Norma Merrick Sklarek, a pioneering 20th century architect, has been posthumously awarded the 2019 AIA|LA Gold Medal by the American Institute of Architects, Los Angeles chapter. 

Born in 1926 in Harlem, New York City, Sklarek learned carpentry skills from her father during the Great Depression, and eventually studied at Barnard College and the Columbia University School of Architecture. She graduated with an architecture degree in 1950 and would go on to lead design teams for some of Los Angeles’s most impactful practices, where she worked on many of the most significant and innovative design projects of the time. 

According to a press release announcing the award, Sklarek worked as the director of architecture at Gruen Associates, where she led the design of some of L.A.’s most iconic late-20th century buildings, including the California Mart, the Pacific Design Center’s Blue Whale building, the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Bernardino’s City Hall, and the United States Embassy in Tokyo, among others. Several of those projects were designed in collaboration with César Pelli, who recently passed away. Sklarek also designed the Fox Plaza tower in San Francisco. 

In 1980, Sklarek became the vice president of Welton Becket Associates, where she supervised the delivery of the Terminal One complex at the Los Angeles International Airport in 1984. 

Having learned from some of the generation’s best and most successful corporate architects, Sklarek co-founded the architecture firm Siegel Sklarek Diamond (SSD), an office she created with partners Margot Siegel and Katherine Diamond in 1985. SSD would grow to become the largest practice of its time entirely owned by women. Wishing to work on even larger projects, Sklarek left the practice in 1989, and finished out her career working at Jerde Partnership, where she took part in the creation of on some of the largest buildings ever created, including the Mall of America complex in Minnesota that opened in 1992.

“She is the definition of ‘pioneer,’” explained Barbara Bouza, 2019 AIA|LA president, who added that as a young girl, she had become inspired to study architecture after reading a feature on Sklarek in Ebony magazine. Bouza said, “Norma advanced the profession in an unparalleled way. Her lasting influence in the field is extraordinary.” 

Luckily, Sklarek’s achievements were celebrated during her lifetime. Sklarek, who passed away in 2012, was among the first Black women to become a licensed architect in both New York state and California. She was also the first black woman elected to the AIA College of Fellows, an honor bestowed on a mere three-percent of practicing architects in the United States. Dubbed “a woman of firsts” by the AIA|LA chapter, Sklarek now becomes the first black woman to receive the organization’s Gold Medal, as well. 

Describing the significance of highlighting the wide-ranging impact of Sklarek’s work and mentorship efforts, Bouza added, “Recognizing Norma and the attainments she personally achieved is essential to the field. It’s a reminder of the enormous barriers in our very recent past and that, while we still have a great deal of work to do, the possibilities are extraordinary.”

* Correction: A previous version of this story stated that Norma Merrick Sklarek designed the Fox Plaza tower in Los Angeles; That was a mistake. She designed the Fox Plaza tower in San Francisco (Pictured above).