[1][2] She is a recipient of 2015 National Association of Women in Construction Excellence Award.
Cranko studied architecture at Victoria University of Wellington in the 1970s.
[3] After graduating she worked at KRTA, King and Dawson and other firms in Wellington until she founded her own architecture practice, Cranko Architects, in 1987.
[1][3] In 1993, Cranko was one of a group of women architects in Wellington who created the exhibition Constructive Agenda: 60 years of women in architecture in New Zealand to mark 60 years since Merle Greenwood graduated with a bachelor architecture degree.
[1][3] Cranko has served as deputy chair of the New Zealand Registered Architects Board, and represented the New Zealand Institute of Architects at the initial Building Standards Authority.