Sarah (Sally) Pillsbury Harkness, (July 8, 1914—May 22, 2013), was an American architect. She was a co-founder of The Architects Collaborative (TAC) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She was one of two women among seven young architects who formed the firm with Walter Gropius in 1945. Harkness was an inspirational figure for women in architecture throughout her long career; early on she valued the idea of accessible design and sustainable practices in architecture. She gave voice to these ideals in 1985 as President of the Boston Society of Architects.

Early life and education

Born Sarah Pillsbury in

Swampscott, Massachusetts Swampscott () is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located up the coast from Boston in an area known as the North Shore. The population was 15,111 as of the 2020 United States Census. A former summer resort on Massachusetts Ba ...

, but called "Sally", she was the daughter of Samuel Hale Pillsbury, a lawyer, and the former Helen Farrington Watters. She graduated from the Winsor School and then from the Cambridge School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, which was affiliated with Smith College), with a master's degree in 1940. In 1941, she married John "Chip" Cheesman Harkness, also a co-founders of TAC, and they had seven children.

Career

She is the author of Sustainable Design for Two Maine Islands, The Architects Collaborative Encyclopedia of Architecture, and co-edited The Architects Collaborative Inc., 1945 to 1965 with Walter Gropius. Her papers are stored at the International Archive of Women in Architecture. She lived in Lexington, Massachusetts, at

Six Moon Hill Six Moon Hill is a residential neighborhood and historic district of mid-century modern houses in Lexington, Massachusetts. Description Incorporated in 1947, the community originally encompassed 28 houses which were built between 1947 and 1953. ...

, a community dwelling designed by TAC. Harkness received a D.F.A. from Bates College in 1974. Harkness was elected as fellow to the American Institute of Architects in 1979. Harkness was a registered architect in both Massachusetts and Tennessee. In 1981, she was a mentor of architect

Cheryl L. McAfee Cheryl Lynn McAfee, , (born c. 1958), is an American architect. She is the CEO of McAfee, an architecture firm founded by her father Charles F. McAfee. In 1990, she was the first women to receive an architecture license in the state of Kansas. M ...

. "Still Standing: Conversations With Three Founding Partners of The Architects Collaborative" was a 2006 film documentary about The Architects Collaborative, and featured Harkness.

Work

* Principal Designer of the

Olin Arts Center Washington & Jefferson College is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania, which is located in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The college traces its origin to three log cabin colleges in Washington County, Pennsylvania est ...

and Ladd Library at Bates College in Lewiston, ME * Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium at

Dickinson College , mottoeng = Freedom is made safe through character and learning , established = , type = Private liberal arts college , endowment = $645.5 million (2022) , president = J ...

in Carlisle, Pennsylvania * Art School Addition at the Worcester Art Museum in Worcester, Massachusetts * C. Thurston Chase Learning Center of the

Eaglebrook School Eaglebrook School is an independent junior boarding and day school for boys in grades six through nine. It is located in Deerfield, Massachusetts, on the Pocumtuck Range near Deerfield Academy and sited on an campus which is also preserved by ...

in Deerfield, Massachusetts * Co-Partner-in-Charge of

Lexington, Massachusetts * Partner-in-Charge of Independent Study Unit (Carrel) for the Bedford Middle School in Mount Kisco, New York

Awards

* 1941 Prize, The Boston Society of Architects * 1967 The design of the Fox Lane Middle School in Bedford, New York, The American Association of School Administrators Award * 1967 Honor Award for the design of the Chase Learning Center of the Eaglebrook School in Deerfield, Massachusetts, The American Institute of Architects * 1987 The design of the Olin Arts Center at Bates College, The American School and University of Louis I. Kahn Citation * 1991 Award of Honor, The Boston Society of Architects

Independent Study Unit (Carrel)

The goal of the Carrel was to provide each student with a study space and privacy. This space consisted of a study space, dining area and coat storage. The independent Study Units were designed for Bedford Middle School. When introducing the Study Unit to the school, a choice was made that two-thirds of the students would have a Carrel and one-third would not. This decision was made through the assumption that not all students would be ready for the independence that the Carrel provides. The Carrels were placed with the storage units, this allowed students to choose between working with their table-mate or independently. This was accomplished by opening the door on their storage unit. For students to be social for lunch, the tables were moved away from the storage units and combined together. This made enough room for six students to eat at the combined table. The arrangement incorporated the students who did not have a Carrel. The Carrels also had screens that could be used to divide the students into groups. All the students' belongings were in their Carrel, including coats which were hung on pegs at the end of the storage units.

Work and motherhood

Sarah P. Harkness and Jean B. Fletcher were the only two female founding partners of TAC. They were both mothers, with Harkness having seven children and Fletcher having six. The women worked together to create a schedule that made it possible to work at the firm and to meet the responsibilities as mothers. The women worked half days; Fletcher would work in the morning and Harkness would work in the afternoon. The women also shared the same baby-sitter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harkness, Sarah 1914 births 2013 deaths 20th-century American architects 20th-century American women artists American women architects Architects from Massachusetts Architects from Cambridge, Massachusetts People from Swampscott, Massachusetts Smith College alumni Fellows of the American Institute of Architects 21st-century American women