Architectural designer, educator, and pioneering feminist Debora K. Reiser died on September 19 at the age of 96. The news of Reiser’s passing was shared via social media by Pratt Institute. She is survived by her son Jesse Reiser and daughter-in-law Nanako Umemoto. Together, the three ran the award-winning studio RUR Architecture. - The Architect’s Newspaper
Anik, Nancy, and I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing Deby in the Summer of 2021, where she shared stories about pursuing her Bachelors Degree from Pratt Institute in the 1940’s among a class of male peers returning from WWII. She went on to share stories about what it was like to practice architecture in the ‘50’s and how she has seen the profession change over seven decades.
You may recall our Special Holiday Event in December of 2021 where we premiered the footage of our interview with Deby. In this virtual event that Deby, Jesse, and Nanako attended, the MWA community got the chance to hear from them about practicing architecture as a family.
We are honored to have met Deby, to have experienced her palpable zeal for architecture, and to have been able to share her stories. Our deepest sympathies go out to Jesse, Nanako and the RUR team.