AR Shortlists 15 for Women in Architecture Awards

Written by Karissa Rosenfield
Published on February 10, 2016

The Architectural Review (AR) has unveiled the candidates for its 2016 Woman Architect of the Year and the Moira Gemmill Prize for Emerging Architecture awards. Tatiana Bilbao, Jeanne Gang, Kazuyo Sejima and Charlotte Skene Catling are all being considered as the woman of the year for their impact and ability to inspire change within the profession.

Eleven women are being considered for the Moira Gemmill Prize for Emerging Architecture prize for their "use of innovative architecture to effect positive social change." Read on to see them all.

The Woman Architect of the Year 2016 shortlist:

Tatiana Bilbao, Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO (Mexico)

Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO. Image Courtesy of AR

Bilbao’s low-income and climate appropriate housing in Mexico demonstrated exceptional design in its solution to the country’s housing crisis.

Jeanne Gang, founder of Studio Gang (USA)

Gang is recognized internationally for her bold and functional designs that incorporate ecologically friendly technologies, most notable in Studio Gang’s tri-axial Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership.

Kazuyo Sejima, SANAA (Japan)

Sejima has been shortlisted for her Pritzker award winning studio’s exceptional design across projects, and particularly in the 2015 sinuous cultural centre The River, nestled in the rolling Grace Farms landscape.

Charlotte Skene Catling, Skene Catling de la Pena architects (England)

Catling’s extraordinary wedge-shaped Flint House was in 2015 named the best new house in the UK by RIBA for its celebration of location, material and architectural design at its best.

The Moira Gemmill Prize for Emerging Architecture shortlist:

Elisa Burnazzi, partner and co-founder of Burnazzi Feltrin Architects (Italy)

Burnazzi is driven by a passion for architecture as a creative act, including a striking community centre, dedicated to three young victims of the L’Aquila earthquake.

Gabriela Etchegaray, co-founder of Ambrosi Etchegaray (Mexico)

Etchegaray has worked extensively in architecture and local heritage, with her impressive 2015 Guanajuato Building preserving the façade of traditional colonial houses whilst integrating contemporary private courtyards.

Petra Gipp, founder of Petra Gipp Arkitektur (Sweden)

Gipp’s iconic works blend architectural and sculptural expression and include the award-winning Kivik Art Centre and the inventor’s studio The Cathedral.

Anna Heringer (Germany)

Across projects and in her work with NGOs, Heringer’s sustainable architecture makes use of traditional materials of the area and introduces new approaches for efficiency and structural integrity.

Catherine Johnson and Rebecca Rudolph, co-founders of Design, Bitches (USA)

Working at the intersection of architecture, culture and pop and with an emphasis on collaboration, Design, Bitches’ work strikingly reshapes America’s staple food joints.

Saija Hollmén, Jenni Reuter, and Helena Sandman, founding partners of Hollmén Sandman Reuter (Finland)

Hollmén’s architectural focus on environmental and aesthetic sustainability led to the group’s 2007 founded NGO Ukumbi, which offers architectural services for communities in need.

Marie Zawistowski, co-founder of OnSite (USA)

Zawistowski works at the intersection of practice, education and service to expand the role of architects in society through community development projects.

Di Zhang, founder of waa (we architect anonymous ltd, China)

Zhang founded waa in Beijing at the age of 28 with a focus on art-culture related projects. In 2015 waa completed the contemporary museum MOCA Yinchuan.

The winners will be announced in early March.

Previous winners of the Woman Architect of the Year award include Teresa Borsuk, partner at Pollard Thomas Edwards (2015), Mecanoo’s Francine Houben (2014), ABA founder Alison Brooks (2013) and Michál Cohen and Cindy Walters, founders of Walters and Cohen (2012).

Previous winners of the Emerging Women Architect of the Year include vPPR founders Tatiana von Preussen, Catherine Pease and Jessica Reynolds (2015), sole practitioner and PhD candidate Julia King (2014), Spanish architect Olga Felip (2013) and Hannah Lawson, Director of John McAslan + Partners (2012).