Lesson 179:
Norma Merrick Sklarek
An ongoing illustrative history study
This piece originally posted on 03/22/2025
Meet construction trailblazer Norma Merrick Sklarek, the first Black woman licensed architect in the U.S. Born in 1928 Harlem to immigrant parents from Trinidad, Norma earned her BA in Architecture from Columbia University in 1950 --not exactly the most enlightened time nor climate for a woman of colour, but her parents were easily her greatest advocates and champions. One fundamental tenet of architectural education is collaboration: students are expected to team up on projects as a matter of course --unfortunately few were willing to work with a Black woman, and Norma tackled most of her in-class projects solo; or brought them home to complete them over the weekends.
Despite these barriers she landed a civil service position with the Department of Public Works in New York, but in 1954 after having passed her architecture licensing exam (on the first try, no less!), Merrick was offered a position at the prestigious design firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). In this environment she was given a greater scope of responsibilities, and she positively thrived. In 1959, she became the first Black woman member of the American Institute of Architects. She also taught architecture at New York City Community College.
In 1960 Norma shifted coasts and took a position at Gruen and Associates in Los Angeles. Once again, as the only Black woman employed at the firm, she had to overcome more than her fair share of challenges, but eventually rose through the ranks to become vice president, and finally director in 1966. During this time she married Rolf Sklarek, also a Gruen employee, and took his name. Of her many creations, probably the ones that are the most enduring (and recognizable) are mostly Gruen projects: the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, Japan and Terminal One at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). In 1973 she was also on the design team of the Commons-Courthouse Center in Columbus, Indiana, and in 1978 co-designed the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles. At the time most of these projects were attributed to other individuals (inevitably men), who had collaborated with Sklarek but left her credited only as "project architect" rather than the more meaningful "design architect."
In 1985 Sklarek retired from Gruen and founded her own company along with two other women: Siegel Sklarek Diamond, which became the largest woman-owned firm at the time. Among other projects, one of her last contributions was to the design of the Mall Of America in Minneapolis.
For further study: "The Rosa Parks of Architecture" by R. Kofi Bempong, February 2024
Next lesson - Lesson 180: Rev. Janie Culbreth
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