L'Espace Féminin is one of many groups seeking to redress the gender imbalance in the professional world of architecture and other spatial practices. Miriam Stoney reflects on these similar initiatives, with a concern for how our project ought to develop in the future.
We emerge in 2016 in a digital landscape, with borders non-existent and possibilities endless. However, before setting off to discover new horizons, we must examine, appreciate and question that which already surrounds us. We know things are not great for women in architecture, on the whole. Making this known, there are individual commentators, Twitter accounts documenting the broader sphere of the debate and the frightfully depressing Architectural Review Women in Architecture survey. But I want to know where the debate on women in architecture has come to thus far. Who is doing what to address the gender disparity in spatial fields such as architecture, urban design and planning?
It is vital to look beyond our immediate perimeters in order to see what other people are doing successfully and, in contrast, what we might not so readily emulate. Such is the complexity of the issue in hand that there are innumerable collectives around the world with their own respective approaches. Firstly I’d like to acknowledge PARLOUR, “a space to speak – bringing together research, informed opinion and resources; generating debate and discussion; expanding the spaces for women in Australian architecture.” Their public events, edit-a-thons and expansive critical writing address the multitude of problems that Australian women face in architectural fields. Their practice has quite evidently been very inspiring for L’Espace Féminin. Another group brought to our attention is London-based MISS, “the mobile centre devoted to making space for women in the arts.” Although no longer specifically focused on architecture, their work targets the “underrepresentation, underpaying, and undervaluing of women” in a professional capacity. Of course there are so many more people doing amazing things, but these two in particular exemplify an approach to the issues in question that chimes with our ethos. Admittedly they are both English-speaking initiatives dealing with similar institutions. Even so, their geographical distance from our own project based in Berlin is telling. The voices of these projects resonate as women face the same problems worldwide. Discursive events that highlight exceptional women in spatial and design practices enhance the visibility of these individuals and knit together a network of people who might mutually propel careers forward, as Old Boys’ Networks have done for so long.
Now, without descending into a tirade against alternative methods, it must be said that there are – in my opinion – ways not to address the inequality in spatial fields. Those already working in a professional capacity have been imbued with a certain privilege that the discourse around women in architecture seems reluctant to acknowledge. Take, for example, Chicks with Bricks, “a celebration of women in the built environment”. I struggle to see how hosting events for £200 per individual ticket could possibly do more than massage the egos of successful women already practicing on an equal footing to the men around them. Similarly, I would hate for L’Espace Féminin to evolve into an exclusive club for established practitioners to boast their own achievements amongst peers. This is something we have to actively rally against, in our engagement projects with the surrounding Kiez, and with the openness of the blog, which accepts submissions from anyone with a point to make. There must also be a certain sensitivity towards other oppressed groups, as the trappings of “White Feminism” could so easily be adopted by a group of professional women aspiring to improve their positions within the fields in which they work. An example can be seen in the posters for ETH Zürich’s Parity Talks 2016, which depict some of the great men of architecture in drag, demonstrating a typically tactless attitude to the gender spectrum. Architecture must engage with the intricacies of identity politics if it is going to attract the most brilliant people of the twenty-first century. Whilst L’Espace Féminin fights the battle for women specifically, we must not tread on other groups in order to get to where we want to be.
So what must we take on board? When addressing the lacking visibility of women in architecture, it must be with broader concerns in mind than purely the furtherance of careers that are already on a pretty good footing to start with. I don’t deny that women don’t enjoy the same successes, recognition and appreciation that men in architecture have done historically and still do, but there is a greater ambition here than simply creating more pedestals on which we can place some fortunate women alongside their Great White Male counterparts. Moreover, the systemic problems of sexism in the workplace that many women in architectural professions have reported is a problem that must be addressed, primarily in order to make the field as a whole more inclusive. It’s a question of integrity, as well as redressing the balance. The value of creating a network is not only in connecting inspiring women, but also in providing role models to the next generation of architects, curators, planners, etc. who have no one with whom they can currently identify. That perhaps means going beyond the comfort of our current network, seeking out opportunities to appraise individuals carving out their own paths in the difficult constellation of gender, race and class biases.
It seems appropriate then, to look to this year’s Architectural Biennale in Venice. Taking as its title REPORTING FROM THE FRONT, the image illustrating the event is a woman atop a ladder looking into an empty landscape. With the question of women in architecture always at the forefront of our minds, this statement taken from Paolo Barratta’s introduction has a particular poignancy:
What does the lady see? I think mainly desolated land comprising immense swathes of human habitation which no human could be proud of; great disappointments representing a sad, infinite number of missed opportunities for humanity’s ability to act intelligently. Much of this is tragic, much is banal, and it seems to mark the end of architecture. But she also sees signs of creativity and hope, and she sees them in the here-and-now, not in some uncertain aspirational, ideological future.
L’Espace Féminin will be reporting on the 15th Architectural Biennale in May 2016. In Venice I hope to see something of this ‘ideological future’. I’ll be looking out for an array of inspiring figures, all enacting an upheaval of the status quo in this often rather stagnant field. With so many practitioners in one place, L'Espace Féminin intends to make the most of the occasion! Hosting a casual picnic, we hope to extend our network to the international community of women involved in the Biennale. Their perspectives could indicate the shape of things to come. Let's hope the report from the front is optimistic.
It is vital to look beyond our immediate perimeters in order to see what other people are doing successfully and, in contrast, what we might not so readily emulate. Such is the complexity of the issue in hand that there are innumerable collectives around the world with their own respective approaches. Firstly I’d like to acknowledge PARLOUR, “a space to speak – bringing together research, informed opinion and resources; generating debate and discussion; expanding the spaces for women in Australian architecture.” Their public events, edit-a-thons and expansive critical writing address the multitude of problems that Australian women face in architectural fields. Their practice has quite evidently been very inspiring for L’Espace Féminin. Another group brought to our attention is London-based MISS, “the mobile centre devoted to making space for women in the arts.” Although no longer specifically focused on architecture, their work targets the “underrepresentation, underpaying, and undervaluing of women” in a professional capacity. Of course there are so many more people doing amazing things, but these two in particular exemplify an approach to the issues in question that chimes with our ethos. Admittedly they are both English-speaking initiatives dealing with similar institutions. Even so, their geographical distance from our own project based in Berlin is telling. The voices of these projects resonate as women face the same problems worldwide. Discursive events that highlight exceptional women in spatial and design practices enhance the visibility of these individuals and knit together a network of people who might mutually propel careers forward, as Old Boys’ Networks have done for so long.
Now, without descending into a tirade against alternative methods, it must be said that there are – in my opinion – ways not to address the inequality in spatial fields. Those already working in a professional capacity have been imbued with a certain privilege that the discourse around women in architecture seems reluctant to acknowledge. Take, for example, Chicks with Bricks, “a celebration of women in the built environment”. I struggle to see how hosting events for £200 per individual ticket could possibly do more than massage the egos of successful women already practicing on an equal footing to the men around them. Similarly, I would hate for L’Espace Féminin to evolve into an exclusive club for established practitioners to boast their own achievements amongst peers. This is something we have to actively rally against, in our engagement projects with the surrounding Kiez, and with the openness of the blog, which accepts submissions from anyone with a point to make. There must also be a certain sensitivity towards other oppressed groups, as the trappings of “White Feminism” could so easily be adopted by a group of professional women aspiring to improve their positions within the fields in which they work. An example can be seen in the posters for ETH Zürich’s Parity Talks 2016, which depict some of the great men of architecture in drag, demonstrating a typically tactless attitude to the gender spectrum. Architecture must engage with the intricacies of identity politics if it is going to attract the most brilliant people of the twenty-first century. Whilst L’Espace Féminin fights the battle for women specifically, we must not tread on other groups in order to get to where we want to be.
So what must we take on board? When addressing the lacking visibility of women in architecture, it must be with broader concerns in mind than purely the furtherance of careers that are already on a pretty good footing to start with. I don’t deny that women don’t enjoy the same successes, recognition and appreciation that men in architecture have done historically and still do, but there is a greater ambition here than simply creating more pedestals on which we can place some fortunate women alongside their Great White Male counterparts. Moreover, the systemic problems of sexism in the workplace that many women in architectural professions have reported is a problem that must be addressed, primarily in order to make the field as a whole more inclusive. It’s a question of integrity, as well as redressing the balance. The value of creating a network is not only in connecting inspiring women, but also in providing role models to the next generation of architects, curators, planners, etc. who have no one with whom they can currently identify. That perhaps means going beyond the comfort of our current network, seeking out opportunities to appraise individuals carving out their own paths in the difficult constellation of gender, race and class biases.
It seems appropriate then, to look to this year’s Architectural Biennale in Venice. Taking as its title REPORTING FROM THE FRONT, the image illustrating the event is a woman atop a ladder looking into an empty landscape. With the question of women in architecture always at the forefront of our minds, this statement taken from Paolo Barratta’s introduction has a particular poignancy:
What does the lady see? I think mainly desolated land comprising immense swathes of human habitation which no human could be proud of; great disappointments representing a sad, infinite number of missed opportunities for humanity’s ability to act intelligently. Much of this is tragic, much is banal, and it seems to mark the end of architecture. But she also sees signs of creativity and hope, and she sees them in the here-and-now, not in some uncertain aspirational, ideological future.
L’Espace Féminin will be reporting on the 15th Architectural Biennale in May 2016. In Venice I hope to see something of this ‘ideological future’. I’ll be looking out for an array of inspiring figures, all enacting an upheaval of the status quo in this often rather stagnant field. With so many practitioners in one place, L'Espace Féminin intends to make the most of the occasion! Hosting a casual picnic, we hope to extend our network to the international community of women involved in the Biennale. Their perspectives could indicate the shape of things to come. Let's hope the report from the front is optimistic.