2021 – CWA April Virtual Forum: Cheers to Women Pioneers in Architecture and Design

Cheers to Women Pioneers in Architecture and Design:  A Panel Discussion

CWA’s April forum features a lively discussion about women architects organizing in the Chicago area, as a precedent to CWA’s founding in the 1970’s and the individual pioneering women who made this happen.  The panel also discusses the importance of these Her-stories, and the on-going initiatives to uncover, properly credit and preserve this work.

Panelists:

Susan F King, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C, LFA. In 2007 Susan F. King, became the third woman Principal at HED, a national firm founded in 1908. Her award winning work includes buildings which integrate social, economic, and environmental responsibility with aesthetically appealing design solutions for underserved populations.  Susan is a past President of Chicago Women in Architecture and currently she is serving on two boards; the Chicago Women in Architecture Foundation and the Illinois Housing Council.  In 2013 she was the eighteenth woman from Illinois to be elevated to the National AIA College of Fellows.

As the author of the essay “Only Girl Architect Lonely,” which was published in the book, “Chicago Architecture: Histories, Revisions, Alternatives,” Susan often refers to herself as an accidental architectural historian.

This evening she will represent Pioneering Architect, Elisabeth Martini.

Julia Bachrach, author, lecturer, historian, preservationist, urban planner and Owner of Julia Bachrach Consulting, LLC, This evening she will represent Pioneering Architect, Elizabeth Kimball Nedved.

Kris Hartzell, Director of Facilities, Visitor Services and Collections at Evanston History Center, this evening she will represent Pioneering Architect, Bertha Yerex Whitman

Lisa DiChiera, Director of Advocacy for Landmarks Illinois,  This evening Lisa will present an overview of the on-going “Women Who Built Illinois” project, that she is currently managing.

The discussion will be Moderated by:  Tiara Hughes, NOMA, Founder of the FIRST 500 Initiative, Chicago Landmarks Commissioner, Adjunct Professor at IIT and Senior Urban Planner at SOM.  In addition to facilitating the discussion she will also represent Pioneering Architect, Beverly Green.