2019 CWAF Lifetime Achievement Award
The Chicago Women in Architecture Foundation is proud to announce Linda Searl, FAIA, as a recipient of the CWA Lifetime Achievement Award. The award honors distinguished women who have positively contributed to our organization and supported the issues faced by women architects during the 40+ years of CWA’s existence. Their contribution has been found to affect the lives and careers of others in the architecture community and inspired new generations of women to become actively involved in our organization and the field of architecture.
About Linda
Linda Searl, FAIA, is one of the founding Principals of Searl Lamaster Howe Architects. Linda received both her Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Arts in Architecture from the University of Florida. Prior to becoming principal of her own firm in 1985, she was an Associate Architect at Nagle Hartray and Associates.
Her professional achievements include membership in Architectural Digest’s AD100, a list of the world’s top architects and designers. Linda’s award-winning work has been published nationally in Architectural Record, Architecture, Chicago Magazine, and Interior Design to name a few. Exhibitions of her work have been held at the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Athenaeum, State of Illinois Building, Chicago Architectural Club, Chicago Historical Society, and the Chicago Architecture Foundation.
Linda is NCARB certified, a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, and a registered architect in Illinois, Florida, Michigan, and New York. Her professional activities include serving as a past President of Chicago Women in Architecture, President of the Chicago AIA Chapter, and Vice President and Regional Director of the National AIA. She has participated on juries for AIA Distinguished Building Awards in a number of other cities and nationally, and has served as Chair of the Design Committee of AIA Chicago.
Her community activities include serving as Chair of the Chicago Plan Commission from 2003 to 2012; she remains an active member of the Commission. Linda is a former member of the Steering Committee for Chicago’s Central Area Plan, and was co-chair of the Urban Design Task Force. She has also served as Exhibition Chair and President of The Contemporary Arts Council, Chair of the Board of Trustees at Archeworks, and as a board member at Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois and the Graham Foundation for the Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. She is currently a member of several organizations including Chicago Real Estate Executive Women, the Economic Club of Chicago, the Chicago Network, and the Chicago Architectural Club.
Her teaching experience includes visiting professorships at the University of Oklahoma, Washington University, University of Illinois, University of Florida, and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Linda was also a visiting lecturer on various architecture/design topics at Washington University, Pratt Institute, Notre Dame University, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, University of North Carolina-Charlotte, and the Illinois Institute of Technology.