Liane Zimbler

Liane Zimbler, née Juliana Fischer, (31 May 1892, Přerov, Moravia – 11 November 1987, Los Angeles) is said to be the first European woman to obtain an architecture degree, although a number of Finns, including Signe Hornborg, graduated much earlier. After running a highly successful business in Vienna, Zimbler emigrated to the United States in 1938 where she specialized in interior design.
Biography
Zimbler first studied graphics, then architecture at the Arts School in Vienna. While still studying, she worked as an illustrator and designer for Emilie Flöge's salon. In 1916, she married the lawyer Otto Zimbler with whom she had a daughter, Eva. The same year, she began to work for the Bamberger furniture factory in Vienna. Towards the end of the First World War, she joined the Rosenberger design studio in Vienna as an architect. In the early 1920s, she started her own firm, specializing in conversion, renovation and interior decoration work. By 1928, as a result of her prospering business, Zimbler was able to open a second studio in Prague managed by her associate Annie Herrnheiser. She also began to lecture in Vienna while participating in various organisations in support of working women. She became known for her one-room apartments and studios, an expanding niche market for the middle classes. Notable projects in Vienna included a villa in Silbergasse, refurbishment of the Ephrussi Bank and several interior decoration projects. She also served as chairman of the Austrian board of the International Housing Society and lectured on the sociological and artistic aspects of housing.
In February 1938, Zimbler became the first woman in Austria to be granted a civil architect's licence. Very shortly afterwards, thanks to Otto Zimbler's influential contacts, the family was able to leave for the Netherlands and London before the German Anschluss in March. That autumn they were able to emigrate to the United States. Thanks to the involvement of Ada Gomperz, wife of the philosopher Heinrich Gomperz, Zimbler then settled in Los Angeles, where she worked on interior design at Anita Toor's office. After her husband died in an accident and Anita Toor herself died, Zimbler took over the firm around 1941, again concentrating on conversion and decoration projects. She also designed a number of new buildings and regularly took part in exhibitions. Zimbler frequently lectured and wrote articles on interior design for architecture and design periodicals as well as for newspapers including the Los Angeles Times. Her daughter, Eva, who joined her as an apprentice in 1958, became her associate. Zimbler, who had a stroke at age 86, continued to work until age 90. She died in Los Angeles in November, 1987 at the age of 95.
Zimbler was a member of the American Institute of Interior Designers and the Association of Women in Architecture.
Projects
(List is incomplete)
Gnadenwald House, 1934-1938
Toch residence, Santa Monica, CA, 1941
Panzer residence, Beverly Hills, CA, 1942
Boswell residence, Los Angeles, CA, 1944
Dahlberg residence, Beverly Hills, CA, 1945
Foster bedroom & bath, Beverly Hills, CA, 1950
Barbas residence, Beverly Hills, CA, 1951
Dr. J. Brody residence, Beverly Hills, CA, 1952
Moore residence, Los Angeles, CA, 1955
Stewart residence, Beverly Hills, CA, 1955
Feldman kitchen, Los Angeles, CA, 1956
Schwartz residence, Camarillo, CA, 1956-1957
Huebscher residence, Los Angeles, CA, 1959-1960
Elliot Evans Company Reception Room, Los Angeles, CA, 1960
Candianides residence, Venture, CA, 1961
Silverberg apartment, Los Angeles, CA, 1962
Barasch residence, Los Angeles, CA, 1960-1965, 1975
Engelman residence, Los Angeles, CA, 1965
Levy residence, Los Angeles, CA, 1965
Wasserman residence (foyer), Los Angeles, CA, 1968
Recycled House, Beverly Hills, CA, 1974
References
Literature
Zacek, Patricia: Frauen in Der Technik Von 1900 bis 2000, Vienna, ARGE Architektinnen und Ingenieurkonsulentinnen, 1999.
External links
Liane Zimbler in Architektenlexicon includes a full list of her works in Austria and in the United States.
20th-century American architects
American interior designers
1892 births
1987 deaths
People from Přerov
Architects from Los Angeles
Czechoslovak emigrants to the United States
Austrian women architects
American women interior designers
California women architects
20th-century Austrian architects
Architects from Vienna
20th-century American women
Jewish architects
Moravian Jews