Nancy Ai-Tseng Miao Twitchell, of Darien, Conn. and Chilmark, died on May 29. She was 92.

Nancy was born on March 13, 1928, the daughter of Miao Chien-Chou and Zhou Chi-Fung. As a child in China, her family was forced to move frequently due to her father’s political and diplomatic positions and influence during the tumultuous period leading up to and during the Second World War and the Chinese Civil War that preceded the Communist Revolution. She spent time in Beijing, Tianjin and Hong Kong before attending Nankai High School in Chongqing as a boarding student.

After World War II, the family moved to Tokyo in occupied Japan, where her father held a diplomatic position for Chiang Kai-Shek’s government. Soon after, Nancy came to the U.S. as a student in Boston for more than a decade, earning a BA from Tufts in 1951, an MS from Boston University in 1953, and a Master of Architecture from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design in 1960.

She achieved early success as an architectural designer, serving on the design staff of notable firms Hugh Stubbins & Associates, The Architects Collaborative (TAC), Edward Larabee Barnes Architect and Mitchell & Giurgola Architects. Nancy went on to be a partner of two firms based in New York city along with her husband, Terry Twitchell: Architects Design Group and Twitchell & Miao, Architects.

She was a prolific designer with a tremendously varied portfolio of work. Nancy designed residential skyscrapers including Carnegie Hill Tower in Manhattan; multi-block urban college campuses like Manhattan Community College in New York city; large suburban healthcare campuses notably Broome Developmental Center in Binghamton, N.Y; private residences that won Architectural Record House awards, including the New York home of the former CEO of Corning; research and laboratory buildings such as the Coykendall Science Building at SUNY New Paltz; airport terminal and passenger circulation masterplans for JFK airport; and U.S. Government buildings including a mega-structure for the Department of Defense.

Nancy met her husband Terry Twitchell in Cambridge where they both worked as architects for Walter Gropius. Terry is the son of Ralph Spencer Twitchell, a founder of the Sarasota School of Architecture. Nancy and Terry married in 1966 and spent their honeymoon in the landmarked Cocoon House in Sarasota, designed by Ralph.

While holding down an architectural practice and raising a family in New York city, Nancy was also a professor of architecture at Pratt Institute School of Architecture for 30 years. The American Institute of Architects recognized her professional achievements by electing her to the College of Fellows and awarding the F.A.I.A. title, a distinction that only 3 per cent of AIA members have received and even fewer women architects.

After Nancy and Terry retired, they moved to Boston in 1999, where they enjoyed reconnecting with old friends from their Cambridge days. They spent many summers at their Chilmark home on Martha’s Vineyard, walking on the beach, visiting local markets, and cooking delicious meals for their family and many guests. The couple recently moved to Darien, Conn. to be closer to family.

Nancy was predeceased by her brother, Dazue, who died at age four, and her parents, who passed away in Taiwan. She is survived by her husband and architectural partner, Terry Twitchell, her son Daryl Twitchell and his wife Peggy Bell Twitchell, two grandchildren as well as countless generations of architecture students who studied with her in the U.S. and the Republic of China, Taiwan.

In lieu of flowers, consider a donation in her memory to the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, where she celebrated her 90th birthday, or The Glass House of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a living museum of the Bauhaus-influenced International Style of architecture in New Canaan, Conn.

A private burial will be held at a later date in Chilmark.