Mimi Lobell facts for kids

Mimi Lobell (born Miriam Louise Comings; July 18, 1942 – April 7, 2001) was an American architect, professor, and cultural historian. She was also involved in the women's rights movement.

Early Life and Family

Mimi Lobell was born in 1942 and grew up on farms in Illinois and Indiana. She was the youngest of three children. Her father was a professor who taught chemical engineering. Her mother had a college education and stayed home to take care of the family.

Education and Learning

Mimi Lobell first attended Middlebury College in Vermont from 1959 to 1960. She then moved to the University of Pennsylvania to study architecture. She earned her Master of Architecture degree in 1966. Important teachers there included Louis Kahn, who greatly influenced the school and her studies. While at Penn, she married another architecture student, John Lobell.

Working as an Architect

After finishing school, Mimi Lobell moved to New York City. From 1966 to 1973, she worked for well-known architectural companies. She was an architectural designer for Kahn & Jacobs, Architects, where she helped design the Minskoff Office Building in New York. She also worked for Marcel Breuer & Associates, helping with projects like the Cleveland Museum of Art. Later, she was a senior designer for John M. Johansen and Associates. In 1974, she became a licensed architect in New York State. At that time, only a very small number of licensed architects in the United States were women.

Teaching Career

In 1972, Lobell began teaching at the School of Architecture at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. She became a full-time professor in 1976. She was only the second woman at the school to become a full-time professor and receive tenure (a permanent teaching position) in 1986. She taught there until she passed away. She taught classes on design, architectural history, and special topics like "Non-Western Architecture" and "Myth and Symbol in Architecture." She also gave lectures around the world.

Ideas and Women's Rights

Mimi Lobell was part of the "second wave feminism" movement, which worked for women's rights and equality. While many focused on political issues, Lobell and others were also interested in "feminine spirituality," which explored the idea of ancient goddesses. She was influenced by writers like Marija Gimbutas and Merlin Stone, who wrote about goddesses. She also studied the work of Joseph Campbell, who wrote about myths and symbols. Lobell researched goddesses in ancient cultures from the Stone Age (Neolithic cultures). She presented her findings at archaeological conferences around the world, including a big conference in England in 1986.

Women in Design

Lobell was very involved in supporting women in architecture. She helped start an important art show at the Brooklyn Museum in 1977. The show was called "Women in Architecture" and it highlighted the work of women architects.

Architectural Projects

Mimi Lobell designed several projects that showed her interest in symbols and goddesses. One of her famous designs was a "Goddess temple" in 1975, which she imagined for the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. She worked on this project with a psychiatrist named Jan Clanton. This design was featured in several publications, including Women in American Architecture. It was also shown in art galleries like the Brooklyn Museum.