Andrea Leers FAIA (2003)

An Architecture of Optimism

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Biography

Two early experiences shaped Andrea’s approach to architecture—her studies at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Fine Arts, then led by Louis I. Kahn, after her degree from Wellesley College, and her year in Japan as an NEA-Japan U.S. Friendship Commission Fellow. When she and Jane Weinzapfel met in their internship years, they discovered they shared values and the desire to establish a firm with the goal of creating a bold and refined architecture for the public realm.

Full Biography


Andrea Leers FAIA
Co-Founder, Leers Weinzapfel Associates
Women in Design Award of Excellence, 2003 winner

Andrea Leers Board 2

Principal and co-founder of Leers Weinzapfel Associates, an AIA Firm Award winner, Andrea Leers is an internationally recognized leader in urban, campus and civic design.

Image courtesy of Leers Weinzapfel Associates

Andrea Leers Board 5

Leadership
Participating on many advisory boards, including the Boston Civic Design Commission (Chair), Harvard’s Design Advisory Pool, University of Washington Architectural Advisory Commission, and the US General Services National Register of Peer Professionals, Andrea Leers offers leadership and guidance for design in the public realm.

Image courtesy of Leers Weinzapfel Associates

Andrea Leers Board 1

Community Impact
In over 20 years of work with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston as architect and Trustee, Andrea has led the design of multiple clubhouses including The Blue Hills Youth Development Center that was awarded the Harleston Parker Medal in 1996.

Image courtesy of Leers Weinzapfel Associates

Andrea Leers Board 6

Advocacy
From the first gathering of Women in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Planning (WALAP) in the early 1970’s in Boston to today’s support of the Girl UNinterrupted initiative, Andrea has been a strong advocate and mentor for women in the design professions.

Image courtesy of Leers Weinzapfel Associates

Andrea Leers Board 3

Research
Andrea has led the design of the first large CLT (cross laminated timber) academic building and student residence buildings in the nation. For over 15 years, she researched and taught the design of courthouses. Her research on the architecture of Japan resulted in the recently published “Welcoming the West: Japan’s Grand Resort Hotels” examining the hybrid architecture of the early modern period.

Image courtesy of Leers Weinzapfel Associates

Andrea Leers Board 4

Education
In an academic career that parallels her professional career, Andrea has served on the architecture faculties of Harvard, Yale, The University of Pennsylvania, the University of Virginia, and Tokyo Institute of Technology.

Image courtesy of Leers Weinzapfel Associates

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