Monuments designed by Female Architects

Women’s work remains less recognized and less paid than men’s in many countries of the world. According to studies published by PayScale, women in 2020 earned an average of 81 cents for every $1 earned by a man doing the same job. For this reason we strive to highlight the work of women in the world of architecture, engineering and design. Their contribution has been invaluable and deserves our full recognition. Bellow, we present 5 iconic monuments that were designed or directed by women! 

Musée d’Orsay, Paris

The architect Gae Aulenti transformed an old railway station into the current Musée d’Orsay in Paris. Aulenti graduated in Architecture in 1954 at the Polytechnic University of Milan. Throughout her productive career that lasted almost 60 years, she worked in different fields such as architecture, industrial design and interior design. 

The Musée d’Orsay was opened in 1986 and receives on average more than 2.2 million visitors annually. 

Brooklyn Bridge, New York  

The iconic Brooklyn Bridge in New York was designed by John Roebling, who died while it was being built. Then, his son Washington Roebling, an engineer, and his wife, the architect Emily Roebling, took over the work. Emily became the construction manager and was the first person to cross the bridge when it was inaugurated in 1883. At the ceremony, the Mayor of New York, Abram Stevens Hewitt, honored the work of Emily Roebling by highlighting her dedicated devotion. 

There is currently a plaque on one of the bridge towers honoring the memory of Emily Warren Roebling. 

High Line park, New York    

The west side of Manhattan is today an area that represents contemporary NYC. In addition to being full of boutiques, shops and trendy restaurants, we find the High Line Bridge full of greenery, viewpoints, art facilities and much more. This bridge was nearly destroyed in the 1990s. The neighbors refused and formed the «Friends of the High Line» platform to protect and honor the memory of it. In 2003 a public architectural competition was opened with proposals to remodel this space and the chosen architect was Elizabeth Diller. Today the High Line became a beautiful park at 10 meters high. 

 Galaxy Soho, Pekín   

The Galaxy Soho is a 330,000 m2 complex in central Beijing. It consists of offices, commercial and entertainment areas. It is a work that has great relevance in the life of the Chinese capital and was designed by the Anglo-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid. The complex is formed by curvilinear volumes connected through walkways, which provides a sense of fluidity to the view. 

Hadid was the first woman to win the Pritzker Award in 2004, the most prestigious international award in the world of architecture. 

One World Trade Center, New York   

The main building of «ground zero» in World Trade Center, was baptized as Freedom Tower. Designed by David Childs and materialized thanks to the direction of Nicole Dosso. It is the sixth tallest skyscraper in the world with 554 meters height. The work began in 2006 and eight years later it was inaugurated with the intention of commemorating and remembering the victims of the 11 September 2001 attacks. 

Source: El Diario.es