Women Architects: The Latest Architecture and News

In 1950, the famous Le Corbusier was asked to design the new state capital of Chandigarh for Punjab following its separation and recent independence. The opportunity to create a new utopia was unparalleled- and is now seen as one of the greatest urban experiments in the history of planning and architecture. The city employed grid street patterns, European-style thoroughfares, and raw concrete buildings- the zenith of Corbusier’s ideals throughout his career. But what is lesser known about the ideation and realization of Chandigarh, was the woman who brought her experience of designing social housing across Africa to the project. For three years, working alongside Corbusier, and helping him design some of the best-known buildings in Chandigarh, was Jane Drew.

From assigned cubicles to open plan coworks, workspaces have been transforming their design strategies following society’s changing lifestyles. While traditional layouts encouraged more independent work (avoiding social distractions), adjusting to new technologies and ways of thinking has enhanced productivity while respecting communication, wellness consciousness and the benefits of feeling comfortable at work.

Architects have followed these changing trends, proposing diverse workspace typologies, adapting to multiple working styles, and organizing them to create optimal productive spaces. Among them, Spanish women-led architecture offices from different backgrounds and styles stand out for introducing layouts that redefine what is commonly known as a workspace. Below we present a selection of innovative refurbishment projects, all of which showcase flexible and dynamic workspace design. 

The Diversity in Architecture Award (DIVIA) has selected its 5 finalists, from a list of 29 nominees: Tosin Oshinowo (Nigeria), May al-Ibrashy (Egypt), Marta Maccaglia (Peru), Noella Nibakuze (Rwanda), and Katherine Clarke and Liza Fior (UK). The prize, dedicated to women architects, celebrates female figures by awarding and validating their work. Based in Berlin, the award platform promotes equality between men and women, making the discipline observable to all, and setting an example for the next generation of younger women architects.

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As part of our yearly tradition, we have asked our readers who should win the 2023 Pritzker Prize, the most important award in the field of architecture.

For those who don't know, the Pritzker Prize is funded by Jay Pritzker through the Hyatt Foundation in the United States and has been awarded to living architects, regardless of their nationality, whose built work "has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity through the art of architecture."

We are happy to premiere the documentary “Women in Architecture”, a project initiated by Sky-Frame, directed by Boris Noir.

A better built environment is also an inclusive one. That’s why diversity is key to our profession, as it expands our views of the world and connects us with the real needs of society. So we opened a window into the professional and personal lives of three women in architecture who bring something unique to the world, to inspire others. 

The project has been initiated by Sky-Frame to shed more light on the role of women in architecture, by increasing their visibility and empowering them to realize their full potential.

“To make our world a better place. Everyone should have an idea of how architecture works and what it can have an impact on. We live in the era where humans are changing the planet, architecture is one of the most important tools”, stated film-maker Boris Noir about the idea behind the film. 

We reached out to Toshiko Mori, Gabriela Carrillo and Johanna Meyer-Grohbrügge, three architects in three different countries, in different contexts, at different stages of their life and career, but with a lot in common: recognized practitioners, with a passion for education, working with communities, and a sensibility towards the needs of society and the built environment.

Women's studies officially began in China in the early 1980s. Women awoke and started to take bigger roles in society as it grew. Women had been working as architects for a century, but Lin Huiyin was not recognized as the country's first female architect until the 1920s due to the profession's tardy development in China. But nowadays, more and more female architects are filling crucial positions.

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We are going through times of great change and we are all aware of that. The role of women in the field of architecture is becoming more and more relevant and, unlike other times, such as in the 20th century, the female figure is no longer hidden behind the male figure, as happened to Anne Tyng with Louis Kahn or Lilly Reich with Mies van der Rohe, just to mention a few examples.

In the mid-twentieth century, a set of South Asian countries collectively experienced a catharsis from colonizers’ rule. The period that followed sparked an era of ideas and philosophies for a new future. During this time, architects were pivotal in creating modernist structures that defined the countries’ post-colonial, post-partition and post-imperial identities. South Asian architects used design as an expression of hopeful societal visions, most of which have been actualized. With this success in nation-building, there has been a lack of accreditation for women architects in shaping South Asian histories. 

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What are the stories of the first Ibero-American women architects? This is the main question we seek to answer in celebration of ArchDaily's theme: Women in Architecture.

Seeking to put their motivations, inspirations, and trajectories on the table, we carried out a research project to make visible and highlight some names that have not had their deserved recognition. Meet Doris Clark Núñez, Guadalupe Ibarra, Matilde Ucelay Maórtua, Filandia Pizzul, Dora Riedel, Luz Amorocho, María Luisa Dehesa, Arinda da Cruz Sobral, and Julia Guarino, below.

A few months ago, French architect Renée Gailhoustet was awarded the 2022 Royal Academy Architecture Prize. As housing challenges continue to embattle Paris and other French cities today, Gailhoustet was a timely choice, her body of work in the Paris suburbs – stretching back to the 1960s – still functioning today as compelling case studies to a social housing approach that concurrently embraces community and has a uniqueness of form.

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Architecture criticism and journalism are often expected to announce “the good, the bad, and the ugly” in architecture and the built environment. Its purposes go however further than that. As Michael Sorkin put it, “seeing beyond the glittering novelty of form, it is criticism’s role to assess and promote the positive effects architecture can bring to society and the wider world”. In other words, by telling us what they are seeing, critics are also showing us where to look in order to identify and address the issues plaguing our built environment.

The field of architecture journalism has been led by female writers even in times when the pursuit of a career in architecture was discouraged and inaccessible for women. Ada Louise Huxtable established the profession of architecture journalism by holding the first full-time position of architecture critic at a general-interest American newspaper. In 1970, she also received the first-ever Pulitzer Prize for criticism. Esther McCoy started her career as a draughtswoman at an architecture office, yet, because of her gender, she was discouraged from training as a professional architect despite her ambitions to study the field. Through her writings, she managed to bring attention to the overlooked architectural scene of the American West Coast and advocate for the values of regional Modernism.

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On January 21, 1958, three women sat down as contestants for an episode of the popular television show “To Tell the Truth”, a quiz game in which a panel tries to guess which of the three contestants is who they say they are by asking them a series of questions. The announcer reveals the true identity of the person is a registered architect, has so far designed a Hilton hotel, and is a married mother of four. Each of the women, dressed formally in pencil skirts and blouses, introduces themselves as Natalie De Blois. As the panelists reveal their lack of knowledge about architecture, only firing off questions about Frank Lloyd Wright, one asks “What is the name of the building that was torn down to build Union Carbide?” The real Natalie De Blois, at the time a senior designer at SOM, firmly answers, “Hotel Margery.”

Architecture is one of the oldest recorded professions, dating back to ancient eras when builders designed historic huts and constructed some of the great wonders of the world. When we think about women who have been known as trailblazers of the industry, it’s astonishing that we often talk about women who we may interact with in the workplace day to day, or who our mentors may have learned from. Natalie De Blois was a modern-day pioneer of women in the design workforce, and although her legacy began only seventy years ago, it has significantly changed the way that women can participate in the profession today.

Teen girls are neither children nor adults, meaning they have specific needs and behaviours different from both these groups. Unfortunately, like many marginalized groups, these needs and behaviours have not been met or encouraged through our built environment as it has for others. For example, playgrounds are built for children to let off steam and sports courts that foster competition are targeted at men and teen boys. 

Accordingly, not building public spaces with the needs of teen girls in mind allows other groups of people, predominantly men who already take up 80% of public spaces, to continue to dominate them. Making teen girls feel ten times less secure in public spaces. Not only does this absence affect their social, physical, and mental development, but it also complicates how they see where they belong in public spaces.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has named Carol Ross Barney, FAIA, as the recipient of the 2023 AIA Gold Medal, the institution’s highest annual honor. The award recognizes and applauds Carol Ross Barney’s focus on design excellence, social responsibility, and generosity. Through her transformative projects, she has endeavored to make the world a better place and, according to the jury, made “an indelible mark on the profession.”

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