16 Facts About Phyllis Birkby

Noel Phyllis Birkby was an American architect, feminist, filmmaker, teacher, and founder of the Women's School of Planning and Architecture.

Noel Phyllis Birkby was born in Nutley, New Jersey to Harold S and Alice Birkby.

Phyllis Birkby later attributed the outcome to her public expression of love for a classmate.

In 1959, Birkby enrolled in the night school program of the Cooper Union School of Architecture, and she worked by day at the offices of architect Henry L Horowitz, from 1960 to 1961, and Seth Hiller, from 1961 to 1963.

In 1963, Phyllis Birkby earned a Certificate in Architecture from Cooper Union, and she was awarded the Service to the School Awards by the Cooper Union Alumni Association for having demonstrated exemplary service and leadership during her time as student.

At Yale, Phyllis Birkby was one of six women enrolled in the department of architecture, among a student body of approximately 200 men.

On September 16,1968, Phyllis Birkby earned an architecture license in New York state.

Between 1968 and 1973, Phyllis Birkby taught architectural design as a member of the faculty of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture to hundreds of students, only a small number of whom were women.

In 1973, Phyllis Birkby came out publicly, resigned from her job at Davis Brody Associates, and traveled to Bien Hoa, Vietnam, with the firm Dober, Paddock, Upton and Associates, to work on a reconstruction plan for Thu Duc Polytechnic University.

Phyllis Birkby taught her students practical techniques, such as a "bug listing" to denote the frustrating aspects of an environment, and conceptual strategies like fantasy projection to encourage a thorough investigation into the social implications of form and design.

Phyllis Birkby began documenting the women's movement in film, photography, oral history, and collected posters, manifestos, clippings, and memorabilia.

Phyllis Birkby wrote often about how even the architecture of structures are about power and domination over marginalized groups, especially women.

Phyllis Birkby researched vernacular architectural created by women, some of which she later published.

That same year, Phyllis Birkby joined forces with other trailblazing women architects, such as Judith Edelman, to create the Alliance of Women in Architecture in New York.

The Women's School of Planning and Architecture closed and Phyllis Birkby went on to teach architecture at Long Island and City University of New York.

Phyllis Birkby was a member and held conferences for the Organization of Lesbian and Gay Architects and Designers in New York.