Lillian Chrystall
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Lillian Jessie Chrystall OBE (née Laidlaw; 1 March 1926 – 24 February 2022) was a New Zealand architect, and the first woman to receive a national New Zealand Institute of Architects award.
Quotes
[edit]- Yes I was interested in colour and dress and designing actually you see, and I thought this was going to be a business for me. But I was quickly won through to something rather better.
- As stated in Architecture + Women NZ's "A+W NZ Interview with Lillian Chrystall" Architecture + Women NZ. Published: 11 February 2020. Accessed: 2 July 2026.
- (Regarding attending Architecture School) That's right... up until the year I started (1944), there had been 12 or 10 or 8 first year student[s], suddenly there were 36, because it was the return of the servicemen. So we had a lot of senior guys who had come back from the war or come back from service, and were anxious to get qualifications and striving to work. Of those 36 there were 5 women, and two of those dropped out quite quickly and the other two did ultimately achieve some sort of qualification, that was Dorothy Gawith (Dot Mahon) and Sue Sharp (Susanne Priest), they are both dead now but they were qualified ultimately - but I just thrived on the work... and it was great fun. And I had two brothers and I treated all the guys like brothers and it was wonderful partnership.
- As stated in Architecture + Women NZ's "A+W NZ Interview with Lillian Chrystall" Architecture + Women NZ. Published: 11 February 2020. Accessed: 2 July 2026.
- Well I did the four years that you normally do, and then I had the cheek to put in for a job at the School of Architecture and I got it, and I was the first 'instructress' that was female. Tony Treadwell and I both got that, and in that context I learned and spen[t] two years doing that, and I learned more then than I did in the four years.
- As stated in Architecture + Women NZ's "A+W NZ Interview with Lillian Chrystall" Architecture + Women NZ. Published: 11 February 2020. Accessed: 2 July 2026.
- I think each job you do is a building block that leads you through to a greater complexity, a greater comprehension of where you are going. That’s about all I’ll say.
- As stated in Architecture + Women NZ's "A+W NZ Interview with Lillian Chrystall" Architecture + Women NZ. Published: 11 February 2020. Accessed: 2 July 2026.
- Haha you can’t have favourites. No I can’t pick favourites, I suppose it was a turning point for my career when I got the Bronze Medal for the Yock House, the first place. That was a place I designed in 1964 and I got the bronze medal in 1967. And in those days you got a Gold, a Silver and a Bronze, it was one of each, and the Bronze was for a dwelling. And when that came was a bit of a push for my career because a lot of other work came because of this Bronze Medal.
- As stated in Architecture + Women NZ's "A+W NZ Interview with Lillian Chrystall" Architecture + Women NZ. Published: 11 February 2020. Accessed: 2 July 2026.
