Maria Rosaria Piomelli (born Angrisano on October 24, 1937) is an Italian architect. She became the first woman to hold the position of

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at any architectural school in the United States when she was appointed dean of the

CCNY The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, City ...

School of Architecture in 1980.

Early life

M. Rosaria Piomelli (née Angrisano) was born in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, Italy. She is the daughter of Alberto and Giuseppina (Trapanese) Angrisano. She received her education in Naples at the Istituto d'Arte, where she finished her

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in 1954 and at the Accedemia d'Arte where she finished her

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. ...

in 1955. She also obtained her

Bachelor of Architecture The Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) is a bachelor's degree designed to satisfy the academic requirement of practising architecture around the world. Australia Architectural education in Australia varies depending on the university offering th ...

from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...

in 1960. She came to the United States in 1957. She married Sergio Piomelli, a Doctor of Medicine April. She has two children, Ascanio Alberto and Fosca Francesca Piomelli.

Career

Piomelli worked as a project architect in several offices in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, the

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and the

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through the 1960s and 1970s. From 1963-1969 she worked for Warner, Burns, Toan & Lunde in New York City. From 1969-1970 she was an Associate architect at E.H. Grosmann Architect, in

Rotterdam, Netherlands Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

. From 1971 to 1974 she was a project architect for the firm I.M. Pei and Partners. She opened her own firm in New York City in 1974. Piomelli has worked as a professor and also served many terms at various positions in the United States. After earning her professional license to practice in New York in 1969, she joined the professional body of the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to ...

. In her capacity as director of Equal Opportunity Committee for the

, Piomelli organized an exhibition in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

in the Spring of 1974 title "Women in the Design of the Environment." In fact, she has devoted herself broadly to promoting the work of women in the architecture field. She has also written books about the work of women in American architecture.

Teaching

Since 1971 Piomelli has held academic positions at several institutions. 1971 to 1976:

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

(CCNY) School of Architecture, Adjunct Associate Professor 1974 to 1979:

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was founded in 1887 ...

, Chair of the Faculty, 1976 to 1979 1979 CCNY, Distinguished Professor, 1980-1983: CCNY School of Architecture, Dean 1984:

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, Visiting Distinguished Professor 1985–present: CCNY School of Architecture, Professor

Awards

1966: Recipient Design award for Brown University of Science Library, Department of Health

Partial Project List

* Academy Hill Development (Hudson, NY) * Pierson School (Tarrytown, NY) * Schiff House, Montauk, NY *designed the Shelter Island home at 139 Ram Island Drive

Bibliography

* Piomelli, Rosaria. "Canary Wharf: London in the Third Millenium." ''Zodiac'', Volume 5, March 1991, London. * Gehl, Jan. ''Vitta in Citta''. 1992. 'Translator''

Papers

The M. Rosaria Piomelli Architectural Papers, 1960–1995, are held in Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va, under the collection number MS1995-007.

References

External links

Progress and Notable Achievements of Women in Architecture

Piomelli, M. Rosaria. Ms95-007 (11 image records)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piomelli, Rosaria 1937 births Living people Italian emigrants to the United States American architects American architecture writers Italian architecture writers City College of New York faculty Architects from Naples Italian women architects Deans (academic) Women deans (academic) Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni