Elizabeth Whittaker is an American architect, designer and educator based in Boston, Massachusetts. She is the founder of Merge Architects in Boston and Associate Professor in Practice of Architecture at the Graduate School of Design at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Career

After graduating ''cum laude'' from

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

with a degree in Environmental Design in Architecture, Whittaker received her Master of Architecture with Distinction from Harvard University's Graduate School of Design in 1999. In 2003 Whittaker founded Merge Architects, an architectural practice whose work spans many typologies including residential, commercial and institutional projects, and particularly extensive experience with multi-family housing, commercial interiors and universities. The work of Merge Architects focuses on Contemporary Craft, Typological Transformations, and Social Ecologies in the built environment. Whittaker currently serves as Associate Professor in Practice of Architecture at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design, where she has taught since 2009. She has also taught design studios at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT),

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...

and the

Boston Architectural College The Boston Architectural College (BAC) is a private college in Boston. It is New England's largest private college of spatial design. The college's main building is at 320 Newbury Street in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood. History Boston Arc ...

. Whittaker has served on numerous professional design juries for the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and as an invited juror in dozens of academic institutions worldwide. She frequently lectures both in the US and internationally. Since 2021 she has served on th
Overseas Building Operations Industry Advisory Group (OBO/IAG)
of the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

Recognition

While a graduate student at Harvard's Graduate School of Design, Whittaker won the Araldo A. Cossutta Prize/core studio prize, the Faculty Design Award, and the John E. Thayer Award for overall academic achievement. In 2017 she was named

Architectural Record ''Architectural Record'' is a US-based monthly magazine dedicated to architecture and interior design. Its editor in chief is Josephine Minutillo. ''The Record'', as it is sometimes colloquially referred to, is widely-recognized as an important ...

's "New Generation Leader" as part of their "Women in Architecture Awards" event, an honor that recognizes one top female architect in the United States each year. In 2015 she was honored with the AIA Young Architects Award and also in 2015 she earned one of the most coveted awards in North American architecture, one of the eight Emerging Voices Awards from the

Architectural League of New York The Architectural League of New York is a non-profit organization "for creative and intellectual work in architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construct ...

, together with her firm Merge Architects. Whittaker's leadership has also been recognized through service on the

Boston Society of Architects The Boston Society for Architecture (formerly known as the Boston Society of Architects) (BSA) is a nonprofit membership organization committed to architecture, design and the built environment. History On June 20, 1867, approximately 50 archi ...

(BSA)/AIA Board of Directors, the BSA/AIA Rotch Traveling Fellowship Committee and the BSA/AIA Nominating Committee.

References

North Carolina State University alumni Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty Northeastern University faculty American women architects Year of birth missing (living people) Living people {{Improve categories, date=November 2022