Jump to content

Andrea Leers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Andrea Leers
Born
NationalityAmerican
Alma materWellesley College; The University of Pennsylvania
OccupationArchitect
AwardsArchitecture Firm Award (2007)
ProjectsMIT Media Lab;

Andrea Leers is an American architect and educator. Together with Jane Weinzapfel, Leers created the Boston-based architecture firm Leers Weinzapfel Associates which was the first woman-owned firm to win the American Institute of Architects Architecture Firm Award in 2007.[1] In 1991, she was elected to the American Institute of Architects College of Fellows.

Leers is former Director of the Master in Urban Design Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Design where she was Adjunct Professor of Architecture and Urban Design from 2001 to 2011.[2] Her academic career includes teaching positions at Yale University's School of Architecture (1981-1988), the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Fine Arts (1990, 1998-1999), the Tokyo Institute of Technology (1991) and the University of Virginia School of Architecture (1995). In 1982 she spent a year in Japan as a NEA/ Japan U.S. Friendship Commission Design Arts Fellow. Leers was a Visiting Artist at the American Academy of Rome (1997), invited to be Chaire des Ameriques at the Sorbonne (Universite de Paris) (2007), and was Chair Professor at the National Chiao Tung University (2011-2014).[1] In 2018, Leers was appointed to serve as Chair of Commission for the city of Boston.

Early life and education

[edit]

Leers was born in Miami, Florida and raised in Springfield and Longmeadow, Massachusetts. She holds an undergraduate degree in art history from Wellesley College and a Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Fine Arts during the tenure of Louis I. Kahn. After an apprenticeship period in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Leers founded a practice in 1970 with former husband Hugh Browning, and when they divorced in 1978 she led the firm until 1982. In 1982 she and Jane Weinzapfel established Leers Weinzapfel Associates in Boston, Massachusetts.

Significant projects

[edit]
  • MIT Media Lab Expansion (in association with Fumihiko Maki Associates), Cambridge, Massachusetts[3][4]
  • Harvard University Science Center Expansion, Cambridge, Massachusetts [5]
  • Harvard University Farkas Hall (Formerly Hasty Pudding), Cambridge, Massachusetts [6][7]
  • United States Federal Courthouse, Orlando, Florida [8]
  • Blue Hill Avenue Youth Development Center, Boston, Massachusetts [9][10]
  • MBTA Operations Control Center, Boston, Massachusetts
  • Tobin Bridge Administration Building, Boston, Massachusetts [11]
  • Franklin County Justice Center, Greenfield, Massachusetts [12]
  • University of Arkansas Adohi Hall, Fayetteville, Arkansas [1]
  • University of Pennsylvania Gateway Complex, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania [2]
  • John W. Olver Design Building, Amherst, Massachusetts [3]
  • Dudley Square Neighborhood Police Station, Boston, Massachusetts [4]

Significant lectures

[edit]
  • Jury Member International Competition: Paris-Saclay Student Housing, France (2015)[13]
  • "Making Connections" at University of Cyprus (2014) [14]
  • “Women of Architecture: Extended Territories: Leers Weinzapfel Associates” National Building Museum, with Jane Weinzapfel (2014)[15]
  • Keynote Speaker, “No Site in Sight: Making Architecture in the Urban Fabric,” 2010 International Design Conference, Shih-Chien University, Taipei, R.O.C. (2010)[16]
  • "Crossing Scales / Cultures / Disciplines: A Personal Reflection on 10 Years of Design Studios" at Harvard Graduate School of Design.[17]
  • AIA New York's "Cocktails & Conversations"[18]

Awards

[edit]

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Andrea Leers; Jane Weinzapfel; Joe Pryse; Josiah Stevenson (2011). Made to Measure: The Architecture of Leers Weinzapfel Associates. New Jersey: Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 978-1-56898-957-0.[19]
  • Szenasy, Susan S. (8 August 2013). "Q&A: Andrea Leers and Jane Weinzapfel". Metropolis (architecture magazine). Archived from the original on 7 June 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  • "Women of Architecture: Extended Territories: Leers Weinzapfel Associates". National Building Museum. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  • Spyrou, Spyros (December 2, 2014). "Interview with Ms. Andrea Leers of Leers Weinzapfel Associates". Cy Arch. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  • Leers, A. (2017). Collaborative spaces transform teaching, amplify learning, and maximize resources. Planning for Higher Education, 45(4), 15-21.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Andrea Leers". National Building Museum. 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  2. ^ "Andrea P. Leers". Harvard University Graduate School of Design. 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  3. ^ "MIT Media Lab". Architectural Record. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  4. ^ "Maki and Associates' MIT Media Lab Leads Boston Society of Architects Awards with Harleston Parker Medal". AIArchitect. American Institute of Architects. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  5. ^ Snoonian, Deborah. "Harvard University Science Center Expansion". Architectural Record. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  6. ^ Leers Weinzapfel Associates. "Harvard University New College Theater". Architectural Record. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  7. ^ "Theatrical Debut". Harvard Magazine. January–February 2008. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  8. ^ "United States Courthouse Judge's Award and Best Public Building". December 2007. Retrieved 10 March 2015. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. ^ "Award-Winning Works". Architecture Week. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  10. ^ "Made to Measure: The Architecture of Leers Weinzapfel Associates". ArchDaily. June 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  11. ^ Matchan, Linda (October 14, 2007). "Unafraid to be unglamorous: A design firm run by women turns unsexy projects into award-winning architecture". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  12. ^ "Franklin County Justice Center". Leers Weinzapfel Associates. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  13. ^ "Student housing – Paris Saclay". epps.fr. 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  14. ^ "Making Connections". Cyprus Events. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  15. ^ "Extended Territories: Women of Architecture". National Building Museum. 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  16. ^ "建築人 • Becoming•變向 2010國際設計研討會". bbs.archi.sdnl.org. 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  17. ^ "Crossing Scales/Cultures/Disciplines: a Personal Reflection on 10 Years of Design Studios". Harvard Graduate School of Design. 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  18. ^ "Andrea and Jane at AIA New York's Cocktails & Conversations". Leers Weinzapfel Associates. 2015-09-08. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  19. ^ "Made to Measure: The Architecture of Leers Weinzapfel Associates". ArchDaily. 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2015.