Written by Jaden Parker

We’ve heard already about some other female pioneers of architecture in the past. From Zaha Hadid to Norma Merrick Sklarek, women are making themselves known in the architectural industry. Not only are these women making space for the next generation, but they are also redefining what people think of when they hear the word “architect.” The twelve I will be focusing on are by no means an exhaustive list of women’s achievements in architecture, so I do encourage you all to explore the other stories out there!

Julia Gambolina

Editor-in-Chief and founder of the digital magazine Madame Architect, Julia Gambolina is solidifying the presence of women in architecture. Gambolina wears a lot of different hats. When she isn’t editing and writing for her magazine, she can be found teaching, interviewing other architects, and helping architecture and design firms evolve through networking. With her bachelors in architecture from Cornell University and the Charles Goodwin Sands Medal for her exceptional thesis, Gambolina lectures at international conferences and college campuses. 

Elizabeth Diller

Whether you realize it or not, we have touched on Elizabeth Diller’s work before. However, it came in the form of a firm called Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Remember the High Line and the Shed? In 2018, Diller was named the only architect in the list of TIME’s “100 Most Influential People in the World.” She is currently a professor of architectural design at Princeton University. She did a phenomenally humorous interview with Curbed here that you should definitely check out. 

Rossana Hu

The third woman to lead the Department of Architecture at University of Pennsylvania’s Weitzman School of Design, Rossana Hu is co-founder of the Shanghai-based architecture firm Neri&Hu Design and Research Office. Her firm focuses not only on commissions but also reconstruction of historical sites like the Tsingpu Yangzhou Retreat in Yangzhou and the Nantou City Guesthouse in Shenzhen. On top of her architectural talents, her minor in music from the University of California in Berkeley has landed her a seat on the International Advisory Board of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. 

And with that, our “Women in Architecture” series comes to an end. All 12 of these women proved—and continue to prove—that women are capable of so much more than what some expect of them.