Challenging Cultural Assumptions Women in Architecture, 1827-1960

1.5 units

This course will examine the significant contributions of women as architects and designers in the decades prior to 1960. Women designers in the post-Hadid era are far better known than the pioneer architects who will be examined in this course. The first American building designed by a woman was constructed in 1827, and by 1910 there were 50 women working professionally as architects in the United States. Myths about them include that they did not have successful careers, that they got few commissions, and that they did not make lasting contributions to architecture. The truth is that although they had an uphill struggle to compete with the men who dominated the profession - and sought to exclude them - women nevertheless made significant contributions to the prairie and international styles, worked successfully within beaux-arts and various stylistic revivals, and designed everything from homes to commercial, industrial and civic buildings - even a capital city. They invented new systems for housing and more efficient materials, like the K-brick. This course will provide details regarding gendered design theory which included kitchenless houses, cooperative home clusters, and significant opinions on urban renewal and city planning. A non-gendered lens will be applied to what makes a design - and a designer - great. This includes an examination of why women's designs have often been undervalued or erased in criticism, popular perception, the media and classroom instruction. Students will be encouraged to research and write a short paper about a woman or a group of women and their contribution(s) to architecture.