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.

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 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