Julia Morgan Goes for the GoldOn December 12, the American Institute of Architects posthumously awarded the 2014 AIA Gold Medal to Julia Morgan. The organization cites the following reasons: "A pivotal figure in the history of American architecture and American women, Julia Morgan accomplished a litany of firsts she used to establish a new precedent for greatness. A building technology expert who was professionally adopted by some of the most powerful post–Gilded Age patrons imaginable, Morgan practiced for nearly 50 years and designed more than 700 buildings of almost every type, including houses, churches, hotels, commercial buildings, and museums." We're incredibly excited to see a woman win the award as it took more than 60 years since the Gold Medal's inception in 1947 for this to happen. That said, Morgan passed away in 1957 and we find it tough to believe that there are no living female architects with "a significant body of work of lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture." Photo 3 of 18 in Architecture and Design: 2013 Year In Review by Diana Budds

Architecture and Design: 2013 Year In Review

3 of 18

Julia Morgan Goes for the GoldOn December 12, the American Institute of Architects posthumously awarded the 2014 AIA Gold Medal to Julia Morgan. The organization cites the following reasons: "A pivotal figure in the history of American architecture and American women, Julia Morgan accomplished a litany of firsts she used to establish a new precedent for greatness. A building technology expert who was professionally adopted by some of the most powerful post–Gilded Age patrons imaginable, Morgan practiced for nearly 50 years and designed more than 700 buildings of almost every type, including houses, churches, hotels, commercial buildings, and museums."

We're incredibly excited to see a woman win the award as it took more than 60 years since the Gold Medal's inception in 1947 for this to happen. That said, Morgan passed away in 1957 and we find it tough to believe that there are no living female architects with "a significant body of work of lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture."