Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434) 560 Drillfield Drive Newman Library, Virginia Tech Blacksburg, Virginia 24061 Business Number: 540-231-6308 specref@vt.edu URL: http://spec.lib.vt.edu
Kathryn Shackelford
Repository
Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Born in 1915 in St. Petersburg, Russia; Architect and founder of the Union of Women Architects in Belgium. Studied in Germany
and Austria before emigrating to Belgium at the onset of World War II. She specialized in remodels of 19th century residences.
Outspoken advocate for women in the profession. Collection consist of drawings, personal journals, business records, as well
as published articles about the Union of Women Architects of Belgium and Roque-Gourary.
Permission to publish material from the Judith (Dita) Roque-Gourary Architectural Collections must be obtained from Special
Collections, Virginia Tech.
Contact donor if material is used in any exhibit or publication. [see accession record for more detailed note.]
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Judith (Dita) Roque-Gourary, Ms2011-074,
Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.
Acquisition Information
The Judith (Dita) Roque-Gourary Architecture Collection was donated to Special Collections in September 2010.
Processing Information
The processing, arrangement, and description of the Judith (Dita) Roque-Gourary Architectural Collection took place in September
and October of 2011.
Judith (Dita) Roque-Gourary was born July 26, 1915 in St. Petersburg, Russia. Her family fled the country following the revolution
of 1917 and relocated to Naples, Italy. As a child, she studied abroad in Germany and Austria. When Nazi Germany annexed
Austria in 1938, Roque-Gourary was three tests away from receiving her architecture degree. She promptly left Vienna and
transferred to La Cambre in Belgium to finish her studies. She remained in Belgium for the remainder of her career. Much
of her work from 1941-1945 was destroyed in the occupation. From 1945-1948 she worked alongside architect Jean Nicolet-Darche
until departing to form her own private practice. Roque-Gourary specialized in remodeling and modernizing 19th and 20th century
residences during the reconstruction period.
In 1978, Roque-Gourary created the Union of Women Architects in Belgium and acted as president until 1983. She was an outspoken
advocate for women in the profession and a noted speaker for The International Union of Women Architects (UIFA). Numerous
articles and interviews are attributed to her work and she continued to promote the work of women in architecture until her
retirement in 1984.
The collection contains notebooks and sketchbooks from Roque-Gourary's childhood, documents and drawings related to her work
with Jean Nicolet-Darcge as well as her private practice, and numerous publications of her work. In addition, one will find
personal documents, speeches, and various ephemera relating to women in architecture. The majority of the collection is in
French, however early grade and secondary school work is in German while articles from late in her career are written in Dutch.
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