|
|
 |
|
|
Acknowledging that women have yet to assume dominant roles in architectural design, urban planning and civic leadership, Ms. Willis and the Board of Trustees established the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation (BWAF) in 2002.
The current historical emphasis supported by the BWAF is largely inspired by the career of Willis, herself an architect and designer active during the middle years of the twentieth century. Her career parallels a time when the culture of architecture in the United States was predominantly male, yet it was also a seminal time for launching careers of women in architecture.
By promoting research that focuses on the contributions of women practitioners in the fields of architectural design, the building arts, urban planning, as well as architectural history and criticism, BWAF hopes not only to reshape the discourse within the architecture profession, and the public realm, but also to ensure that it takes place within a culture of equality.
The Foundation strongly encourages collaborative participation with individuals as well as other foundations, institutions and organizations.
|
Programs
|
|
The Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation (BWAF) works to advance the scholarly study and public recognition of the contributions made by women to the architecture professions in the United States during the middle years of the twentieth century. To this end, the Foundation supports a variety of programs geared to both professional and public audiences.
BWAF supports other organizations and institutions that actively acknowledge the contributions women have made and continue to make in the production of architecture, whether as practitioners of design and urbanism, or as historians and critics. The institutions and organizations which BWAF currently supports or has initiated collaborative programs include the Society of Architectural Historians, the International Archive of Women in Architecture at Virginia Tech, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, the National Building Museum, as well as the Library of Congress.
|
Fellowships & Grants
|
|
*NEW* BWAF offers two new Fellowships starting in 2007:
The Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation Library of Congress Fellowship~~ an award of $5000 to support part-time research at the Library that will contribute toward the creation of a guide to the work of women architects in the collections of the Library of Congress; deadline is March 15.
For guidelines, please see Applications page.
The Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation Dissertation Fellowship of the Society of Architectural Historians (SAH)~~ applicants must be nominated by the academic department from which their degree will be granted; applications are administered by SAH; annual deadline is in January.
For guidelines, please see Fellowships at http://www.sah.org/.
|
BWAF Fellowships
|
|
Funding is intended to support innovative projects that advance the study and expand the recognition of women working in architecture and related professions in the U.S. during the middle years of the twentieth century, and that lead to the dissemination of this knowledge to either professional or public audiences. Qualified individuals and institutions may apply for the Fellowships and Grants by the March 15 deadline. For specific guidelines, please see Applications page.
|
The BWAF Colloquium
|
|
A biannual series that brings trustees, grant recipients, and friends of BWAF together for a moderated discussion of topics that engage the mission of BWAF.
|
Trustees
|
|
Diane Favro, PhD, Professor of Architecture and Urban Design, UCLA
Erica Forman, Esq., Partner, Bryan Cave LLP
Lian Hurst Mann, PhD, Labor/Community Strategy Center
Heidi Gifford, M.A., Writer/Editor
Beverly Willis, FAIA
|
About Beverly Willis
|
|
Beverly Willis counts among the few pioneering women architects practicing in the United States during the mid-twentieth century. She forged a distinguished career spanning the areas of architectural design, research, and leadership.
In 1966, Willis opened her own architectural firm in San Francisco and built it into a 35-person firm that often competed successfully with the nation’s largest firms. Among the award-winning projects of the 700 total in her portfolio are the Union Street Stores (1965), the Margaret Hayward Park Building (1978), and the San Francisco Ballet Building (1983). Already in the 1970s, Willis was developing cutting-edge computer applications for planning large-scale, multi-family housing, which culminated in the design and construction of the Aliamanu Valley Community for 11,500 residents.
For Willis, a career in architecture has involved more than design. It has meant assuming leadership positions within the profession as well as for civic and international causes. In 1980, Willis served as the first woman President of the California Council of the AIA. She also chaired the Federal Construction Council of the National Academy of Science, and was one of two architects to represent the U.S. at Habitat 1 in Vancouver, Canada. Willis was one of a handful of U.S. women leaders selected to participate in Women for International Understanding, a delegation sent as emissaries during the 1970s on informational trips to Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. Among the distinctions bestowed upon Willis for her contributions to both the civic and architectural spheres are San Francisco’s Phoebe Hearst Gold Medal Award, and an Honorary Doctorate degree from Mt. Holyoke College.
One of the instrumental forces that founded the National Building Museum, in Washington, DC, Willis has served continuously as a founding Trustee on the Board of Trustees. In 1994, Willis established the Architecture Research Institute, Inc. a think-tank for architectural and urban issues based in New York City, from which she wrote Invisible Images: The Silent Language of Architecture (1997), and co-founded Rebuild Downtown Our Town (R.DOT), a leading civic voice and design advocate in the post-9/11 rebuilding of Lower Manhattan.
|
return to top of page
|
|
|
