Astra Zarina facts for kids

Astra Zarina (born August 25, 1929 – died August 31, 2008) was an architect and a professor at the University of Washington. She is most famous for creating special programs for students to study in Italy. She also started the UW Rome Center.

Her Life and Work

Astra Zarina was born in Riga, Latvia. After World War II, her family moved to the United States. She started studying at the University of Washington in 1947. She earned her architecture degree in 1953. After graduating, she worked for an architect named Paul Hayden Kirk. She also married a classmate, Douglas Haner.

In 1954, Zarina moved to Boston and studied architecture at MIT. Her husband went to Harvard. At MIT, her main project was about designing stores in Boston. Both Zarina and Haner earned their master's degrees in architecture in 1955. They then worked for a famous architect named Minoru Yamasaki near Detroit.

In 1960, Zarina won a special award called the American Academy in Rome Fellowship in Architecture. She was the first woman ever to receive this award for architecture. She also won a Fulbright fellowship to study and travel in Italy. Later, Zarina and Haner divorced.

Zarina began teaching part-time at the University of Washington in the mid-1960s. In 1970, she started the first program for architecture students in Rome, Italy. Some of her first students became well-known architects. The Rome Program then became a regular part of the department. Zarina eventually became a full professor.

In the late 1960s, Zarina and her second husband, Anthony Costa Heywood, began working on a special project. They helped restore an old Italian hilltown called Civita di Bagnoregio. It is located about 60 miles north of Rome.

In 1976, Zarina taught the first summer program about Italian Hilltowns. This program was based in Civita di Bagnoregio.

Also in 1976, her book about Rome's rooftops was published. It was called I tetti di Roma. In 1979, Zarina received an award for excellent teaching from the University of Washington.

In the early 1980s, Zarina had an idea for a permanent place in Rome for students. She worked with Gordon Varey, who was the Dean of the College of Architecture. By 1984, the Rome Center was set up in the Palazzo Pio. This building is in the center of Rome.

Zarina was the director of the Rome Center until the mid-1990s. Today, the UW Rome Center still hosts architecture programs. It also welcomes students from many other University of Washington departments and other American architecture schools.

Zarina stopped teaching around the year 2000. She spent her last years in Civita, continuing to help with its restoration. She passed away there in August 2008.

Awards

• American Academy in Rome Fellowship
• Fulbright fellowship

See also

In Spanish: Astra Zarina para niños