Group 10
HOW WOMEN BUILD?

‘How Women Build?’ is a live research and conference at the Manchester School of Architecture; and due to COVID 19 has shifted online. Using analysis of the registration documents provided by the collaborators, you will co-curate a blog placing Manchester’s contribution to educate female designers within the international, multidisciplinary context of the conference. We are also interested in creating a series of feminist graphics to act as prominent visuals on the blog and to design a feminist wallpaper. We are providing exposure to women who are unknown and unseen in the industry to encourage more women to join and to promote equity in the Architecture and Landscape professions. The outputs will include a blog, a feminist wallpaper and possibly an animation. Further outputs and ideas will be discussed with you as a team. Follow on instagram for more information @how_women_build @praxxis_F

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Joe C / Rianna G / Tala-Carol K / Ebunofe A

Meet the Team!

Ebun Andu

Ebun previously studied at the Birmingham School of Architecture and Design. She has worked as a photographer for 5 years. She has joined the Manchester School of Architecture and is in the PRAXXIS. Ebun is very passionate about working and connecting black female architects and creatives. Ebun is also a member of the Black Female Architects (BFA)

Posted 1 Mar 2021 16:35

Meet the Team!

Joe Curtis

Joe previously studied at the Manchester School of Architecture and has continued to work within the feminist atelier, PRAXXIS. Joe’s research interest is primarily on the missing bodies within architecture and the built environment. He has worked on a variety of projects, from concept to construction.

Posted 1 Mar 2021 16:39

Meet the Team!

Aleksandra Drinkwater

Aleksandra is a BA (Hons) graduate from Liverpool University with experience in small scale residential projects as well as masterplanning. She is interested in making women role in architecture recognised, appreciated and valued across the building industry.

Posted 1 Mar 2021 16:40

Meet the Team!

Rianna Grant

Rianna previously studied at the University of Sheffield and after two years working in practice in London, she has joined the Manchester School of Architecture in the atelier PRAXXIS. Rianna is passionate about creating inclusivity in architecture, designing for real people’s needs and exploring how architecture can promote health and wellbeing.

Posted 1 Mar 2021 16:41

Meet the Team!

Tala-Carol Khouri

Tala previously studied at the University of Reading, upon completing her bachelors, she has worked in practice in Amman, Jordan. She has joined the Manchester School of Architecture and is in the &rchitecture atelier. Tala’s interest in feminism and equality stems from the scarceness of female architects at senior levels in comparison to males, particularly in the Middle East.

Posted 1 Mar 2021 16:42

Meet the Team!

April Sidlow

April graduated from the MSA undergraduate course in 2018 and stayed in Manchester working in practice for 2 years as a Project Manager. April is passionate about inclusive, practical design that is community driven, and also has a keen interest in heritage and conservation.

Posted 1 Mar 2021 16:43

Meet the Collaborators!

Helen Aston

Helen Aston is a Senior Lecturer at the Manchester School of Architecture and has been teaching in architecture schools for over 24 years, always focused and passionate about the spatial implications of feminist theory into practice she has been teaching and practicing in a feminist and inclusive way since 1996. She is currently the MSA Education Lead and leads the feminist design atelier Praxxis. In 2018 she was nominated for the first Ethel Day Awards for her contribution to architectural education and will soon be included in the new Bloomsbury Global Encyclopaedia on Women in Architecture. Helen absolutely loves creating and interpreting diagrams, hates symmetry but passionately loves building things with people who do not normally build. She teaches, she collaborates, she participates, she designs, she builds, she talks (a lot), and she propose things… Helen is a mum to her gorgeous son Harry and has proactively brought him up as a feminist.

Instagram: @praxxis_f

Posted 1 Mar 2021 16:53

Meet the Collaborators!

Dr Luca Csepely-Knorr

Dr Luca Csepely-Knorr is a chartered landscape architect, art historian and Reader at the Manchester School of Architecture. Her research and writing centre on the histories of landscape architecture, architecture and urban design from the late 19th century to the 1970s, with a particular emphasis on the development of design theories of public spaces and international knowledge transfer. She has led design studios for both under- and postgraduate architecture and landscape architecture students, lectured in various history and theory units, and guided postgraduate research projects. Luca has experience in running international multi-disciplinary workshops, and acted as Humanities coordinator for the undergraduate architecture course at MSA between 2015 and 2020. Luca co-directs the Architecture Research Hub at MSA (with Richard Brook), and is Joint Programme Leader of the Master of Landscape Architecture course (with Becky Sobell).

Posted 1 Mar 2021 16:53

Skills:

This research project will provide an opportunity for the BA and MLA1 students to expand their current knowledge on feminist principles within architecture, landscape and design. We will enhance their design and presentation skills by creating a series of graphics and animations to accompany a blog for the How Women Build? online conference. There will also be a focus on research and analysis skills and opportunities to work on the social media platform. Software skills will include Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator.

Posted 1 Mar 2021 17:10

Social Value:

Working with How Women Build?, we aim to provide exposure to women who are unknown and unseen in the industry. We want to provide them with the platform they deserve, encourage more women to join the industry and promote equity in the Architecture and Landscape professions. The project will bring a new, more detailed understanding of the recent history of the professionals in these fields and will celebrate the female contribution in its many formats.

Posted 2 Mar 2021 11:04

Meet our Guests!

Joy Burgess

Joy is currently carrying out her PhD at the MSA in collaboration with Historic England. She is researching the work of female landscape architects in post-war Britain and looking to make a contribution towards a feminist history of landscape architecture. Over the years, Joy has worked in a variety of contexts, including as a writer and researcher, supporting Mr. Noel Farrer (FLI PPLI) in his work as an advocate for landscape, particularly during his time as President of the Landscape Institute. In 2012, Joy completed a Master of Architecture in Urban Design at the Bartlett School of Architecture, where she focused her research enquiry into theories of utopia. Joy has worked as a garden designer, for high end residential projects for the past seven years. Alongside this, she worked as an academic developer for an undergraduate BA Hons degree in Garden Design for The Open College of the Arts (OCA), a division of The University for the Creative Arts, finishing this role in 2020.

Posted 22 Mar 2021 21:20

Icebreaker Challenge! Today we met the wider team, as the BA1 and BA2 have now joined us. We decided to break the ice and invited everyone to change their background to something fun, for instance their pet, a place they would like to be, etc. Everyone was then asked to explain the photo they have chosen. Have a look at some of the fun photos!

Posted 10 May 2021 11:14

Day 2: Research
For day 2 of How Women Build? we have split our team up into three groups. Each group has been given 6 names of women who have graduated from the Manchester School of Architecture and have gone on to be successful in various different fields. It has been interesting seeing how different groups have approached the research and how they have collated their findings onto the group Miro Boards.

Posted 11 May 2021 14:33

Day 2: Research
For day 2 of How Women Build? we have split our team up into three groups. Each group has been given 6 names of women who have graduated from the Manchester School of Architecture and have gone on to be successful in various different fields. It has been interesting seeing how different groups have approached the research and how they have collated their findings onto the group Miro Boards.

Posted 11 May 2021 14:34

Day 2: Research
For day 2 of How Women Build? we have split our team up into three groups. Each group has been given 6 names of women who have graduated from the Manchester School of Architecture and have gone on to be successful in various different fields. It has been interesting seeing how different groups have approached the research and how they have collated their findings onto the group Miro Boards.

Posted 11 May 2021 14:34

Maria is a second year student at the MSA, experimenting and exploring what her potential interests may narrow down to later in her career path. At the moment she remains open-minded and will take on any design challenge with a high level of enthusiasm.

Posted 12 May 2021 11:47

Aaya is a first year Architecture student at MSA. She enjoys applying a multidisciplinary approach to her work, especially in exploring how art & design, psychology and anthropology influence the built environment. She is excited to unravel and learn about the women's role and impact in the industry.

Posted 12 May 2021 11:47

Bima is in the second year of the BA Architecture program in the Manchester School of Architecture. His current interest in how women navigate spaces within the city of Jakarta, and fascination with the way cultures of economic, environmental, political, and societal extract building materials has pushed him into an interesting course within architecture. At the heart of it all is his interest in creative writing, in particular essay writing.

Posted 12 May 2021 12:06

First year, MSA
I am interested in the move towards a greater level of equality, and therefore how we can use architecture as a tool in the feminist movement. Successful architects that have made a positive change are very inspiring to me, and I think to learn more about these individuals is very important for me, in such an early stage of my education and career.

Posted 12 May 2021 12:07

Ruby is in the second year of BA Architecture at the Manchester School of Architecture. Born in Hong Kong, where the male patriarchal culture still exists without people realising actively, she is eager to explore what the future holds for women in the architecture industry. Throughout the course, she found the sustainability and well-being aspects of building design very interesting and will continue exploring for the rest of her degree.

Posted 12 May 2021 12:10

I am currently completing my second year at Manchester School of Architecture. I am interested in sustainable and innovative design solutions focused on creating healthy, productive spaces that address environmental concerns within a framework of user comfort and aesthetic. In my personal time I enjoy painting and working with traditional art mediums as a creative outlet.

I aim to raise awareness about women's architectural achievements in an industry that is still widely dominated by men and where male achievements in the field are sadly more often recognized and publicized over female achievements.

Posted 12 May 2021 12:24

Alina is a first year Architecture student at MSA. She wants to learn more about how different materials and lighting can change the atmosphere of a place, as well as how people have changed their ideas on what these concepts mean. She is interested in how multiple social, political, environmental and cultural beliefs influenced the build environment.

Posted 13 May 2021 12:56

Today we had a guest speaker, Joy Burgess. Joy is currently carrying out her PhD at the MSA in collaboration with Historic England. She is researching the work of female landscape architects in post-war Britain and looking to make a contribution towards a feminist history of landscape architecture.

Posted 13 May 2021 15:04

Joy gave the group a talk on Mary Mitchell, a landscape architect she has been researching for her PHD. Mary Mitchell is one of the case studies group 3 are working on, she graduated from the MSA in 1953 with a Landscape Architecture Degree. We discovered a lot about Mary's career, she has been extremely influential and successful in the landscape profession and accomplished a lot in her lifetime. We discussed legacy for women, why her projects are less known or no longer exist in the built environment and the need to protect those projects that still exist. It was interesting to see that many of her projects were recognised, but we didn't know her name.

Posted 13 May 2021 15:28

Last we discovered that more women chose landscape Architecture before the 1990s. Our 2nd-year team member Claudia Rowe interviewed Vanessa Ross. We disused life what university life was like for a woman on the Landscape Architecture course in the 1990s, Vanessa Career, and how times have changed for the better. Although women are yet to be more recognised in senior positions in the built environment it is a delight to know that Vanessa owns her practice and has completed over 220 projects.

Posted 17 May 2021 09:12

Each group were asked to analyse the data provided by our collaborators, documenting every person who had enrolled and graduated from Manchester universities (excluding University of Manchester), in architecture or landscape architecture, from 1852 to 2005. Group 01 were given the years for the first wave of feminism (1852 to 1960). The group found that 8.5% of enrolments were women. Out of those women, 40% studied landscape and 60% architecture. This ratio of men to women would be expected for this period, as women’s rights were still progressing. However, we found it surprising that the second world war did not have a drastic effect on admissions, a small increase in women and decrease in men was documented.

Posted 18 May 2021 15:15

Group 02 looked at the second wave of feminism (1960-1990). While the ratios of women to men are still extremely low, the number of women enrolling in these courses was increasing. This may be a result of women’s rights improving. Another factor would be Manchester Metropolitan University merging with the University of Manchester in the 1990s, to create the Manchester School of Architecture, causing a rise in admissions. It was also noted the amount of women studying landscape architecture was higher than architecture.

Posted 18 May 2021 15:18

Group 03 analysed the third wave of feminism (1990-2000). The data after 2000 is slightly inaccurate, therefore this is where the data stops. The ratio of men to women is improving, however it is still 2/3 male to 1/3 female. However, as a collective we found this was a great improvement compared to the first wave percentage of 8.5%. The group found it shocking how imbalanced these figures were, especially considering the year 2000 was not that long ago.

Posted 18 May 2021 15:22

The 'How Women Build' blog is nearing completion and will be LIVE tomorrow!

The How Women Build blog is a repository of research and data undertaken by both Helen Aston, Dr. Luca Csepley Knorr, and the How Women Build MSA Live team, with a primary focus on outlining the MSA's contribution to educating female designers within architecture and landscapes.

Not only will the blog provide information on the upcoming conference, but it will also celebrate the lives and works of women practitioners who build and have built, who may never have been recognised.

Posted 19 May 2021 11:42

Here are some images of our feminist timeline coming together by Group 02.

The timeline records gender, architectural and landscape history, worldwide historical events, as well as the many previous adaptations of the Manchester School of Architecture, to learn and highlight the trends and common themes of female admissions in the last 100 years.

It has been interesting to discover how the later waves of feminism and the merging of The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University to create the school of architecture caused spikes in female admissions.

Posted 19 May 2021 12:00

Here is a selection of some of the work from Group 03.

Using case study research from the previous week, Group 03 has been creating a series of feminist posters which celebrate the lives of female graduates from the Manchester School of Architecture. The posters not only name these women, but they explain what they have built, what they went on to do, and what they do now.

We can't wait to show the final outputs in the coming days!

Posted 19 May 2021 12:20

This group started off looking at feminist propaganda posters, historic and modern examples. They were keen to find any reoccurring interesting images that could be used in the wallpaper. After this, the group moved onto look at wallpaper precedents, although this imagery was interesting, they didn’t feel like this aligned with the type of wallpaper we wanted to create. Each group member created a concept design for the feminist wallpaper.

The first was created by Bima, taking inspiration from Helene Cixous’ Medusa. The design starts small and then grows into a large and explosive pattern, reflecting the amount of women enrolled in architecture over the years. Our second design was by Ruby, who wanted to create a link to architecture with a repetitive modular structure. The design also shows women out of windows holding a banner with their names on. The final concept was designed by Nicole, who started to combine the two ideas. After group discussions, the design was finalised.

Posted 20 May 2021 15:38

Yesterday we met with Helen Aston for our final review, we were also joined by Joy Burgess, a PhD student at MMU. We presented the final how WOMEN build? blog as well as a feminist timeline, infographics about female admissions at the Manchester School of Architecture, a feminist poster naming all female graduates from the school in the last 100 years and a series of feminist case study posters.

Helen was extremely happy with all the outputs and efforts made by the BA1 and 2 students. Well done Group 10!

Posted 21 May 2021 10:51

Feminist Wallpaper!

This is a section of the feminist wallpaper, the design was completed by group 02. The whole group, then, collaborated to help add all the names to the pattern. The final design incorporates stairs in to the modular pattern, symbolising different levels and heights that women can reach. The names of all the women who enrolled in landscape and architecture courses over the years have been placed on individual steps, providing them with the platform they deserve. This is only one section, the full wallpaper is 3m long incorporating around 800 women's names.

Posted 21 May 2021 14:14

One of the MArch students took the finished feminist wallpaper and helped to photoshop the design on to a wall. This visual allowed the group to see what the final product would look like in real life. After some tweaks, the whole group was really happy and proud of the final product.

From far away, the design appears to be simply a cubic pattern. As you zoom in and look closer each individual woman can be identified, providing different levels of detail and information.

Posted 21 May 2021 14:33

Group 02 worked on a feminist timeline, documenting the years from the data records of admissions to the Manchester School of Architecture. The timeline records gender, architectural and landscape history, worldwide historical events, as well as the many previous adaptations of the Manchester School of Architecture, to learn and highlight the trends and common themes of female admissions in the last 100 years. From the timeline, we were able to notice some patterns. For instance, in the third wave of feminism the amount of women graduating increased. It has also been interesting to discover how the later waves of feminism and the merging of The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University to create the school of architecture caused spikes in female admissions.

Posted 21 May 2021 14:42

First Wave of Feminism Timeline

The timeline documents major events from 1875 to 1959. The text in yellow describes key figures from the records of architecture and landscape architecture student enrolments in Manchester. For example, in 1875 the first woman joined the landscape architecture course. The text in white details important moments in feminism, such as women's right to vote. These timelines helped the students to compare what was happening with women's rights and the number of admissions in Manchester. For instance, we all expected a low number of women studying these courses as women had less rights than men, but the group were shocked by how low this number was. As expected, the number of female enrolments rose slightly after women gained the right to vote.

Posted 21 May 2021 14:54

Second Wave of Feminism Timeline

The timeline documents major events from 1960 to 1980. The text in yellow describes key figures from the records of architecture and landscape architecture student enrolments in Manchester. For example, in 1967 only four women joined Manchester Metropolitan University (2 architecture and 2 landscape architecture) compared to 48 men. The text in white details important moments in feminism, such as the passing of the Abortion Act in 1967. These timelines helped the students to compare what was happening with women's rights and the number of admissions in Manchester. For instance, we all expected the number of women studying at MMU to rise in the second wave, however it didn't begin to rise significantly until 1978 (the end of the second wave).

Posted 21 May 2021 15:00

Third and Fourth Wave of Feminism Timeline

The timeline documents major events from 1990 to 2010. The text in yellow describes key figures from the records of architecture and landscape architecture student enrolments in Manchester. For example, the average number of female admissions doubles in 1996 (64 women). The text in white details important moments in feminism, such as the #MeToo Movement. These timelines helped the students to compare what was happening with women's rights and the number of admissions in Manchester. For instance, the number of female student enrolments begins to significantly rise throughout this period, as women's rights are becoming more recognised and accepted. The timeline also helped us to realise the spike in female admissions could be a result of the merging of The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University to create the school of architecture.

Posted 21 May 2021 15:06

Each group were asked to analyse the data provided by our collaborators, documenting every person who had enrolled and graduated from Manchester universities (excluding University of Manchester), in architecture or landscape architecture, from 1852 to 2005.

Group 01 were given the years for the first wave of feminism (1852 to 1960). The group found that 8.5% of enrolments were women. Out of those women, 40% studied landscape and 60% architecture. This ratio of men to women would be expected for this period, as women’s rights were still progressing.

Posted 21 May 2021 15:12

Each group were asked to analyse the data provided by our collaborators, documenting every person who had enrolled and graduated from Manchester universities (excluding University of Manchester), in architecture or landscape architecture, from 1852 to 2005.

Group 02 looked at the second wave of feminism (1960-1990). While the ratios of women to men are still extremely low, the number of women enrolling in these courses was increasing. This may be a result of women’s rights improving. Another factor would be Manchester Metropolitan University merging with the University of Manchester in the 1990s, causing a rise in admissions. It was also noted the amount of women studying landscape architecture was higher than architecture.

Posted 21 May 2021 15:13

Each group were asked to analyse the data provided by our collaborators, documenting every person who had enrolled and graduated from Manchester universities (excluding University of Manchester), in architecture or landscape architecture, from 1852 to 2005.

Group 03 analysed the third wave of feminism (1990-2000). The data after 2000 is slightly inaccurate, therefore this is where the data stops. The ratio of men to women is improving, however it is still 2/3 male compared to 1/3 female.

Posted 21 May 2021 15:14

As part of the event, we explored the lives of female graduates from the Manchester School of Architecture in the past 100 years. In total, we undertook 16 case studies, which the BA students translated into a series of posters. It was interesting to see the range of professions that these women went on to do, from landscape designers to product designers, academics to managers of nightclubs.

Case Study: Dr Harriet Harris

Posted 21 May 2021 20:20

As part of the event, we explored the lives of female graduates from the Manchester School of Architecture in the past 100 years. In total, we undertook 16 case studies, which the BA students translated into a series of posters. It was interesting to see the range of professions that these women went on to do, from landscape designers to product designers, academics to managers of nightclubs.

Case Study: Sonia Pabla-Thomas

Posted 21 May 2021 20:30

As part of the event, we explored the lives of female graduates from the Manchester School of Architecture in the past 100 years. In total, we undertook 16 case studies, which the BA students translated into a series of posters. It was interesting to see the range of professions that these women went on to do, from landscape designers to product designers, academics to managers of nightclubs.

Case Study: Selasi Setufe

Posted 21 May 2021 20:37

As part of the event, we explored the lives of female graduates from the Manchester School of Architecture in the past 100 years. In total, we undertook 16 case studies, which the BA students translated into a series of posters. It was interesting to see the range of professions that these women went on to do, from landscape designers to product designers, academics to managers of nightclubs.

Case Study: Natasha Jones

Posted 21 May 2021 20:43

As part of the event, we explored the lives of female graduates from the Manchester School of Architecture in the past 100 years. In total, we undertook 16 case studies, which the BA students translated into a series of posters. It was interesting to see the range of professions that these women went on to do, from landscape designers to product designers, academics to managers of nightclubs.

Case Study: Mary Frances Mitchell

Posted 21 May 2021 20:49

As part of the event, we explored the lives of female graduates from the Manchester School of Architecture in the past 100 years. In total, we undertook 16 case studies, which the BA students translated into a series of posters. It was interesting to see the range of professions that these women went on to do, from landscape designers to product designers, academics to managers of nightclubs.

Case Study: Caroline Benedict Smith

Posted 21 May 2021 20:50

As part of the event, we explored the lives of female graduates from the Manchester School of Architecture in the past 100 years. In total, we undertook 16 case studies, which the BA students translated into a series of posters. It was interesting to see the range of professions that these women went on to do, from landscape designers to product designers, academics to managers of nightclubs.

Case Study: Dawn Hindle

Posted 21 May 2021 20:50

As part of the event, we explored the lives of female graduates from the Manchester School of Architecture in the past 100 years. In total, we undertook 16 case studies, which the BA students translated into a series of posters. It was interesting to see the range of professions that these women went on to do, from landscape designers to product designers, academics to managers of nightclubs.

Case Study: Helen Forman

Posted 21 May 2021 20:51

As part of the event, we explored the lives of female graduates from the Manchester School of Architecture in the past 100 years. In total, we undertook 16 case studies, which the BA students translated into a series of posters. It was interesting to see the range of professions that these women went on to do, from landscape designers to product designers, academics to managers of nightclubs.

Case Study: Jenny Lovell

Posted 21 May 2021 20:51

As part of the event, we explored the lives of female graduates from the Manchester School of Architecture in the past 100 years. In total, we undertook 16 case studies, which the BA students translated into a series of posters. It was interesting to see the range of professions that these women went on to do, from landscape designers to product designers, academics to managers of nightclubs.

Case Study: Nicola Brown

Posted 21 May 2021 20:52

As part of the event, we explored the lives of female graduates from the Manchester School of Architecture in the past 100 years. In total, we undertook 16 case studies, which the BA students translated into a series of posters. It was interesting to see the range of professions that these women went on to do, from landscape designers to product designers, academics to managers of nightclubs.

Case Study: Fay Freeman

Posted 21 May 2021 20:52

As part of the event, we explored the lives of female graduates from the Manchester School of Architecture in the past 100 years. In total, we undertook 16 case studies, which the BA students translated into a series of posters. It was interesting to see the range of professions that these women went on to do, from landscape designers to product designers, academics to managers of nightclubs.

Case Study: Heather Heaton

Posted 21 May 2021 20:52

As part of the event, we explored the lives of female graduates from the Manchester School of Architecture in the past 100 years. In total, we undertook 16 case studies, which the BA students translated into a series of posters. It was interesting to see the range of professions that these women went on to do, from landscape designers to product designers, academics to managers of nightclubs.

Case Study: Valarie Garnier

Posted 21 May 2021 20:53

As part of the event, we explored the lives of female graduates from the Manchester School of Architecture in the past 100 years. In total, we undertook 16 case studies, which the BA students translated into a series of posters. It was interesting to see the range of professions that these women went on to do, from landscape designers to product designers, academics to managers of nightclubs.

Case Study: Vanessa Ross

Posted 21 May 2021 20:54

As part of the event, we explored the lives of female graduates from the Manchester School of Architecture in the past 100 years. In total, we undertook 16 case studies, which the BA students translated into a series of posters. It was interesting to see the range of professions that these women went on to do, from landscape designers to product designers, academics to managers of nightclubs.

Case Study: Hilary Newhall

Posted 21 May 2021 20:58

As part of the event, we explored the lives of female graduates from the Manchester School of Architecture in the past 100 years. In total, we undertook 16 case studies, which the BA students translated into a series of posters. It was interesting to see the range of professions that these women went on to do, from landscape designers to product designers, academics to managers of nightclubs.

Case Study: Francesca Atalla

Posted 21 May 2021 21:01

Today we handed over the 'how WOMEN build?' blog to the collaborators ready for them to use for their live conference. The blog has entirely been created using work created by the BA 1+2 students.

Image: how WOMEN build? blog homepage

Posted 21 May 2021 21:09

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