Great Women Architects of History

Architecture is synonymous with civilization. For many years, architecture was almost exclusively for men. For example, according to Statista, 66% of architects are male. However, in the last century and a half, women have entered the industry. At the same time, more and more women are studying this discipline.

Many of them want to become architects to build big houses or buildings. To do so, they followed the work of personalities who revolutionized architecture. For example, female architects often love projects such as the Eiffel Tower, the Burj Khalifa, or Big Ben.

Contrary to popular belief, not all the best architects in history have been men. There are also many women. We tell you who are the most relevant.

Charlotte Perriand

Of French origin, she was one of the driving forces behind modern interior architecture. Her work was associated more with interiors than exteriors. However, it revolutionized the way of organizing the interior of homes. For this reason, she was one of the most relevant architects in history.

Born in 1903, in 1920 she studied at the school of the Central Union of Decorative Arts. At 24, she presented a work that became an icon of modernity: the Bar Sous Le Toit. This project stood out for being manufactured in chrome-plated steel and anodized aluminum. From there, she began a career in Le Corbusier's studio, as head of interiors.

She gave a radical change to household objects. In her work, every object should have a function, both in decorative and functional terms.

Lina Bo Bardi

Born in Italy, but based in Brazil, she was so relevant in the group of architects in Latin America. During the 1930s, she studied at the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Rome. After World War II, she decided to move to Brazil. She became a citizen in 1951.

Also read: NEW WORLD HERITAGE SITES IN LATIN AMERICA

There she achieved a radical change, as she began to nourish herself with the Brazilian culture. She was fascinated by the nature of the place and some modern constructions, such as the Gustavo Capanema Building. From there, she decided to make an art of the popular. That is, for her, architecture should be associated with everyday life.

Perhaps her most relevant work is the Glass House, which perfectly explained the search for a tropical Brazilian style with influences of Italian modernity, which she had learned at university.

Zaha Hadid

Hadid inspired a whole new generation of professionals. She was born in Iraq on October 31, 1950, into an upper-class family. Zaha studied Mathematics at the American University of Beirut between 1968 and 1971. Later, she was interested in a new profession. So, she studied at the Architectural Association in London, where she graduated in 1977 and became very important in British culture.

Much of her work was conceptual, from a deconstructivist point of view. Many of her neo-futurist buildings present a fragmented geometry, with multiple viewing perspectives. For example, her best-known work is the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku. This work perfectly expresses this trend.

She won the most important awards in the profession, such as the Mies van der Rohe (2003), the Praemium Imperiale (2009), and the Pritzker Prize (2004), where she became the first woman to win this award.

Kazuyo Sejima

Of Japanese origin, she is one of the most important in history. She won more than 15 awards and recognitions, such as the Pritzker Prize in 2010. In that year, she directed the Venice Architecture Biennale, where she became the first woman to do so since its creation in 1980.

In 1979, she graduated as an architect from Japan Women's University. Two years later, she earned her master's degree at the same institution. Sejima stood out in the 90s with her diagrammatic works, where she bet on generating a connection between the virtual and the real, as she created this new concept within architecture.

Some of her most important projects were the New Art Museum in New York, the Rolex Learning Center in Switzerland, or the Louvre Lens in France.

We hope you liked this article about the most relevant women architects in history!