Womxn in Design and Architecture Conference — Helen Liu Fong: bright Constructions

Helen Liu Fong’s work is built off paradoxes–humble yet ambitious, commercially rooted yet culturally resonant, trend-driven yet timeless. As a Chinese American Woman working in the post-World War II landscape of Los Angeles, she broke barriers in a field largely inaccessible to women and people of color. Upon earning a degree in City Planning at UC Berkeley, Helen joined the architecture firm Armet & Davis, now Armet Davis Newlove, where she left an indelible mark on countless expressions of commercial modernism. Fong fused bold forms, dramatic rooflines, expansive glazing, and natural materials to create vibrant, contemporary spaces accessible to America’s burgeoning middle class. Projects like the Holiday Bowl, funded by formerly interned Japanese American families, underscore Fong’s ambition to shape inclusive environments that resonate across racial and social boundaries.

She was also instrumental in defining the brand identities of several chain diners that emerged around the time, such as Denny’s and Norm’s. Both establishments embodied a model of culinary democratization echoed in Helen’s ethos, which saw architecture as a forward-thinking, community-oriented force. Her interiors gave working Americans an affordable way to experience contemporary architecture, balancing leisure and utility while fostering connection and vitality.

Despite her pivotal role in shaping the dynamic Googie aesthetic, Helen Liu Fong’s legacy has only recently gained recognition in academia. Fong’s contributions challenge traditional hierarchies in architectural history that prioritize monumental architecture over the commercial spaces defining everyday life. Her projects raise urgent questions about architectural preservation and cultural memory. This year’s WDA Conference examines the profound impact of her visions, inviting discussions exploring modernism’s social accessibility, commercial architecture’s cultural narratives, and the challenges of preserving postwar vernacular architecture in rapidly evolving urban landscapes. Grounded in the everyday yet undeniably aspirational, Fong’s contributions offer an enduring reminder of architecture’s power to reflect and shape the aspirations of its time.

The ninth Womxn in Design Conference at the Princeton School of Architecture honors the life and work of Helen Liu Fong. Organized by Womxn in Design and Architecture, a graduate student group formed in 2014 at Princeton University School of Architecture, this annual conference celebrates the work and memory of a pivotal architect or designer with contributions from international historians and scholars, in addition to artists, musicians, curators, and practitioners.