Women (are here) in Architecture
There has been a resurgence of articles and discussions (online and in person) over the past few years addressing the lack of women in the upper tiers of the architecture profession. Bringing this issue to light is of the utmost importance. Along with the emphasis on what women are not doing, or what the have not been able to achieve, I would like to present a renewed focus on what we are accomplishing within the field of architecture. As a registered woman architect myself, I see many women involved in architecture and the built environment doing important work whether or not they are the principal of an internationally recognized firm. My goal is to foster an architecture community wherein women can rise to the top if they wish, but where they are also fully appreciated for supporting roles or their contributions as part of a team.
Recently, I have been reading and learning about the life and practice of Lauretta Vinciarelli, an architect and artist who lived and worked in Rome, New York City, and Marfa, TX until her death in 2011. The work of Ph.D. student Rebecca Siefert has been a critical resource in this endeavor. Her article, Lauretta Vinciarelli, Illuminated, brings to light the important contribution Vinciarelli made to the work of Donald Judd, and the collaborative nature of their practice which has been almost entirely credited to Judd. This type of project is critical in re-writing the history of architecture as one that is not the work of a series of male masterminds, but rather, is and has always been a collaborative effort.
The charge to re-write history is expertly explored in the article, “Unforgetting Women Architects: From the Pritzker to Wikipedia,” by Despina Stratigakos available in the online Places Journal. This essay is critical reading for anyone interested in the subject of women in architecture, so I won’t try to summarize it here (you should go read it!), but I did want to bring attention to a link that is embedded within the article. In reading Stratigakos’ essay, I discovered The Dynamic National Archive, “a searchable database documenting the work of women architects and designers who have contributed to the places and spaces of the United States.” Like Wikipedia, this database is editable by the general public. In a quick search, I found that several important women in architecture, including Vinciarelli, were still missing from the database. What is exceptional about this database is that it is not just reserved for famous or “important” women architects — it is for everyone. All women architects have a right to be listed here! So please, take a moment to search the site and add those you know are missing. This is our work to prove that women are and have been actively making important contributions to architecture, that we are not missing, and that we will continue to grow in our influence and numbers as we make space in society’s collective understanding to recognize and support women.
