Lecture: Women Architects at Work

This lecture is part of a series of events honoring Bertha Mather McPherson: "Women + Architecure".

In 1916, the Cambridge School of Architecture and Landscape Design was established for women who could not gain entry to Harvard, which was open only to men. Bertha Mather McPherson graduated from the Cambridge School and earned her Certificate of Architecture in 1933, becoming one of Connecticut's first female architects. She designed the house across Brookside Road from the Mather Homestead for her aunt.

Authors Kevin D. Murphy and Mary Anne Hunting reflects upon the role of women in early 20th century architecture in their new book Women Architects at Work, which tells the stories of the resilient and resourceful women who surmounted barriers of sexism, racism, and classism to take on crucial roles in the establishment and growth of Modernism across the United States. They describe how the Cambridge School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture in Massachusetts evolved for the professional education of women between 1916 and 1942. While alumnae such as Eleanor Agnes Raymond, Victorine du Pont Homsey, and Sarah Pillsbury Harkness achieved some notoriety, others like Elizabeth-Ann Campbell Knapp and Louisa Vaughan Conrad have been largely absent from histories of Modernism. Hunting and Murphy describe how these innovative practitioners capitalized on social, educational, and professional ties to achieve success and used architecture to address social concerns, including how modernist ideas could engage with community and the environment. Some joined women-led architectural firms while others partnered with men or contributed to Modernism as retailers of household furnishings, writers and educators, photographers and designers, or fine artists.

The talk will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Page Berger featuring local architects Mary Burr, Susan Lockwood, Amanda Martocchio, and Kate Perez.

Mary Burr, Principal at Burr Salvatore Architects, was educated as a Modernist and apprenticed in the order and rigor of traditional architecture. She skillfully mediates between styles; honoring the craft of traditional design with the exigencies of contemporary living.

Susan Lockwood, architect and designer, is known for her beautiful designs inside and outside across the Eastern seaboard . She recently completed a the home which sits across from the Mather Homestead, designed by Bertha Mather in the early 1930s.

Amanda Martocchio creates an architecture that responds to its surroundings, design environments Her ultimate goal: to enhance people’s lives and inspire a feeling of wellness.

Kate Perez is the development manager at Baywater Properties. She has designed and managed large-scale commercial and academic projects in CT, NY, and Boston. She trained in both traditional and modern architeture and is passionate about bringing great design to commercial buildings.

This lecture is sponsored by:

"Architect" ($2,500)

Carlson & Carlson Insurance

Neil Hauck Architects

Charles Hilton Architects

"Gardener" ($1,000)

Matthew R. Dougherty, Architect, LLC

Burr Salvatore Architects

Amanda Martocchio Architecture

Baywater Properties

Ring's End

Diana Mikkidou Galik

Joellyn and Kevin Gray

Annie Roberts and Charles Ziga

THANK YOU!