U Card required to access all libraries

A U Card is required for access to all University of Minnesota libraries beginning Jan. 20. Please carry your U Card at all times for entry and re-entry. To see this exhibit, please contact fong0022@umn.edu for further information.

About the exhibition

Elizabeth “Lisl” Scheu Close, FAIA (1912–2011) was Minnesota’s first modern architect. Born in Vienna, Austria, and educated at MIT, Lisl was in the forefront of practicing women architects nationally and internationally. During her prolific career, she designed more than 250 modern residences, as well as numerous state-of-the-art hospitals, laboratories, and other commercial buildings in Minnesota and beyond.

In 1938, with her husband, architect Winston Close (1906–1997), she cofounded the first firm in the state dedicated to modern design. For the next fifty years, she designed buildings that were efficient, durable, and
“fit the modern style of living.” Lisl was the first woman to receive AIA Minnesota’s highest honor, the Gold Medal, awarded in recognition of a lifetime of significant contributions to architecture. She remains a role model for women in the profession today.

Exhibit details

What: “Elizabeth Scheu Close: A Life in Modern Architecture”
Where: Elmer L. Andersen Library
When: Monday, Feb. 23 through Friday, May 22, 2026 (weekdays only)
Hours: Open during library hours, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.