Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from Kimiko Suzuki Architectural Collection must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Kimiko Suzuki Architectural Collection, Ms2013-089, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

The Kimiko Suzuki Architectural Collection was donated to Special Collections in November 2013.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Kimiko Suzuki Architectural Collection was completed in November 2013.

Biographical Note

Kimiko Suzuki (1929-1992) attended Japan Women’s University and was their first graduate in the housing studies program. Due to the economic conditions of Japan following World War II she could not find work in an architecture office. She instead joined a publishing company because she was promised the same salary as a man.

Following her marriage she found work in an architecture office. She performed her traditional roles in a big family and simultaneously kept working in the architecture office often working until late at night. However, nursing care of her husband’s parents forced her to resign from the architectural firm. She thus began a practice out of her home working on residential projects, a kindergarten, and a medical clinic. She developed cancer at 50 and after a long struggle with the illness withdrew from architectural practice at 60. She passed away three years later at 63.

Scope and Content

The collection contains 3 sets of drawings and a publication for the Susume Abe residence completed in 1967. Abe was a famous education critic in Japan.

Index Terms

Subjects:

• Architectural drawing--20th century.
• Architecture
• History of Women in Architecture
• International Archive of Women in Architecture (IAWA)

Genre and Form Terms:

• Architectural drawings.