Lillian Jessie Chrystall (née Laidlaw; 1 March 1926 – 24 February 2022) was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

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 ...

. She was the first woman to receive a national

New Zealand Institute of Architects Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) is a membership-based professional organisation that represents 90 per cent of all registered architects in New Zealand, and promotes architecture that enhances the New Zealand livi ...

award.

Biography

Chrystall was born in the

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

suburb of

Herne Bay Herne Bay is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in South East England. It is north of Canterbury and east of Whitstable. It neighbours the ancient villages of Herne and Reculver and is part of the City of Canterbury local government ...

on 1 March 1926, one of three children of businessman

Robert Laidlaw Robert Alexander Crookston Laidlaw (8 September 1885 – 12 March 1971) was a New Zealand businessman who founded the Farmers (department store), Farmers Trading Company, one of the largest department store chains in New Zealand. He was also a C ...

and American-born Lillian Viola Irene Laidlaw (née Watson). One of her brothers was Lincoln Laidlaw, who founded the New Zealand toy manufacturing company, Lincoln Industries. She was raised in Herne Bay, and was educated at Bayfield School and

Auckland Girls' Grammar School "Through trials to triumph" , colours = gold, navy blue , type = State single-sex girls' secondary school (Years 9–13) , established = 1878 , address = Howe Street, Newton, Auckland , coordinates = , principal = Ngaire Ashmore ...

. Chrystall studied architecture at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

and after graduating was appointed the School of Architecture's first female instructor. From 1950 to 1954, Chrystall worked in England and France, then returned to New Zealand and started her own architecture practice, Lillian Laidlaw Architects. In the late 1950s, her husband joined the practice and the business was re-named Chrystall Architects. Chrystall also served on community organisations and was a founding member of the Auckland

Zonta Club Zonta International is an international service organization with the mission of advancing the status of women.Alan Axelrod, ''International Encyclopedia of Secret Societies and Fraternal Orders'', New York: Facts on File, Inc., 1997, p. 271. H ...

. She was the first woman on the Board of Trustees at the Auckland Savings Bank (ASB) and in 1983 became the first female president of the ASB Board.

Recognition

In 1967, Chrystall won a Bronze Medal from the New Zealand Institute of Architects for the Yock House in Ngāpuhi Road, Remuera, which she had designed in 1964. In 2013 she received an Enduring Architecture Award in the Auckland Architecture Awards for the same building. Architecture + Women New Zealand named one of their annual excellence awards, the Chrystall Excellence Award, in her honour. In the 1989 New Year Honours, Chrystall was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for public services.

Personal life

Chrystall married David Chrystall, who was also an architect, and they had three children. She died on 24 February 2022 at the age of 95.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chrystall, Lillian 1926 births 2022 deaths University of Auckland alumni New Zealand architects People educated at Auckland Girls' Grammar School New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand women architects