A portrait of Nancy A. Abshire at work. Image: SOM.
Former SOM veteran Nancy Abshire has been named the winner of this year’s iteration of the Chicago Women in Architecture Foundation’s annual Lifetime Achievement Award.
Abshire graduated from Northwestern University before obtaining her B.Arch at the University of Illinois at Chicago and joined Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in its Chicago office shortly thereafter, eventually helping the firm to establish its London office and contributing to signature local and international projects, ranging from Chicago’s Quaker Tower to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
Abshire went on to serve as the SOM Foundation’s Executive Director until 2019 and will join a list of past winners that includes Cynthia Weese, Roula Alakiotou, Linda Searl, and recent Topaz Medallion recipient Dr. Kathryn H. Anthony.
“Nancy is a true pioneer, who has been there for women architects in Chicago, essentially forever,” Carol Ross Barney, founder Ross Barney Architects, said.
Abshire’s presentation can be found here.
