66 LEADING WOMEN
WHAT OBSTACLES do women face in becoming leaders in the design world? Tat’s a fascinating question to pose as we hit the quarter mark of the 21st century. Progress is evident, but in many sectors, in
far too many parts of the world, women are still struggling to throw off centuries of chauvinism – or worse. In the early 20th century, we saw female designers of textiles, furniture, interiors, shine brightly – Annie Albers, Charlotte Perriand, Sonia Delaunay – only to be subsequently sidelined, their contribution often appropriated by the men who harnessed their talents, or overlooked by the (usually male) experts writing the monographs. Tankfully, these women are being rediscovered and celebrated in their own right. For women architects, there is still much
ground to be gained. Despite a roughly equal intake of male and female architecture students over the past few decades, in 2021, according to the Architects Registration Board, the number of women registered as professionals was still only 29.6%. Challenges are systemic, due to a raft of issues, including working practices often hostile to family life. But until Zaha Hadid broke through that tough, triple-glazed ceiling, the profession itself seemed unable to entertain the idea of a great female architect. Tis attitude was in evidence as recently as 2014 when the BBC airbrushed Patty Hopkins, practice co-director and co-founder with husband Michael, of Hopkins Architects, out of a promotional portrait for their 2014 documentary series Te Brits Who Built the Modern World so that only the males remained (Rogers, Farrell, Foster, Hopkins and Grimshaw). Te past five years have seen shifts in the
right direction, due to campaigns, such as that run by gender parity action group Part W flagging up the industry’s appalling record of overlooking women for awards and
‘To make spaces that empower people to feel full of energy, to change minds: that to me is success’
recognition, and Architects Journal’s annual survey, which exposes the lack of parity in pay. While the atmosphere may now be more
receptive to female talent, those years in obscurity were not wasted: women developed skills as collaborators, facilitators and observers, which are still informing and enriching their practice. Tinking holistically, working co-creatively and across disciplines, an ability to fuse aspirational aesthetics with pragmatics and an understanding of people: these are skills in which women in design have excelled. By recognising these qualities’ importance to the industry as a whole, they become part of a more enlightened design practice, whatever the designer’s gender. Tere are now a handful of women
architects with their names on the company
Right The Manchester Jewish Museum. Marks wanted to ‘give it greater street presence without diminishing it’
Bottom left Speaking about the BEAM Hertford theatre and cinema, Marks says: ‘If people go into a building and feel the spaces have a clear identity, they find ways to use them, rather than have the uses be assigned’
PHOTO: ©CITIZENSDESIGNBUREAU
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101
