Nadine Isaacs


Nadine Isaacs was a Jamaican architect. She was the first female vice chair of the Architects Registration Board and the first female president of the Jamaica Institute of Architects. She headed the Caribbean School of Architecture, as its first female leader as well as leading the faculty of the Built Environment at the University of Technology in Kingston.

Biography

E. Nadine Isaacs was born in Jamaica in 1942 to Ivy and Wills Isaacs. She graduated from the University of Sydney, Australia with a degree in architecture and then returned to take a position with the Jamaican Ministry of Housing, working her way up to become the senior executive architect. In the mid-1970s, she worked with the World Bank on projects in conjunction with the Ministry of Housing to improve availability of low-cost roofing materials. Isaac's job was to assess the requirements needed to meet local conditions as well as price-point concerns. She joined the Sites and Services Division and worked designing and constructing low-cost housing, later joining the Urban Development Corporation, before opening her own firm.
In 1986, Isaacs was elected as the first female president of the Jamaica Institute of Architects. She was re-elected for a second term in 1987 and that same year she became vice chair of the newly established Architects Registration Board. In 1999, Isaacs became the first female to head the Caribbean School of Architecture and was the first female fellow of the Jamaica Institute of Architects. She also led the faculty of the Built Environment at the University of Technology in Kingston.
Isaacs died after a lengthy bout with cancer on 16 June 2004 in Kingston, Jamaica. Posthumously, an annual design award is given in her name by the University of Technology.