Cathy Simon facts for kids

Cathy Simon is an American architect. She is famous for her work on old buildings, making them useful again. This is called adaptive reuse. She also designs new city spaces. Many of her projects are in the San Francisco Bay Area. As of July 2025, she is a main designer at a company called Perkins and Will.

Cathy was one of the five people who started a very important architecture firm called SMWM in San Francisco. This firm was special because it was owned by women. Cathy and her partner, Martin-Vengue, spent over 18 years building one of the biggest women-owned firms in the country. She has worked on many big projects. These include changing the San Francisco Ferry Building into a new space. She also helped design the San Francisco Main Library. Other projects include updating the PG&E headquarters in San Francisco and creating the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Cathy Simon's Amazing Architecture Projects

Cathy Simon has worked on many interesting buildings and designs. Here are some of her most well-known projects:

• San Francisco Ferry Building: She helped save and update this historic building. It's now a popular place with shops and restaurants.
• San Francisco Conservatory of Music: She designed this building for music students.
• San Francisco Main Library: She worked on this big public library in San Francisco.
• Hearst Memorial Gym: This is a gym at the University of California, Berkeley.
• The Metreon: This was an entertainment and shopping complex in San Francisco.
• University Master Plans: She helped create plans for how campuses like Stanford, Harvard, Brown, and NYU would grow.
• Bard College Buildings: She designed the Heinz and Lilo Bertelsmann Campus Center and the Franklin W. Olin Humanities Building at Bard College in New York.
• Marin Academy Performing Art Center: This is a center for arts at a school in California.
• 140 New Montgomery: This is a building in San Francisco she worked on with Perkins + Will.
• Primate Discovery Center: This is a special area for monkeys and other primates at the San Francisco Zoo.

Awards and Recognitions

Cathy Simon has received several awards for her excellent work:

• 1985: American Institute of Steel Construction Award of Excellence for the Primate Discovery Center.
• 2004: Excellence in Design Award for the San Francisco Ferry Building. This was for its restoration and rehabilitation.
• 2007: EDRA/Places Award for Design, also for the San Francisco Ferry Building.

Her Journey to Becoming an Architect

Cathy Simon studied at two well-known universities. She graduated from Wellesley College. Then, she went to Harvard University's Graduate School of Design. This is where she learned more about architecture and design.

See also

In Spanish: Cathy Jensen Simon para niños