Carol Ross Barney (born 1949) is an American architect and the founder and Design Principal of

Ross Barney Architects Ross Barney Architects is an architectural firm founded in 1981 by Carol Ross Barney in Chicago, Illinois. History Organized in February 1981 as Carol Ross Barney Architects, the firm served clients with cultural and social agendas but not necess ...

. She is the 2023 winner of the

AIA Gold Medal The AIA Gold Medal is awarded by the American Institute of Architects conferred "by the national AIA Board of Directors in recognition of a significant body of work of lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture." It is the Ins ...

. She became the first woman to design a federal building when commissioned as architect for the Oklahoma City Federal Building, which replaced the

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...

Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was a United States federal government complex located at 200 N.W. 5th Street in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. On April 19, 1995, at 9:02 a.m. the building was the target of the Oklahoma City bombing ...

. Ross Barney's other projects include the JRC Synagogue (

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

Platinum), James I Swenson Civil Engineering Building, (

Gold) the CTA Morgan Street Station, and the

Chicago Riverwalk The Chicago Riverwalk is a multi-use public space located on the south bank of the main branch of the Chicago River in Chicago, extending from Lake Michigan and Lake Shore Drive westward to Lake Street. The Chicago Riverwalk contains restaurant ...

Biography

Carol Ross Barney was born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

on April 12, 1949. She began her education in the Chicago Public Schools. In 1958, her father, an accountant and management consultant, was relocated to

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

in the British sector of

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. Returning to the Chicago area for high school, Carol was educated at the all-girls Catholic school, Regina Dominican, in Wilmette. She enrolled in the Architecture program at the

University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

receiving a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1971. She returned and completed her Master's of Architecture in 1984. Barney enlisted in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...

immediately after graduation and was assigned to

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

where she worked for the fledgling Costa Rican National Park Service. Her projects included a master plan for

coral reef protection Coral reef protection is the process of modifying human activities to avoid damage to healthy coral reefs and to help damaged reefs recover. The key strategies used in reef protection include defining measurable goals and introducing active manag ...

and interpretation at Parque Nacional Cahuita, restoration of the historic hacienda at

Parque Nacional Santa Rosa Santa Rosa National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Santa Rosa), is a national park, in Guanacaste Province, northwestern Costa Rica, it was created in 1966 by decree 3694. Geography The main entrance of Santa Rosa National Park is north of Liberia on ...

and worker housing at Parque Nacional Volcan Poas. Following Peace Corps service, Barney joined

Holabird and Root The architectural firm now known as Holabird & Root was founded in Chicago in 1880. Over the years, the firm has changed its name several times and adapted to the architectural style then current — from Chicago School to Art Deco to Modern ...

in Chicago and met her mentor, John A. Holabird, FAIA. The work there ranged from the 1979 AIA Institute Honor Award-winning restoration of the Chicago Public Library and

Cultural Center A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run. Asia * Ce ...

to improvements for the Chicago Main Post Office. In 1973, Carol was a founding member of Chicago Women in Architecture (CWA) and served as CWA's first president. In 1988, while serving in the national AIA Women in Architecture Committee, she was advisor for two related AIA Exhibitions “That Exceptional One” and “Many More”, ground breaking explorations about women architects. CWA brought Barney together with Natalie deBlois, FAIA of

Skidmore Owings and Merrill Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is an American architectural, urban planning and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel A. Owings, Nathaniel Owings in Chicago, Illinois. In 1939, they were joined by engineer Jo ...

, who remained a close friend until Natalie's death in 2013. In 1981, Barney started a solo practice in Chicago. Her college classmate, James Jankowski, FAIA, joined her from 1982-2005 and from 1984-2006 the firm was Ross Barney + Jankowski. Barney was awarded the 1983 Francis J. Plym Traveling Fellowship from the University of Illinois. The fellowship funded travel for research and allowed her to study the post war planning and rebuilding of European cities during 1983–84. In 2001, construction began for the new Oklahoma City Federal Building, with Barney chosen as the lead designer for the replacement building for the Oklahoma City Federal Building following the terrorist bombing in 1995. The new Oklahoma City Federal Building had the design objective to create a space that was secure but open to reflect the United States democracy. Barney has combined her own teaching with practice in 1976, when she taught at the

University of Illinois Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the University of Illinois sy ...

. Since 1994, she has been adjunct Professor of Architecture at the

Illinois Institute of Technology Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the merger of the Armour Institute and Lewis Institute in 1940. The university has prog ...

where she teaches a popular advanced design studio and serves on the College of Architecture Board of Overseers. Through her firm Ross Barney Architects, Carol has designed numerous projects for which she has received several accolades. In 2005, Carol was awarded the Thomas Jefferson Award from the AIA for her distinguished portfolio of public buildings. One of her most recent projects, the expansion of the

, received over seven different awards, including the 2017 Blue Ribbon Award – Friends of the Chicago River. For this project, along with her extensive accomplishments, Carol was awarded the AIA Chicago Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017. Carol continues to oversee design projects through her firm,

. The scope of her work spans locally, regionally, and internationally with her buildings continued recognized for their dedication to innovation, sustainability, and overall improvement of the quality of life for those who live where her projects are located.

Awards and honors

* 2023

* 2021

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is a design museum housed within the Andrew Carnegie Mansion in Manhattan, New York City, along the Upper East Side's Museum Mile. It is one of 19 museums that fall under the wing of the Smithsonian Inst ...

National Design Award The American National Design Awards, founded in 2000, are funded and awarded by Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is a design museum housed within the Andrew Carnegie Mansion in Manhattan, New Y ...

for Architecture and Interior Design * 2021 Lincoln Academy of Illinois Order of Lincoln Award * 2019

Fast Company Magazine ''Fast Company'' is a monthly American business magazine published in print and online that focuses on technology, business, and design. It publishes six print issues per year. History ''Fast Company'' was launched in November 1995 by Alan Web ...

The World's Most Innovative Companies; Architecture * 2019 Illinois Green Alliance Emerald Award for the McDonald's Chicago Flagship * 2019 Award for Excellence in Design, Leadership, and Service, Society of Architectural Historians * 2018 Honorary ASLA Member *2018

Metropolis (architecture magazine) Metropolis is an internationally recognised design and architecture concentrated magazine with a strong focus on ethics, innovation and sustainability in the creative sector. The magazine was established in 1981 by Horace Havemeyer III of Beller ...

Game Changer * 2017 AIA Chicago Lifetime Achievement Award * 2017

Chicago Magazine ''Chicago'' is a monthly magazine published by Tribune Publishing. It concentrates on lifestyle and human interest stories, and on reviewing restaurants, travel, fashion, and theatre from or nearby Chicago. Its circulation in 2004 was 165,000, ...

's Chicagoans of the Year * 2015 Vision Award; Smart Transit Solutions and Neighborhood Impact,

Urban Land Institute The Urban Land Institute, or ULI, is a nonprofit research and education organization with regional offices in Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, and London. ULI advocates progressive development, conducting research, and education in topics such as s ...

Chicago, * 2013 AIA COTE Top Ten Green Project Award for Swenson Civil Engineering Building * 2013 AIA Divine Detail Award, Citation of Merit for Chicago Riverwalk - Underbridge Canopy Detail * 2012 Chicago AIA Distinguished Building Award, Citation of Merit for CTA Morgan Station * 2012 Evergreen Award for James I. Swenson Civil Engineering Building at the University of Minnesota, Duluth *2012 American Architecture Awards for James I. Swenson Civil Engineering Building at the University of Minnesota, Duluth * 2011 AIA Distinguished Building Award, Honor Award for James I Swenson Civil Engineering Building * 2011 AIA Distinguished Building Award, Citation of Merit for Fullerton and Belmont Stations Reconstruction * 2009 AIA COTE Top Ten Green Project Award for Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation * 2009 World Architecture Festival - Category Commendation for Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation Synagogue * 2002 AIA Institute Honor Award for Architecture for the Little Village Academy * 1999 AIA Institute Honor Award for Interior Architecture for the Little Village Academy * 1994 AIA Institute Honor Award for Architecture for the Cesar Chavez Elementary School * 1992 Federal Design Achievement Award through the Presidential Design Awards program, sponsored by the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

for the Glendale Heights Post Office * 1991 AIA Institute Honor Award Achievement for the Glendale Heights Post Office Carol is a

Fellow of the American Institute of Architects Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) is a postnominal title or membership, designating an individual who has been named a fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Fellowship is bestowed by the institute on AIA-member ...

. Her drawings have also been exhibited and collected by the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

, the

Chicago Historical Society Chicago History Museum is the museum of the Chicago Historical Society (CHS). The CHS was founded in 1856 to study and interpret Chicago's history. The museum has been located in Lincoln Park since the 1930s at 1601 North Clark Street at the int ...

, The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and the

National Building Museum The National Building Museum is located at 401 F Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is a museum of "architecture, design, engineering, construction, and urban planning". It was created by an act of Congress in 1980, and is a private Non-profit org ...

. In addition
her oral history
has been collected by the Art Institute of Chicago.

Selected works

O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, ...

Multi-modal Terminal, Chicago, Illinois, 2019 *Lincoln Park Zoo Visitor's Center, Chicago, Illinois, 2018 *McDonald's Chicago Flaghship, Chicago, Illinois, 2018 *

, Chicago, Illinois, 2016 * Cermak-McCormick Place station, Chicago, Illinois, 2015 *

Fermilab Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), located just outside Batavia, Illinois, near Chicago, is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle physics. Since 2007, Fermilab has been operat ...

, Office Technical and Education Building,

Batavia, Illinois Batavia () is a city mainly in Kane County and partly in DuPage County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in the Chicago metropolitan area, it was founded in 1833 and is the oldest city in Kane County. Per the 2020 census, the population w ...

, 2014 *Highland Park Elementary,

Stillwater, Oklahoma Stillwater ( iow, Ñápinⁿje, ''meaning: "Water quiet"'') is a city in, and the county seat of, Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. It is located in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. Route 177 and State Highway 51. As of th ...

, 2014 *Will Rogers Elementary, Stillwater, Oklahoma, 2014 *

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

South Campus Central Chiller Plant,

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, 2013 *

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

Child Development Center Drexel, Chicago, Illinois, 2013 *CTA Morgan station, In conjunction with TranSystems, Chicago, Illinois, 2012 *CTA Grand/State station, Chicago, Illinois, 2012 *CTA Fullerton and Belmont Stations, Chicago, Illinois, 2012 *James I. Swenson Civil Engineering Building,

University of Minnesota Duluth The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) is a public university in Duluth, Minnesota. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and offers 16 bachelor's degrees in 88 majors, graduate programs in 25 different fields, and a two-year progr ...

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

, 2010 *

Washington University Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

Childcare Facility,

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, 2010 *Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation Synagogue,

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

, 2008 * Commodore John Barry Elementary School,

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, 2008 * Champaign Public Library,

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...

, 2008 *Mitzi Freidheim Child Family Center, Chicago, Illinois, 2007 *

College of Dupage College of DuPage is a public community college with its main campus in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. The college also owns and operates facilities in the Illinois communities of Addison, Carol Stream, Naperville and Westmont. With more than 20,000 s ...

Early Childhood Education and Care Facility,

Glen Ellyn, Illinois Glen Ellyn is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. A suburb located due west of downtown Chicago, the village has a population of 28,846 as of the 2020 Census. History Glen Ellyn, like the neighboring town to the east, Lomba ...

, 2007 *

Oakton Community College Oakton College is a public community college with campuses in Des Plaines, Illinois and Skokie, Illinois. It was established in 1969 in Morton Grove, Illinois and moved to its current locations in 1980. History Oakton College opened in 1969 in ...

Art, Science, and Technology Building,

Skokie, Illinois Skokie (; formerly Niles Center) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, neighboring the City of Chicago's northern border. Its population, according to the 2020 census, was 67,824. Skokie lies approximately north of Chicago's do ...

, 2006 *New Oklahoma City Federal Building,

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

, 2005 *Glenside Public Library, Glenside Heights, Illinois, 2003 *

Governors State University Governors State University (Governors State or GOVST) is a public university in University Park, Illinois. The campus is located south of Chicago, Illinois. GSU was founded in 1969. It is a public university offering degree programs at the und ...

Family Development Center,

University Park, Illinois University Park is a village, a south suburb of Chicago mostly in Will County with a small portion in Cook County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The village is one of the region's few planned communities, was developed in the 1960s as Wood Hill, ...

, 2003 *Governors State University Faculty Office Building, University Park, Illinois, 2003 *Levy Senior Center, Evanston, Illinois, 2002 *Little Village Academic Resource Center, Chicago, Illinois, 2001 * Carole Robertson Center for Learning, Chicago, Illinois, 2002 *Little Village Academy, Chicago, Illinois, 1996 *

Cesar Chavez Cesar Chavez (born Cesario Estrada Chavez ; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which later merged ...

Multicultural Academic Center, Chicago, Illinois, 1993

Gallery

File:Ohio State University South Campus Central Chiller Plant.jpg, The South Campus Chiller Plant at The Ohio State University File:McDonald's Chicago Flagship.jpg, The McDonald's Chicago Flagship, Chicago, Illinois File:Fermilab Office Technical and Education Building.jpg, The Fermilab Office Technical and Education Building, Batavia, Illinois File:Lincoln Park Zoo's Visitor Center.jpg, The Lincoln Park Zoo's Visitor Center, Chicago Illinois File:Chicago Riverwalk.jpg, The Chicago Riverwalk File:CTA Cermak-McCormick Station.jpg, The CTA Cermak-McCormick Station File:O'Hare International Airport Multi-modal Terminal.jpg, The O'Hare International Airport Multi-Modal Terminal File:Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation Synagogue.jpg, The Jewish Reconstructionist Synagogue, Chicago, Illinois File:Mitzi Friedheim Child and Family Center.jpg, The Mitzi Friedheim Child and Family Center, Chicago, Illinois File:CTA Morgan Station.jpg, CTA Morgan Station, Chicago Illinois File:University of Minnesota-Duluth James I. Swenson Civil Engineering Building.jpg, The James I. Swenson Civil Engineering Building at the University of Minnesota-Duluth

References

External links

Ross Barney Architects - Official WebsiteCarol Ross Barney BiographyConvocation Speaker at 2007 UIUC School of Architecture Convocation Ceremony on May 13Regina Dominican's Distinguished Alumnae
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barney, Carol Ross 1949 births Living people Architects from Chicago American women architects Fellows of the American Institute of Architects 20th-century American architects 21st-century American architects University of Illinois School of Architecture alumni 20th-century American women 21st-century American women