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100 Women: Architects in Practice | By Harriet Harriss, Naomi House, Monika Parrinder and Tom Ravenscroft | Royal Institute of British Architects | $64.00
The careers and works of 100 women working in architecture from around the world will be showcased 100 Women: Architects in Practice.The book is written by renowned educator and designer Harriet Harriss, Naomi House, Monika Parrinder, and architectural journalists and ocean Editor Tom Ravenscroft. The hardcover book, published by the Royal Institute of Architecture (RIBA), describes itself as “a Trojan horse on the coffee table, formatted and presented to prove that aestheticism is no longer immune to radicalism”. Its pages highlight a range of projects and designers worthy of becoming household names.
The editors of the book begin by pointing out the pervasive male dominance of the global construction industry. It reminds us that “Vietnam and Turkey are the only countries where female architects form a majority in the industry,” which undermines the ability to judge female architects solely on the basis of architectural integrity: successful women in the field (who, of course, will then Used as evidence that bias is no longer an issue. It dispels the myth that “women never apply” or is “almost impossible to find.” Ultimately, it showcases a counter-narrative that centers the creativity of female designers, Addressing issues such as the need for more community-led projects, decolonizing space, and social and climate injustice.
Ultimately, editors look forward to the day when such books will be eliminated. But to help achieve this goal, curating the 300-plus page book was a four-year process that began during the pandemic, when Ravenscroft pitched the idea to the RIBA and quickly invited Harris, House and Parrinder collaborated to bring it to life. . Together, the team identified women from six continents and 79 countries, many of whom work in hyper-local settings.
“We want people to be as rooted in their place as possible, so we try to showcase women from the countries they represent,” Ravenscroft explained in an interview. Architects selected include Pakistan’s first female architect Architect Yasmeen Lari, Nigerian architect and Tosin Oshinowo curator of Sharjah Architecture Triennial 2023; Iranian-born British architect Farshid Moussavi is known as “one of the most prolific and outstanding female architects in the UK today”.
in every aspects, 100 women In response to Despina Stratigakos’ 2016 book Where are the female architects? and New York TimesAn opinion piece with a similar title “Where are all the female architects?” reports that “women make up half of architecture graduates” [the U.S.], but they account for approximately 20% of registered architects and 17% of partners or principals in architecture firms. “
Architects are 100 women They each experienced predominantly patriarchal environments in academia and the professional world, challenging social conventions while forging their own paths. In Bangladesh, Suhailey Farzana works with local communities to improve public infrastructure, including a project in Jhenaidah focused on women’s public toilets (a rarity in the city). Algerian-born Samia Henni studied architecture during the Algerian civil war in the 1990s. She is an award-winning writer and educator who focuses on the built, destroyed and imagined environment, primarily through exhibitions that remind us that architecture is more than just form and architecture, but “it can also be about walls, camps, barbed wire and borders.” For New Zealand Māori architect Elisapeta Heta, her work aims to support Aboriginal voices and incorporate their ideas into her In Architecture and Design Methods.
“Rather than focusing on historical figures, we thought that a publication that provided a snapshot of today’s most exciting female architects would be a great way to support these women and their careers in real time,” says the book’s preface. “Although Despina Stratigakos’s 2016 publication asked where are the female architects? What we wanted to say was, ‘These are women architects’. “
At the beginning of this month, one A launch party was held at publisher Diana Darling’s Tribeca loft 100 women, Catherine Clark, president of the Royal Institute of British Architects in the United States; Julia Gamolina, founder of Madame Architect and an architect featured in the book; and Jamaican architect Patricia Green attended. All commented on the publication and its impact.
“When I was first asked to be a part of the book, I wondered, ‘Why me?'” admits Green, who founded the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston, Jamaica. “I don’t have a big high-rise building like Zaha Hadid, so I was a little dismissive at first. But I realized I had achieved something important and I did have a story to tell. The experience helped I understand myself and my role within a professional context.”
Ameena Walker is an independent writer and editor based in New York, covering architecture, art, food, and design culture.
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