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Online platform Archiboo presents its annual Activism Award. Here, its founder Amanda Baiillieu has chosen six architects who embody activist ideals.
The Activism Awards are free to enter and form part of the wider Archiboo Awards programme, which rewards individuals, practices or companies “whose actions help to achieve social change”.
According to Baillieu, architects have seen their influence shrink in recent years, but the climate emergency, along with global economic problems, are leading many architects to turn to activism as a way to enact change.
“Architects are no longer as involved in influencing society as they once were, but the climate emergency has thrust them into the spotlight,” Baillieu told Dezeen.
“At the same time, the global economic crisis, the housing crisis and the unbridled commercialism of the industry are giving architects pause for thought,” she continues.
“At the same time, professional bodies including the AIA and RIBA look increasingly disconnected, leading many architects to set up their own networks and initiatives to try to make a difference.”
Bailieu believes many young architects are seeking activism out of frustration with the industry and the way it works.
“The industry’s increasing commercialization, lack of diversity and low wages are causing a new generation of architects to question their purpose and reexamine their ethical responsibilities,” she said.
“Many are frustrated that the profession fails to speak with a unified voice on key issues and therefore no longer plays an intellectual role in contemporary public life,” she continued.
“While younger architects are less likely to seek senior roles, they do want their concerns addressed. These wider systemic issues include a lack of diversity in the industry, a culture of low pay and long hours, and a lack of awareness of mental health. “
Read on for the stories of six radical architects:
Alison Killing, Killing Architects, Netherlands
Alison Killing is an architect and investigative journalist who founded Killing Architects, an architecture and digital media studio, in 2011. Based in the Netherlands, the studio investigates issues of human rights and social justice and develops effective ways to tell these stories through interactive data visualization exhibitions.
In 2021, Keeling was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting, along with Megha Rajagopalan and Christo Buschek, for an investigation that exposed China The secret network of Xinjiang internment camps.
Adam Susaneck, Isolation by Design, USA
“New York architect Adam Susaneck uses “before and after” images, data, and architectural analysis to reveal how the U.S. government used “urban renewal and slum clearance” policies and highway construction to fundamentally transform nearly every aspect of the country’s post-World War II society. Big city.
“Susan Neck says Isolation by Design, a 2022 Activist Prize finalist, is ‘a kind of atlas of environmental racism’ that is helping communities today begin to right the wrongs of the past.”
Shigeru Ban, Japanese Volunteer Architect Network
“The Volunteer Architects Network (VAN), a non-profit initiative launched by Shigeru Ban after the 1995 Kobe earthquake, provides privacy to families living in temporary shelters using cardboard tubes and fabric curtains.
“In March 2023, his paper cubicle system was used in an evacuation center for victims of the Turkish-Syrian earthquake. VAN has also helped resettle Ukrainian refugees in Poland and victims of this summer’s Ishikawa earthquake in Japan.
“Shigeru Ban’s work reminds us how architects can play an important role in creating a more stable environment for victims in places that may take years to rebuild.”
Parlor, Australia
“Parlour is a research-based advocacy organization with an expanded program of online and in-person events dedicated to improving gender equality in the architecture and built environment professions.
“Founded in 2012, the organization is dedicated to broadening the definition of architectural activism by giving a voice to those who are unheard or invisible in traditional professional settings. The organization is shortlisted for the 2022 Activism Award.”
Leslie Locke, Scotland
“Scottish-Ghanaian academic and educator Lesley Lokko, who has dedicated her career to supporting people of color and Other disadvantaged groups enter the construction field.
“Lokko curates the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale, where she is the first black architect and the fourth female architect, representing a turning point in architecture’s preeminent cultural event. Most of the contributors to the exhibition are firsts, experiments for the future Room, from Africa and its Diaspora.
“Gender equality, average age is 43. In 2021, she founded the African Future Education Institute in Accra, Ghana, to further explore the complex relationship between architecture, identity and race.”
Sam Webb, UK
“Architect and activist Sam Webb launched the campaign to make council houses safer in 1968 when Ronan Point in Newham, east London, suffered a partial progressive collapse, killing four people .While the building has been restored, Weber believes a housing contract dominated by Large Panel System (LPS) structures is inherently unsafe.
“His investigations led to a new survey of Ronan Point, which was eventually demolished along with eight other towers in 1986. In 2009, when a fire broke out at Lakanal House in south London He warned of the dangers of flammable cladding panels without effective sprinkler systems when six people died.
“His warnings were ignored, but he was tragically proven right when the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire killed 72 people. In 2018, he co-launched Tower Blocks UK to help high-rise residents address safety issues Lobby.”
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