the AIA College of Fellows, 2000 City Hall Renovation Committee Governor’s Alternative Energy Development Committee Oregon Council of Architects, Board Member Columbia Solar Energy Association, Officer Solar Oregon, Officer and or Board Member Architectural Foundation of Oregon, Board Member Portland Chapter AIA: Energy Committee, Chair Portland Chapter AIA: Women in Architecture, Co-chair Solar Oregon: Goal Net Zero Tour Committee, Co-chair City of Portland Building Code Appeals Board City of Portland Fire Code Appeals Board Multnomah County Building Code Appeals Board
Lan Su Garden Portland, OR
In 1992 Linda joined Nancy Merryman and Candace Robertson in establishing one of the largest entirely women-owned firms in the northwest. One of the firm’s primary goals is
the design of projects that improve the quality of personal and community life. That founding mission has also strengthened and supported Linda’s own personal and professional goals.
Bainbridge Liden Residence Portland, OR
“Getting my first architectural license (Arizona in 1974) and seeing that this official document said “he has”, “his profession”, etc. I requested a replacement and reminded them….there were more of us women coming along!!”
Martha was at the University of Oregon in the Architecture program when she received a critique from a professor who told her, “Even though your work is more than satisfactory, architecture is a very difficult field for women… you should seriously consider a different profession.” Undeterred by this, she continued the five year program and was awarded the Women’s Architectural League Scholarship.
martha peck ANDREWS EDUCATION: Bachelor of Architecture, University of Oregon
1972
REGISTERED: State of Oregon
1976
EXPERIENCE: Michael L. Rosenberg, AIA The Vincent Association Dale E. Selzer Associates Reddick Burn Architects Andrews Architects, Inc. PROJECTS: Oak Street Rowhouses Albina Corner Cipriano Ferrel Educ. Center The Osborn Building Silvercrest Residence Sunset Apartments Highland Station Apts. Columbia County Women’s Shelter Ardea Corner Rosemont Commons Apts.
During the next 25 years, Martha’s work as an architect profoundly impacted hundreds of individuals and families by advancing people’s living standards in the closest and most personal way through housing
design. In 1978 Martha and her husband James established their firm, Andrews Architects. Working hand-in-hand with both the client and resident groups, their firm has designed projects for a wide variety of client specific needs. Martha’s interest in the broader goal to improve environments and healthy communities has extended to her service on the Portland Planning Commission and as a key player in the Architecture Foundation of Oregon’s Architects in Schools program. As president of the Architects Council of Oregon in 1995, she led a statewide AIA effort toward the passage of legislation that would improve the profession’s service to the public.
“When I was in college there was little exposure to handicapped accessibility, energy efficiency and sustainability, and seismic design. No architect now would design any building, even a small house, without considering these issues.”
House on Soapstone Creek Clatsop County
Remembering that architecture has not always been an easy choice of profession for women, Martha was one of the founding members of the Women in Architecture Committee at the Portland AIA Chapter to help support and mentor younger women entering the field.
1970-1972 1972-1973 1974-1975 1975-1977 1978-2013 Portland, OR Portland, OR Woodburn, OR Portland, OR Portland, OR Roseburg, OR Salem, OR St. Helens, OR Portland, OR Portland, OR
“BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE! PUT IN 200% EFFORT.”
Oak Street Row Houses Portland, OR
“My husband and I, both architects, thought we would have more oppertunities to make design decisions if we opened our own firm. At the same time we were thinking about starting our own family and believed we would have more flexibility in setting our own schedules if we had our own practice.” The Osborn Building Portland, OR
Through excellence in housing design, especially for special needs citizens, and through advocacy for sound land use planning, built environment education for children, and better service from the profession, Martha Peck Andrews was elevated to AIA Fellowship in 1998. .
Granddaughter of the State Senator/county doctor who helped design the first hospital in Klamath Falls, Oregon, and daughter of the town’s most eminent physician, Nancy originally intended to go into medicine. While at the University of Oregon Nancy was more engaged in a friend’s architectural work than her own chemistry books and applied to switch programs. Later Nancy was asked by two of her professors to work in their professional offices, and her final studio project was requested for the schools archives. When she graduated in 1980 with a Bachelor of Architecture with Honors, Nancy was one of 10 women.
n a n c y MERRYMAN EDUCATION: Architectural Association, London B.Arch, University of Oregon, Dean’s List History & Theory course
1978 1980 1983
ARCHITECTURAL REGISTRATION State of Oregon
1984
TITLES: LEED™ Accredited Professional Fellow of American Institute of Architects Portland Design Commissioner AIA Portland Chapter President EXPERIENCE: BOORA Architects Webb Merryman Independent work Robertson, Merryman, Barnes Architects, Inc. Merryman Barnes Architects PROJECTS: St. Juan Diego Catholic Church J Frank Schmidt Pavilion Portland State University - master plan and remodel of Smith Memorial Student Center, Research Greenhouse, Student Health and Counseling Center Expansion and remodel New Columbia Redevelopment master plan & housing Nelson Hearn residence Freschi residence
Nancy was recruited right out of school and worked for 11 years at BOOR/A Architects. Some of her key projects there were the Portland Center of Performing Arts, Walnut Creek Lesher Theater, Byron Seaver Teaching Theater, as well as additions to the School of Architecture at the University of Oregon. In 1992 Nancy joined Linda Barnes and Candace Robertson in establishing one of the first entirely woman-owned architecture firms. One of the firm’s primary goals has always been to design projects that improve the quality of personal and community life. That founding mission has strengthened and supported Nancy’s own personal and professional goals.
“Women really have made great strides over the last 30 years in being accepted and being put in positions of responsibility. When I started, the women were almost always the ones laid off first in times of economic downturns, and any women who were principals were typically interiors, marketing, or business professionals, not architects.”
St. Juan Diego Catholic Church Portland, Oregon
“LEARN ABOUT THE BUSINESS AND MARKETING ASPECTS OF THE PROFESSION - MAKE THEM TEACH YOU SO YOU UNDERSTAND THE PRESSURES AND PARAMETERS WHICH WILL MAKE YOU A BETTER DESIGNER/ARCHITECT/EMPLOYEE AND MORE LIKELY TO BE SEEN AS PRINCIPAL MATERIAL; OR BETTER PREPARED TO START YOUR OWN FIRM ONE DAY.”
2006 1995 – 2003 2006 1980-1991 1991 1991-1992 1992-2007 2007-Present Portland, OR Silverton, OR
Portland, OR Portland, OR Vancouver, WA Klamath Falls, OR
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATION: Elected to the College of Fellows 2006 Architecture Foundation of Oregon’s Executive Board 2008 - Present Nancy has also served as a juror on several AIA design award committees; Southern Colorado design awards, the Alaska design awards, and the City of Portland’s courtyard housing competition panel.
PSU Smith Memorial Union Portland, Oregon
J Frank Schmidt Pavilion Silverton, Oregon
“I hit the glass ceiling, needed to earn a living, and didn’t know what else I might do. Partly, I ‘navigated’ that time by pure grit and stubbornness and by starting my own firm. In hindsight, I wish I had gotten some career counseling and found out what other work might be out there that could take advantage of my skills and education.”
Background Robin Lee Gyorgyfalvy, FASLA, has dedicated her career to public service. She has shaped public spaces using innovative public policies which create economic vitality for rural communities adjacent to federal lands. She has received international and national recognition for her work in scenic byway planning, conservation education, visitor centers, and environmental design for accessible recreation.
r o b i n GYORGYFALVY EDUCATION: Mt Holyoke College, BA - Art/Sculpture Dartmouth College,Environmental Studies University of Hawai`i,Graduate Studies Architecture/Urban & Regional Planning University of Oregon, MLA and BLA Landscape Architecture University of Oregon,Varsity Letterwinner EXPERIENCE: EDAW Tongg & Associates Alexander & Baldwin Robin Lee Landscape Architect Deschutes National Forest
1973 1971-72 1973-75
She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Art/Sculpture from Mt. Holyoke College, attended Dartmouth College in 3-D Design and Environmental Studies (Exchange), attended the Graduate School of Architecture, Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Hawai`i, and earned Masters and Bachelor degrees in Landscape Architecture and was a Varsity Letterwinner in women’s soccer at the University of Oregon.
1978 1976-78
1974 1975 1980-82 1982-2002 1987-Present
PROFESSIONAL: Cascade Lakes National Scenic Byway Oregon Ray Atkeson Memorial Interpretive Trail Oregon Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway Visitor Center Oregon Lava Lands Visitor Center and Accessible Trail Oregon Port Ghalib Marine Research Visitor Center Egypt Kelimutu National Volcanic Park Indonesia Yunnan Three Rivers National Park China Kaneohe Marine Corps Air Station Master Landscape Plan Hawai`i PROFESSIONAL SERVICE: ASLA Service 1981-2014 Bend 2030 Community Vision 2005-2014 Oregon State Board of Architects 1997-2005 City of Bend Urban Renewal Agency 2000-2003 Award of Excellence, Communications, ASLA 1982
Hellgate Canyon Overlook Scenic Wild and Scenic Rogue River, Southern Oregon
Community Her leadership, strategic planning, marketing, design, and communication skills create positive images that increase awareness for landscape architects in the public realm. She initiates programs that create cross cultural awareness and opportunities for diversity in the workplace for design professionals. While recently on assignment as the Forest Service’s Acting Regional Deputy Director for Public Affairs and Communications, she oversaw strategic reviews for ecological restoration, healthy forests, and community partnerships in California, Hawai’i, and the Pacific Islands. Her work shaping public spaces using innovative public policy includes leadership for Bend 2030 Community Vision Board of Directors, National Scenic Byways Program, and multi-modal transportation planning for the Forest Service and the City of Bend. Her groundbreaking efforts include strategic approaches in community planning and design that create opportunities and communication skills that gain consensus.
“You had to know how to deal with different personalities, be flexible in your work environment and with stressful travel situations in foreign countries, be focused on project requirements and deadlines, and know how to give thanks to those helping you with the mountains of paperwork when it was all over. ”
Ray Atkeson Memorial Interpretive Trail at Sparks Lake Cascade Lakes National Scenic Byway, Central Oregon
“The ability to make things happen through being organized, strategic, and inspired are important tools that you will need early on in your career. Being entrepreneurial in your approach to finding funding and support for your ideas is key. Finding your voice and using the arts, storytelling, cultural traditions, and the humanities are critical pieces for delivering conservation messages that make landscape architecture the most important profession in the world.” Achievements Robin has led international planning and design teams on many groundbreaking projects throughout the Pacific Islands, Asia, and Egypt. Her recent international project is Egypt’s very first marine research visitor center. An earlier project in China with The Nature Conservancy was their first-ever project in China, creating a model for conservation and sustainable development. Her award-winning book “Legends of the Hawaiian Forest” is well-known for teaching a conservation land ethic to children in Hawai’i.
Using her excellent communications and mentoring skills, Robin has found a multitude of ways through design and planning to collaborate with, connect, and inspire people to gain respect for the lands and their inhabitants. These outstanding leadership qualities, along with her innate cultural sensitivity, are key to how she has shaped policy and public lands throughout the world in her career as a landscape architect dedicated to public service and creative land use systems.
“THERE ARE SO MANY IMAGINATIVE AND INNOVATIVE WAYS TO MAKE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE HAPPEN. IF YOU LOVE TO DRAW OR WRITE, IF YOU CAN CONCEPTUALIZE AND SOLVE PROBLEMS, AND IF YOU CAN LET YOUR IMAGINATION RUN WILD, YOU WILL LIKELY FIND SOLUTIONS TO SO MANY OF THE CHALLENGES FACING OUR ENVIRONMENT AND HUMANITY.”
EPILOGUE Thank You
Credits Laurie Black, whose photography has been featured extensively in national and regional publications. She photographed all thirteen portraits of the original MatriArchs in this exhibit. Sally Painter, whose architectural photography has appeared in most major architectural publications including Architectural Record, Architecture, Progressive Architecture, and A+U. Myra Donnelly, a playwright whose works have been produced in New York City and Oregon, and whose prose contributed to the original MatriArchs exhibit. Acknowledgements Lisa Fellows Andrus, historian Jean Barber, AIA Director Adrianne Brockman Adrienne Clifford Jolene Columbo, Housing Authority of Portland Kathy Dietrich Bevis Cathy Botelho & Sue Condon Ann Fulton David Giulietti Bruce Maltman, City of Gearhart Amanda Ingmire Jane Jarrett John Maternoski Michelle McPherson Pari Pederson Richard E. Ritz Amy Vohs Jake Weber American Institute of Architects, Portland Chapter Architecture Foundation of Oregon Center for Architecture Dr. James Strassmaier and the staff of the Oregon Historical Library Mike Clark, University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts
Sponsors AIA/Northwest & Pacific Region Architecture Foundation of Oregon AIA & ASLA College of Fellows Connie Dempsey Contributors Art Media Lyle Moving & Storage MCM Architects PhotoCraft Lab, Inc. ProPhoto Supply Inc. Strode Eckert Photographic Willamette Print & Blueprint Timeline Created by AFO 2007 Honored Citizen, John Gray. Edits were made in 2013 by Susan Anderson, Martha Peck Andrews, Jane Jarrett and Nancy Merryman for the Women’s Architectural League’s 60th Anniversary celebration.
The writer wishes to thank the pioneering women architects of Oregon for their contribution and amendments to the text. Quotes in the Margaret Fritsch text are used with permission from the Oregon Historical Society.
Source Materials Cole, Doris, and Karen Cord Taylor, The Lady Architects: Lois Lilley Howe, Eleanor Mauning and Mary Almy, 1893-1937. Norman, James B., Jr., Portland’s Architectural Heritage: National Register Properties of the Portland Metropolitan Area Blake, Peter, The Master Builder: le Corbusier, Meis van der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright Shellenbarger, Michael, Harmony in Diversity; The Architecture and Teaching of Ellis F. Lawrence. Saarinne, Eliel, Search for Form: A Fundamental Approach in Art Cole, Doris, From Tipi to Skyscraper: A History of Women in Architecture Torres, Susana, ed., Women in American Architecture: A Historic and Contemporary Perspective Jay, Hannah Gwynne, Women Architects in the Northwest: From the Pioneers to the Present Arnett, Robert June, Female and Male Images in the Built Environment: a Study of Dominant Cultural Images in Architecture, and Women Architects in Oregon
The Women in Architecture Committee acknowledged that there were other pioneering women architects from the 1800’s and early 1900’s. In their original exhibit, they chose the 13 women for whom they found information, and asked viewer to connect if they have information on additional pioneering women architects in Oregon. Likewise, the Center for Architecture and ForWARD Committee chose to add to the original entries the 7 women who in the 21st century have been elected to the College of Fellows of their respective professional associations, either American Association of Architects or American Society of Landscape Architects. Matriarchs Exhibition Committee 2014 David Giulietti, Jane Jarrett, Amy Vohs Michelle McPherson, Jake Weber and John Maternoski
THIS EXHIBIT IS DEDICATED TO JODY PROPPE, ELEANOR GUNDRAN, AND TO ALL THE WOMEN IN THE DESIGN INDUSTRY BECAUSE EACH ONE OF US HAVE PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE 20TH AND 21ST CENTURIES.