Milka Bliznakov Prize
The Milka Bliznakov Research Prize was established in 2001 to honor IAWA founder and advisor emerita, Milka Bliznakov (1927-2010). The IAWA Center invites architects, scholars, professionals, students, and researchers to contribute research on women in architecture and related design fields. This research, in concert with the preservation efforts of the IAWA, will help fill the current void in historical knowledge about the achievements and work of women who shaped the built environment.
Call for Proposals: 2025 MILKA BLIZNAKOV RESEARCH PRIZE
Deadline for receipt of proposals: January 15, 2025
The IAWA Center invites architects, scholars, professionals, students, and researchers to honor IAWA founder Professor Milka T. Bliznakov through research on women in architecture and related design fields. This research, in concert with the preservation efforts of the IAWA, is intended to help fill the current void in historical knowledge about women’s professional achievements. The prize is designed to facilitate in-person research in the IAWA archive and produce scholarship related to the work of women who shaped the designed environment, thus preserving for posterity a record of their achievements. The Board of Advisors of the International Archive of Women in Architecture Center (IAWA) presents this Annual Prize of $5000. The prize is awarded in two stages. After proposals are submitted and evaluated, a Milka Bliznakov Research Prize Residency Candidate will be named and awarded $2500 to facilitate travel to the Archive in Blacksburg, VA. After the Candidate has completed research and writing, and submitted their work to the IAWA, the Award Winner will be named and a further $2500 awarded.
PROPOSAL CONTENT:
The proposal must outline the work the applicant plans to complete at the Archive to produce an original project, research, or scholarly work that advances the recognition of women’s contributions in design. The proposal shall draw upon the IAWA collections while reflecting upon the broader context.
The proposal should include the following elements:
- Outline of research to be completed, including a listing of the specific IAWA collections to be consulted in the research. See the guide to the collections here: https://guides.lib.vt.edu/iawa/collections
- Proposed schedule for residency to include a talk open to the Virginia Tech university community and the general public.
- Intended product of the research, a copy of which is to be donated to the archive upon completion. Examples of the product of research may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Research paper
- Visual or physical original work that references or utilizes research from the Archive
- Article, chapter, book, or report documenting the activities and work of the residency (may be self-published)
- Conference paper, presented at the IAWA Symposium and/or other conference
- Notebook or sketchbook produced during the residency
SUBMISSION MATERIAL:
- 500-word proposal
- maximum of 5 related images
- curriculum vitae of the applicant/s
The proposal should be submitted electronically as a PDF to iawacenter@vt.edu; using the subject heading: 2025 Milka Bliznakov Research Prize. The file must be received by January 15, 2025 and should be addressed to:
IAWA Center Executive Committee
ATTN: Paola Zellner Bassett
Chair, International Archive of Women in Architecture
School of Architecture
Virginia Tech
AWARD STAGES:
The proposals will undergo a blind-peer review process to select the one that best demonstrates an important advancement to the recognition of women’s contributions to architecture and the related design fields while encouraging the use of the collections and growth of the International Archive of Women in Architecture.
STAGE 1:
The IAWA will announce the 2025 MBRP Residency Candidate on February 15, 2025. The candidate will receive the first installment of $2500 after arrival at the IAWA to support the residency in Blacksburg, VA.
STAGE 2:
The final work must be completed by December 15, 2025. Upon completion and submission of the research product the candidate will receive the second installment of $2500 to become the 2025 MBRP Award Winner. The final product will become a part of the Archive to contribute to the historical record. The 2025 MBRP Award Winner must plan to present the work (in person or virtually) at the 2026 IAWA Symposium, usually held in Blacksburg, VA in late March.
If further information is required, please contact Professor Paola Zellner Bassett at iawacenter@vt.edu.
2024 Milka Bliznakov Prize Announcement
2024 IAWA Milka Bliznakov Research Prize Announcement — July 15, 2024
On behalf of the Board of the International Archive of Women in Architecture (IAWA) Center, the 2024 Milka Bliznakov Research Prize Jury is pleased to announce that the proposal for the 2024 MBRP Residency Candidate has been selected: LIANE ZIMBLER’S ARCHITECTURAL JOURNEY: QUESTIONING THE INTERIOR DECORATOR CLICHÉ FROM VIENNA TO CALIFORNIA, submitted by Fabio Marino, Ph.D. Assistant Professor (RTDA Researcher) in History of Art and Architecture, Department of Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering –DABC, Polytechnic of Milan. Upon completion of the research and submittal of the final manuscript, the candidate will receive the 2024 Milka Bliznakov Research Prize Award.
Excerpt from winning proposal: “By accessing and analyzing the extensive archival materials at IAWA, the study outlines the complexity of Zimbler’s transnational career and her role in the cultural transfer between Europe and the United States. The study aims to identify the critical experiences, peculiar conditions and remarkable interactions that contributed to shape her distinctive approach to architectural practice, examining her early career in Vienna and the cultural background that influenced her subsequent work in Los Angeles. Liane Zimbler’s journey from her homeland to California effectively exemplifies the transnational exchange of cultural and architectural ideas during the 20th century.”
2023 Milka Bliznakov Prize Announcement
2023 IAWA Milka Bliznakov Research Prize Announcement — June 30, 2023
On behalf of the Board of the International Archive of Women in Architecture (IAWA) Center, the 2023 Milka Bliznakov Research Prize Jury is pleased to announce that ORGANIZING WOMEN ARCHITECTS AND GLOBAL SOLIDARITY 1963-1988: THE INTERNATIONAL UNION OF WOMEN ARCHITECTS AND THE COLD WAR DIVIDE by Distinguished Professor Lori Brown, FAIA and Dr. Karen Burns receives the 2023 Milka Bliznakov Research Prize Award of $5000.
Brown and Burns will research IAWA holdings to develop a work that contributes to the deeper understanding of UIFA, a pioneering organization that established and successfully sustained a vast international network of women architects for over five decades. We foresee this research constructing a broad foundation for a new area of inquiry.
In recognition of the high caliber of entries received this year, the IAWA 2023 Milka Bliznakov Research Prize Jury announces:
ZELMA WILSON AND THE THIRD GENERATION by James Heard receives a Commendation with Heard being recognized as a Milka Bliznakov Emerging Scholar.
The 2023 Milka Bliznakov Research Prize Jury found the entries received for the 2023 Milka Bliznakov Research Prize to be a robust and compelling grouping of critical explorations into the IAWA holdings and invites all authors to consider submitting proposals for future IAWA Milka Bliznakov Research Prize calls.
2023 Milka Bliznakov call for proposals
Call for Proposals: 2023 MILKA BLIZNAKOV RESEARCH PRIZE
Deadline for receipt of proposals: June 20, 2023
The IAWA Center invites architects, scholars, professionals, students, and researchers to honor IAWA
founder Professor Milka T. Bliznakov through research on women in architecture and related design
fields. This research, in concert with the preservation efforts of the IAWA, will help fill the current void in
historical knowledge about women’s professional achievements. The archive encourages such research
in addition to the goal of preserving archival materials related to the work of women who shaped the
designed environment, thus preserving for posterity a record of their achievements.
The Board of Advisors of the International Archive of Women in Architecture Center (IAWA) presents
this Annual Prize of $5000 following a two-stage process:
STAGE ONE: PROPOSAL SUBMISSION
The proposal must outline the work the applicant plans to complete at the Archive to produce an
original project, research, or scholarly work that advances the recognition of women’s contributions in
design. The proposal shall draw upon and expand the IAWA collections while reflecting upon the
broader context. The proposal should include the following elements:
- Outline of research to be completed, including a listing of the specific IAWA collections to be
consulted in the research. See the guide to the collections here:
https://guides.lib.vt.edu/iawa/collections - Proposed schedule for residency to include a talk open to the university community and the
general public. - Intended product of the research, a copy of which is to be donated to the archive upon review
and completion.
Examples of the product of research may include, but are not limited to, the
following:
- Research paper
- Visual or physical original work that references or utilizes research from the Archive
- Article, chapter, book documenting the activities and work of the residency (may be self-published)
- Notebook or sketchbook produced during the residency
SUBMISSION MATERIAL:
- 500-word proposal
- maximum of 5 related images
- curriculum vitae of the applicant/s
The proposal should be submitted electronically as a PDF to iawacenter@vt.edu; using the subject
heading: 2023 Milka Bliznakov Research Prize. The file must be received by June 20, 2023 and should be
addressed to:
IAWA Center Executive Committee
ATTN: Donna Dunay, FAIA
Chair, International Archive of Women in Architecture
School of Architecture
Virginia Tech
STAGE TWO:
The IAWA Jury awards the 2023 Milka Bliznakov Research Prize for the research proposal that best demonstrates an important advancement to the recognition of women’s contributions to architecture and the related design fields while encouraging the use and growth of the International Archive of Women in Architecture. The winner will be announced by June 30, 2023.
The project will undergo a blind-peer review process to assert the quality and standing of the final work. The work must be completed by February 28, 2024. The final product will become a part of the Archive to contribute to the historical record, and will be presented at the 2024 IAWA Symposium.
The prize money will be awarded in two installments: $1500 will be made available to the recipient upon arrival at the IAWA for the residency period, and the final portion, $3,500 will be paid upon receipt of the final product. If further information is required, please contact Professor Donna Dunay at: iawacenter@vt.edu
2022 Milka Bliznakov Prize
On behalf of the Board of the International Archive of Women in Architecture (IAWA) Center, The 2022 Milka Bliznakov Research Prize Jury is pleased to announce DECOLONIZING THE ARCHIVE: MAPPING IAWA’S GLOBAL SOUTH FEMALE ARCHITECTS by Daniela Núñez Ruiz, from Mexico City and Monterrey, Mexico, receives The 2022 Milka Bliznakov Research Prize Award of $5000 for the research project.
Núñez Ruiz will research IAWA holdings to create a map of “women architects from the Global South” through an “analysis that involves…intersectional variables in the production of knowledge in architecture….”
In addition, for the following 2022 Milka Bliznakov Research Prize Proposals:
the Jury recognizes each with a Commendation:
The Han Schroeder House childhood recollections
by Julia Jamrozik, Toronto Metropolitan University
Wilhelmina in Winnipeg – Unstacking the Deck: A Game of Change
by Dr. Lisa Landrum, University of Manitoba
with Alina Bilonozhko, student research assistant
The Jury found all proposals received for the 2022 Milka Bliznakov Research Prize suggest a wealth of research exploration in the IAWA promises – uncharted avenues bringing new history to light.
The Jury appreciates all who submitted proposals in 2022 and invites all to consider submitting a proposal for a future IAWA Milka Bliznakov Research Prize. The IAWA continues to encourage the Archive as a unique resource to further knowledge of women in architecture and the related design fields.
See past recipients of the Milka Bliznakov Research Prize here.