Beverly Willis facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Beverly Willis FAIA
Born	(1928-02-17)February 17, 1928 Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
Died	October 1, 2023(2023-10-01) (aged 95) Branford, Connecticut, U.S.
Nationality	American
Alma mater	University of Hawaiʻi
Occupation	Architect
Buildings	Manhattan Village Academy: New York, New York San Francisco Ballet Building: San Francisco, California Union Street Shops: San Francisco, California Yerba Buena Gardens: San Francisco, California Aliamanu Valley Community: Honolulu, Hawaii
Projects	Computerized Approach to Residential Land Analysis: CARLA

Beverly Willis (February 17, 1928 – October 1, 2023) was an amazing American architect. She helped shape how cities and buildings look in the United States. Beverly Willis was known for using new technologies in her designs. She also led efforts to support other architects.

Her most famous building is the San Francisco Ballet Building in San Francisco, California. She also helped start the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. Later, she created the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation. This group works to help women in the building industry through learning and research.

Early Life and Education

Beverly Willis was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her mother, Margaret Elizabeth Porter, was a nurse. Her father, Ralph William Willis, worked in the oil business and farming.

When she was 15, during World War II, Beverly learned to fly a single-engine plane. She wanted to join the Women's Air Service. After high school in Portland, Oregon, she studied engineering at Oregon State University. In 1954, she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Hawaiʻi.

Career

Willis Atelier

After college, Beverly Willis started her own art studio called Willis Atelier in Waikiki. There, she continued to create murals and frescoes. She learned to see how art and nature connect through shapes and patterns. This idea of linking shapes, nature, and beauty later guided her building designs.

In 1956, she invented a new way to make sand cast mural panels. One of her panels was used in the Shell Bar at the Royal Hawaiian Hilton. She also designed the Shell Bar, which appeared in the TV show Hawaiian Eye.

Beverly Willis Architects

In 1958, Willis opened her design office in San Francisco. She first became known for designing retail stores. In the late 1960s, as more people moved to the suburbs, she started designing large housing projects. This led to her work on bigger buildings and city plans.

She was famous for her fresh ideas for different types of buildings.

• The San Francisco Ballet Building was the first building in the U.S. made just for a ballet company and school.
• The Union Street Stores helped start the idea of reusing old buildings in modern ways.
• The Manhattan Village Academy was a new kind of high school in New York City. It was a model for smaller schools with new teaching methods.

Beverly Willis always did a lot of research for her designs. This helped her create buildings that fit their purpose perfectly. One of her big achievements was creating a computer program called CARLA (Computerized Approach to Residential Land Analysis) in 1970. This program helped plan residential areas.

In 1995, Willis started the Architecture Research Institute. It studied how cities would grow in the future. She also wrote a book called "Invisible Images– The Silent Language of Architecture" in 1997. She noticed that women's important work in architecture was often left out of history books. So, in 2002, she started the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation. Its goal is to change how architecture sees women's contributions through research and education.

Architecture

Beverly Willis believed that good design could make people feel better. She thought that a building's shape, purpose, size, feel, and colors all speak to our senses. For her, a building's design should always follow its purpose. She also believed that design, nature, and balance were connected, like the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius taught.

Her projects included everything from small shops to homes, businesses, and cultural centers. The San Francisco Ballet Building was one of her most important designs. When it was finished in 1984, it was the first building in the U.S. built only for a major ballet company. This building, located in San Francisco's Civic Center, became a guide for future ballet schools and companies.

In 1974, Willis & Associates, Inc., won a contract to design the Aliamanu Valley Community for Military Housing in Honolulu, Hawaii. This huge project included 525 buildings for 11,500 people. The site was challenging because it was on an old volcanic crater floor. Using her CARLA computer program, Willis's plan moved 40% less earth than earlier plans. This saved money and was better for the environment.

Another important project was for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in Washington, D.C. in 1976. Even though it was never built, it showed how her computer program could help design large government buildings.

Her other notable designs include the Union Street Stores. These are seen as early examples of saving and reusing historic buildings. The Manhattan Village Academy in New York City also won awards. It was praised by the American Institute of Architects as an excellent example of school design.

Service to the Profession

Beverly Willis did a lot to help the architecture profession. She was a founding trustee of the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. In 1976, she joined other experts to create this museum. Its goal is to teach people about how buildings affect their lives.

She was also part of the U.S. Government team for the United Nations conference on Habitat I in 1976. In 1979, she became the first woman president of the California Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Significant Buildings

• Manhattan Village Academy, a high school for 400 students in New York City (1996)
• River Run Residence, Napa Valley, California (1983)
• San Francisco Ballet Building, San Francisco, California (1982)
• Yerba Buena Gardens, a large mixed-use area with an art center, theater, offices, shops, hotel, and gardens in San Francisco (1980)
• Aliamanu Valley Community, 525 buildings for 11,500 people in Honolulu, Hawaii (1979)
• Pacific Point Condominium Apartments, Pacifica, California (1975)
• Vine Terrace Apartments, San Francisco, California (1973)
• Union Street Stores, San Francisco, California (1965)
• Margaret S. Hayward Playground Building, San Francisco, California (1965)
• Robertson Residence, Yountville, California (1960)

Awards and Honors

Awards

• 2018 AIA New York Visionary Award
• 2015 New York Construction Award for public service (accepted for the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation)
• 2015 American Institute of Architects New York Chapter (AIA-NY) Special Citation
• 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Professional Women in Construction
• 2010 Top Women in Real Estate Award, New York Resident Magazine
• 2003 American Planning Association's New York Metro Chapter's Lawrence Orton Award for Excellence in City and Regional Planning
• 1985 National Association of Home Builders, Merit Award, River Run Residence
• 1984 California Council of the American Institute of Architects Merit Award, Margaret S. Hayward Playground Building
• 1983 Gold Nugget Grand Award, Margaret S. Hayward Playground Building
• 1976 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Award of Merit, Vine Terrace Apartments
• 1967 Award for Exceptional Distinction for Environmental Design for work on Union Street
• 1967 AIA Bay Area Award for Union Street Store Development
• 1966 Significant Achievement in Beautification Citation for the Transamerica Title Building
• 1965 Merit Award in Office Renovation for the Campbell-Ewald Building

Honors

• 1992 Montgomery Fellowship, Dartmouth College
• 1982 Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts, Mount Holyoke College
• 1980 Fellowship American Institute of Architects
• 1976 U. S. Government Delegate to "Habitat I" the 1976 United Nations Conference on Human Settlements
• 1969 Phoebe Hearst Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Service to San Francisco

Exhibitions

• Women in American Architecture 1888–1988: The Exceptional One. Exhibit by the American Institute of Architects and the American Architectural Foundation.
• The Outdoor Chair. Cooper-Hewitt Museum, New York. (1988)
• The Outdoor Chair. Contract Design Center, San Francisco. (1987)
• Yerba Buena Gardens. San Francisco Museum, San Francisco. (1984)
• Group Oil Paintings Exhibit. Honolulu Gallery of Art Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii. (1956)
• One-Person Exhibit: Watercolors. Maxwell Gallery, San Francisco. (1952)

Films

• 100 Women Architects in the Studio of Frank Lloyd Wright - "A Girl is a Fellow Here." (2009)
• Built for Ballet – An American Original. (2011)
• The Artist Beverly Willis – Honolulu and San Francisco Years 1948–1968. (2013)
• The Architect Beverly Willis – San Francisco and New York Years 1958–1995. (2013)
• Unknown New York: The City that Women Built. (2018) This short film shows the many women who helped build Manhattan.

Philanthropy

Architecture Research Institute

In 1995, Willis started the Architecture Research Institute. It was a "think-tank" that worked to create better city policies. The Institute wanted to make cities more livable, walkable, and environmentally friendly.

After the World Trade Center fell on 9/11, the Institute helped start Rebuild Downtown Our Town (R.Dot). This group brought together many designers and people to help guide the rebuilding of New York City.

Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation

Beverly Willis noticed that history books didn't talk much about women architects. So, in 2002, she and Heidi Gifford started the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation (BWAF). This group is a nonprofit that works to make sure women's contributions to architecture are known and valued.

BWAF works with museums and other groups in architecture, design, and construction. One of their programs, "Emerging Leaders," helps young women in the field. It connects them with experienced women who can help them grow their careers.

Death

Beverly Willis passed away on October 1, 2023, at her home in Branford, Connecticut. She was 95 years old and had complications from Parkinson’s disease.

Images for kids

• 

  Beverly Willis in 2015.

See also

In Spanish: Beverly Willis para niños