Women & Architecture:
Aesthetic Touches That Change the Face of the World
The grandeur of a building is always intertwined with the skilled hand and sharp mind of an architect. Throughout history, architecture has not merely been about arranging bricks and cement, but rather an embodiment of culture and the achievement of civilization. Major cities around the world are often remembered not for their vast area, but for iconic landmarks that stand majestically challenging the sky and marking the passage of time.
Looking back, conventional history books commonly glorify the great names of the male gender. We certainly know Stephen Sauvestre, the figure behind the geometric structure of the Eiffel Tower, which is now a global romantic symbol. We also know Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, who designed the Statue of Liberty as a symbol of friendship between France and the United States. Even in the modern era, Dubai's skyline is dominated by the Burj Khalifa—an 828-meter tall skyscraper born from the collaboration of Adrian Smith, Marshall Strabala, and George Efstathiou.
Although the world's architectural stage has often been dominated by men for centuries, the industry has never truly lacked great female figures. Behind the shadows of history, many female architects have successfully broken through gender barriers. They have created works that are not only visually magnificent but also functionally revolutionary. Their presence proves that even hard concrete and rigid steel can yield to the softness of vision and sharpness of intuition of women.
Zaha Hadid: The Queen of Deconstruction and Futuristic Curves
This Iraqi-British woman is a legend who overturned the conventions of world architecture. Born in Baghdad, Zaha Hadid made history as the first woman to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004—"the Oscar of the architectural world". Not stopping there, she also won the Stirling Prize for two consecutive years in 2010 and 2011, thanks to her consistency in pushing the boundaries of conventional geometry.
Zaha's designs are very distinctive: she detested rigid 90-degree angles. For Zaha, space should flow like frozen liquid. This deconstructive character makes her works appear futuristic, ranging from giant sports arenas, museums, to fire stations. One of her most iconic masterpieces in Asia is the Guangzhou Opera House in China. This building is designed to resemble two twin pebbles on a riverbank, blurring the lines between man-made structure and the surrounding natural landscape.
Although Zaha passed away in 2016, her firm, Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA), remains busy bringing the maestro's vision to life. Using high-level computational technology, the mega-structure projects she drafted before her death are now being completed one by one. Zaha's legacy serves as a strong message for all female architects: never hesitate to compete and dismantle masculine dominance in this tough industry.
Julia Morgan: Pioneer Female Architect and Local Material Sustainability
Long before gender equality issues were as prominent as they are now, Julia Morgan had already paved the way. Born in California on January 20, 1872, Julia was one of the first wave of professional female architects in the 19th century. Her struggle was not easy; she had to apply many times before finally being accepted into École des Beaux-Arts Paris, the most prestigious architectural school in the world at that time, which had never before accepted female students.
Julia's mental fortitude was immediately evident in the field. Throughout her career, Julia successfully built over 700 structures. Her portfolio was incredibly diverse, ranging from the Presbyterian Church in Berkeley, the first art museum in Riverside, to Hearst Castle in San Simeon—a magnificent estate owned by media magnate William Randolph Hearst, which took up to 28 years to build. For her dedication, Julia became the first woman to be posthumously awarded the highest honor, the AIA Gold Medal.
Interestingly, entering the modern era, Julia Morgan's design principles are once again becoming a major trend. While other architects of her time competed to use imported materials for prestige, Julia prioritized the durability of local materials, energy efficiency, and the harmony of buildings with their surroundings. Her design for Hearst Castle is now a crucial object of study for global researchers exploring sustainable architecture conservation (sustainable architecture).
Kazuyo Sejima: Minimalist Aesthetics and Modern Spatial Transparency
Moving to Asia, Japan boasts Kazuyo Sejima, one of the world's best contemporary female architects today. Sejima's name skyrocketed on the international stage through SANAA, a collaborative architectural firm she founded with her partner, Ryue Nishizawa. If Zaha Hadid is known for her giant curves, Sejima chose the minimalist path. She frequently plays with glass transparency, clean white colors, and extraordinarily thin structures.
A hallmark of Sejima's design is her ability to blend classic Japanese elements with modernity through simple materials that appear both robust and elegant. Her most phenomenal masterpiece is the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Japan. This transparent circular building is designed without a rigid main entrance, allowing visitors to enter from all directions. This dedication led her to become the second woman in the world to win the Pritzker Prize in 2010.
In early 2025, Sejima and SANAA were awarded the 2025 Royal Gold Medal by RIBA for their dedication to humanitarian and environmental architecture. Their latest work, the Better Co-being Pavilion, made a striking appearance at Expo 2025 Osaka with a massive transparent canopy structure resembling a cluster of clouds in the middle of a forest, creating a poetic dialogue between man-made space and the open natural environment.
Marion Mahony Griffin: Licensed Pioneer and Canberra City Planner
Marion Mahony Griffin holds a pivotal place in the history of this profession: she was named the first licensed female architect in the world. Over more than 45 years of work, Marion produced over 700 architectural works. Before establishing her own firm, she was the first employee at the studio of world-renowned architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, and contributed to developing the distinctive American West architectural style.
However, Marion's greatest masterpiece was created when she collaborated with her husband, Walter Burley Griffin. Together, they won an international competition to design the city plan of Canberra, Australia's new capital at the time. Marion was not only skilled at designing spaces; she was also an exceptionally talented painter. The presentation of Canberra's city plan, which she painted in detail on satin fabric, became a key factor that captivated the international judges.
Today, Marion's approach, which prioritized the "garden city" concept (garden city) in Canberra, is globally adopted as a standard in urban climate crisis mitigation for the 21st century. Furthermore, a digital archiving project of her 14 legendary satin paintings has now been completed and serves as a primary reference for studies on gender-based architectural graphic representation at various leading universities worldwide.
Norma Merrick Sklarek: Behind-the-Scenes Hero and the Rosa Parks of Architecture
Wise, hardworking, graceful, and possessing a strong leadership spirit are true descriptions of Norma Merrick Sklarek. Born in New York in 1926, Sklarek faced a double challenge as an African-American woman in a still discriminatory era. However, those social barriers did not stop her from making a name as the first black woman to obtain an official architect's license in New York and California.
Unlike top architects who enjoyed displaying their names on building facades, Sklarek was a behind-the-scenes hero who executed many giant projects. As a production director at some of America's largest architectural firms, she was responsible for the technical management of mega-structure buildings. Some of these include the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles, San Bernardino City Hall, and Terminal One at LAX International Airport. Sklarek was the operational mastermind who ensured that blueprints on paper could stand tall as real concrete without miscalculation.
Although Sklarek passed away in 2012, her name is immortalized through a sustainable architecture scholarship program specifically for minorities at Howard University. Amidst the massive inclusivity movement today, Sklarek's figure, often dubbed "the Rosa Parks of the architectural world," is once again elevated as an important symbol of the struggle for racial and gender equality for young architects worldwide.
Daliana Suryawinata: Contemporary Urban Innovation and the Face of Indonesian Tropical Architecture
Indonesia should be proud to have Daliana Suryawinata, a contemporary female architect whose work has been widely recognized on the international stage. After completing her master's degree at the Berlage Institute, Netherlands, this Jakarta-born woman honed her skills at several top global architectural firms, such as OMA (owned by Rem Koolhaas), MVRDV, and USH.
In 2008, Daliana, along with her husband Florian Heinzelmann, founded an independent firm named SHAU (Suryawinata Heinzelmann Architecture and Urbanism). Through SHAU, Daliana created micro-projects focused on community empowerment. One of their highly unique works is the Microlibrary Bima in Bandung. This community library, whose facade is constructed from thousands of used ice cream buckets, successfully won the Architizer A+Awards and was nominated for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2019.
Her biggest career leaps are solidified in this modern era. Her name is officially listed in the global RIBA publication titled 100 Women Architects in Practice. In early 2025, her community library project once again secured global funding through the Ammodo Architecture Award 2025.
Now, her greatest contribution to the nation is marked by SHAU's active involvement in designing the 14.8-hectare Vice President's Palace Complex in the Nusantara Capital City (IKN). Through the ecological concept of Huma Betang Umai—which adapts traditional Dayak stilt houses with a nurturing maternal philosophy—Daliana proves that the future of Indonesian tropical architecture lies in the hands of those who can combine sustainable technology with local cultural roots.