Doris Cole


Doris Cole,, is an American architect and author. She was a founding principal of Cole and Goyette, Architects and Planners Inc. She is the author of From Tipi to Skyscraper: A History of Women in Architecture. which was the first book on women in architecture in the United States.

Early life and education

Cole was born in Chicago, the younger of two daughters of Louis Cole and Helen Exley Moore, and was raised in the city and in Grand Rapids, graduating from East Grand Rapids High School in 1955. She received the AB cum laude from Radcliffe College in 1959, and the Master of Architecture from Harvard University Graduate School of Design in 1963.

Architectural practice

Cole's early career was spent in architectural offices in Paris and Boston. In 1981, she was a founding principal of Cole and Goyette, Architects and Planners in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with Harold Goyette, and she remained with the practice until 2012. The firm specialized in educational, commercial, and residential buildings for public and private clients.
Cole's projects included the East Boston High School addition and renovation. She also worked on Everett and Gardner schools additions and renovations in Boston. She also designed a private home and barn in Westwood.
In 1994, she was named a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and in 2006 the Boston Society of Architects awarded her the Women in Design Award of Excellence.
In 2012, Cole established a new practice, Doris Cole FAIA, Architecture/Planning.

Other activities

Doris Cole wrote the first book on women in architecture in the United States, From Tipi to Skyscraper: A History of Women in Architecture. Other books include Eleanor Raymond, Architect, The Lady Architects: Lois Lilley Howe, Eleanor Manning, and Mary Almy 1893-1937, and School Treasures: Architecture of Historic Boston Schools.
Her community service has included the Corporation of Springfield College, Harvard Alumni Association and Harvard University Graduate School of Design Alumni/ae Council. She has lectured at the University of Virginia, Chicago Women in Architecture and elsewhere.
Cole's professional and personal papers are part of the Doris Cole and Harold Goyette Collection at the Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, Loeb Library, Special Collections.
The Loeb Library is also housing a collection of commentary posters. The posters are Doris Cole's response to recent questions asked about her life as an architect. These commentary posters consist of exploratory text and small watercolors. The posters are about architecture and related matters relevant to the past, present, and future of an architect.

Selected projects