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Professors Toshiko Mori and Sharon Johnston receive 2019 Women in Architecture Awards

Toshiko Mori (left) photo by Ralph Gibson; Sharon Johnston (right) photo by Eric Staudenmaier

Two professors in the Harvard Graduate School of Design’s Department of Architecture are among five winners of Architectural Record’s 2019 Women in Architecture AwardsToshiko Mori, Robert P. Hubbard professor in the practice of architecture, received the Design Leader award, while Sharon Johnston, professor in practice of architecture, was named a New Generation Leader. Now in its sixth year, the annual awards recognize and promote women’s leadership in the field.

“The range of smart, passionate talent in these different fields related to architecture and design is inspiring and it’s also informative,” John King, a member of the award’s independent jury and the architecture critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, told the New York Times. “There is such talent that is working on very important and interesting design and social challenges.”

A former Chair of the Department of Architecture, Mori was the first woman to earn tenure at the GSD, which she received in 1995. She is also principal of Toshiko Mori Architect, the New York City-based firm she founded in 1981. “Her rich exploration of ideas, materials and details has been evident in architecture at every scale,” said Architectural Record in their announcement. Mori is recipient of numerous awards, including the 2019 AIA Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education, considered the highest honor given to educators in architecture.

A graduate of the GSD, Johnston joined the faculty as a Professor in Practice of Architecture in 2018. She is founder and principal of Johnston Marklee, which she established in 1998 with Mark Lee, chair of the Department of Architecture and professor in practice of architecture. “Since cofounding [Johnston Marklee], Sharon Johnston, FAIA, has consistently brought an original, expressive sensibility to such projects as the Menil Drawing Center in Houston and the just-opening UCLA Margo Leavin Graduate Art Studios in Culver City, California,” said Architectural Record. Together with Lee, Johnston served as Artistic Director for the 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial.

Mori and Johnston will be celebrated, along with the other honorees, at an event in New York City on October 30.