Bibliography

Elsa Leviseur is a South African

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

specializing in

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

and

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

. She practiced in South Africa and later in England and the US. She was born in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in 1932. Her mother was Beryl Iris Basson (1887-1970) and her father was doctor Ernest Alfred Leviseur (1890-1976). She married conductor Ernest Fleischmann in 1953 at the age of 22. Motivated by her friends and her keen interest in

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...

, she joined architecture and earned a

B.Arch The Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) is a bachelor's degree designed to satisfy the academic requirement of practising architecture around the world. Australia Architectural education in Australia varies depending on the university offering th ...

. degree at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

School of Architecture in 1954. She started a small office in South Africa and worked on designing hospitals, housing complexes and commercial projects. The political and social conditions in her home town were difficult due to

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

. In 1959, when her husband got an opportunity to work as director at the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

, they decided to move to England. There she gave birth to two daughters and a son (Stephanie, Martin and Jessica) to whom she devoted much of her time. She also started working on landscape projects as a freelance architect. Soon her husband got another prestigious job offer, as the executive director of the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

and the family moved to Los Angeles in 1969. The relocation was not easy for Elsa but she continued to work on small projects. She received her M.A. in Architecture and

Urban Planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

from the

University of California at Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

in 1980. She worked as project manager at Tanzmann Associates from 1980 to 1983. She registered as an architect in California in 1983 and founded the firm Leviseur Architects. She then continued with graphic and

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...

for the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

and the

. She won first place in the competition for the design of the Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica. She was also the principal at Architerra in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

from 1986 to 1989. Elsa taught History of Landscape and the Environment at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

from 1984 to 1989 and Landscape and Ecology at the

Southern California Institute of Architecture Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) is a private architecture school in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1972, SCI-Arc was initially regarded as both institutionally and artistically avant-garde and more adventurous than t ...

between 1979 and 1987. She taught at the master's program at the Institute of Architecture at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

: ''Art As Environment'', which was established by her in 1995. She also taught at Manchester Polytechnic in the early 1990s. Elsa served as president of the ''Association for Women in Architecture plus Design'' from 1978 to 1979 and was a founding member of

Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility (ADPSR) is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization established in 1981. Its stated mission is to work "for peace, environmental protection, ecological building, social justice, and the development ...

. Some of her work can be found at the International Archive of Women of Architecture website. She currently lives in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and is a member of the advisory committee for the ''

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

Coastal Front'', which is committed to making proposals to revitalize the area and protect the area's memory.

Career

Manchester Polytechnic Department of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Manchester, England (U.K.) Leviseur Architects, Santa Monica, CA. Principal, January 1, 1983 Architerra, Principal, Los Angeles, CA. 1986 - 1989 The Tanzmann Associates, Project Manager, Los Angeles, CA. 1980 - 1983 Independent Architect, England (U.K.), 1960-1969. Independent Architect, South Africa, 1954 - 1959.

Professional Affiliation

Association for Women in Architecture, President, 1978 - 1979.

Featured Publications

* ''Voices of Experience, The Architectural Review'', Volume: 218, Issue: 1303, Date Published: January 1, 2005. * Landart, The Architectural Review, Date Published: January 1, 1991. * ''Using Water with Sense and Sensibility'', Rachel S. Cox, Landscape architecture, Volume: 81, Issue: 10, Page: 79-83, Date Published: January 1, 1991.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leviseur, Elsa 1932 births Living people People from Pretoria South African emigrants to the United States South African women architects University of California alumni University of Cape Town alumni University of Southern California faculty