Kristine Fallon is preserving the accomplishments of women in architecture

For architect and innovator Kristine Fallon M.Arch '77, preserving the future often begins with protecting the past.

A pioneer in the application of information technology to architecture, engineering, and construction, Fallon spent more than four decades helping transform how buildings are designed, documented, and managed. Her work helped bridge the worlds of architecture and emerging digital technologies, influencing everything from building information modeling to national and international data standards. Along the way, she earned recognition as one of the profession's foremost leaders in architectural technology.

But Fallon's impact extends well beyond her professional accomplishments.

A longtime advocate for the International Archive of Women in Architecture (IAWA) at Virginia Tech, Fallon has dedicated her time, expertise, and philanthropy to ensuring that the contributions of women architects are not lost to history. Through her support of the archive and the creation of the IAWA Kristine Fallon Prize, she has helped shine a light on designers whose work has too often gone unrecognized, underdocumented, or attributed to others.

That commitment is rooted in both personal experience and a lifelong belief that history is incomplete when important voices are missing from the record. Throughout her career, Fallon witnessed talented women shaping projects, firms, and communities while receiving little public recognition for their contributions. Today, she sees preserving those stories as essential not only to understanding the past, but also to inspiring future generations.

Fallon talked about her Virginia Tech journey, the mentors who shaped her career, the importance of preserving women's architectural history, and why giving back remains one of the most meaningful ways she can contribute to the profession she loves.

Your path to architecture was anything but conventional. Looking back, what first drew you to the profession and what ultimately convinced you that architecture was where you belonged?

I didn't grow up planning to become an architect. I actually earned my undergraduate degree in French, so architecture wasn't the obvious next step. But I was living in Washington, D.C., at the time, and while the monuments were beautiful, so much of the city around them felt uninspired. I found myself wondering why we couldn't make everyday places more beautiful.

You entered architecture at a time when relatively few women were encouraged to pursue professional careers. How did those experiences shape the way you approached your own career?

There were certainly barriers.  For example,  after three years of practice and becoming licensed, I never sat in front of a client. Rather than becoming discouraged, I focused on finding ways to have influence by innovating and making a very unique contribution to firm’s success. I joined the SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill) computer group, where I assumed a newly created role to spur the adoption of computer-aided design techniques nationwide. One of the most important things I learned in that role was how to move ideas forward effectively. I often joke that one of my greatest skills became making men think an idea was theirs.  Letting the intended users of the technology take that kind of ownership was a great way to speed adoption.

One piece of advice someone once gave me stayed with me for years: "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not after you — but you can never let them know that you know." I learned to keep moving forward, stay professional, and let my effectiveness speak for itself. Looking back, those experiences taught me resilience. They also reinforced why it's so important that today's profession creates opportunities that simply didn't exist for many women of my generation.

Throughout your career, you've often been ahead of the curve, particularly in recognizing the role technology would play in architecture. What allowed you to see opportunities that others sometimes overlooked?

I honestly don't know why I saw some of those possibilities when others didn't. When I first joined Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, I happened to meet members of the firm's computer group after seeing the original "Star Wars" movie. They were fascinated by its computer graphics, and I became fascinated by what computers might do for architecture. A few months later, while working on the Jeddah (Saudia Arabia) airport project, I realized we could use computer-generated underlays to coordinate enormous numbers of engineering drawings at different scales. The idea worked its way up to the partners quickly and soon became part of how the project was managed. I've always been excited by technology that genuinely improves how people work.

Virginia Tech played an important role in your development as an architect. What stands out most when you reflect on your time as a student?

Virginia Tech gave me both the mindset and the credentials to build a career I loved. What stands out most is how open-minded the program was. We studied photography, drawing, and all kinds of disciplines that helped us think differently about design. The faculty encouraged curiosity. It wasn't just about learning how to draft buildings, it was about learning how to see the world differently. That broadened the way I approached problem-solving for the rest of my career.

One person who clearly had a lasting influence on you was Milka Bliznakov. What made her such an important mentor, and what do you think she would say if she could see the International Archive of Women in Architecture today?

Milka was my thesis advisor, but after I graduated we became friends as well as colleagues. We stayed in close contact for years. She founded the International Archive of Women in Architecture because she refused to accept the idea that women simply hadn't contributed to architectural history. Her goal was to document the many women doing important work whose contributions had gone unrecognized. I think she would be tremendously pleased by what the archive has become. More than anything, though, I think she'd want to make the collections even more accessible digitally so researchers around the world could use them. That was always her goal – to make sure these stories were studied, not forgotten.

You've spoken about how many women's contributions to architecture have been overlooked or under-recorded. Why is preserving these stories so important?

Because history should tell the truth. History is often written by the winners, and historically it has often been written by men. That means many women's contributions simply disappeared from the record or were attributed to someone else. I've seen that happen firsthand. Outstanding architects whose work deserved recognition were left out of official histories entirely. Preserving these stories isn't about rewriting history. It's about recording it accurately.

The Kristine Fallon Prize supports research into women whose work might otherwise be forgotten. What impact do you hope the prize will have, not just on scholarship but on the profession itself?

I hope it encourages people to keep asking questions. One lesson I've learned is to always ask, "Were there women involved?" Often the answer is yes — they simply weren't included in the story that got told. The prize helps researchers uncover those overlooked contributions, making architectural history richer and more accurate. But beyond scholarship, I hope it reminds practicing architects that innovation has always come from many different voices, even if history hasn't always acknowledged them.

When you think about the architects and designers whose stories are still waiting to be uncovered, what excites you most about the work ahead?

I'm excited that there are still so many stories left to discover. The International Archive of Women in Architecture continues to grow, and every new collection offers another opportunity to understand architecture more completely. Every thesis, dissertation, or research project built from those materials helps fill in pieces of history that were previously missing. The more complete our understanding becomes, the stronger the profession becomes.

You've remained engaged with Virginia Tech for many years. What inspires you to continue investing your time, expertise, and philanthropic support in the university?

Virginia Tech gave me an extraordinary foundation for my career. My involvement really began almost immediately after graduation. I returned to campus to give lectures because I was working on interesting technology projects, served on alumni committees, and continued my friendship with Milka. Coming back always felt rewarding because Virginia Tech had played such an important role in my life.

When I look back over the past 50 years, I have no regrets about the career I've had. Virginia Tech helped make that possible, and supporting today's students and preserving the archive feels like a meaningful way to give something back.

What advice would you offer to an alum who wants to make a difference at the university? How could they start to get involved?

There are many ways to stay connected beyond making a financial gift. Recent graduates can return to campus to participate in design reviews, serve as critics, give lectures, mentor students, or simply share what they're learning in practice. Those interactions help students understand what the profession is really like. The important thing is to stay engaged. Universities benefit enormously when alumni continue sharing their experience, and students benefit from seeing the many different paths a career can take.