After Zaha Hadid, a Few Questions by Naomi Horowitz Zaha Hadid’s death, on March 30, has prompted a flurry of responses. Articles have ranged from evaluations of her life and work to reflections on her meaning for other women architects, to more general considerations of the current and historical status of women in architecture. Rather than adding to this growing pile, we have gathered some of the most interesting items for your reading pleasure. The New York Times has been particularly prolific, with writing about Hadid from a number of angles, by a variety of people. Worthwhile articles can also be found in The Guardian, on ArchDaily, and elsewhere. See below for a list. Perhaps after more time has passed we will be able to see more clearly what Zaha Hadid has meant to our profession and to the women who practice it. In the meantime, I offer a few questions to ponder, some inspired by the articles listed below: 1. To what extent is the work of women architects evaluated differently by juries, journalists and coworkers? 2. Would it be better to refer to “women architects” simply as “architects?” Does erasing the language help to erase the bias? 3. How much does the break-away success of one member of an under-represented group help lift up the other members of the group? 4. Could Zaha Hadid only accomplish what she did because she was single and childless? How many successful women architects can you think of with children? 5. A related point, raised in the Monocle24 Radio podcast: Does the relatively low pay of architecture cause more women to slip out of this profession than from higher-paying professions where childcare would be more affordable? In other words, how is the impact of your gender framed by economic considerations? 6. Being a woman is only one way we may be non-standard in the world of architecture or the world at large. Hadid is famously quoted describing herself as a “triple whammy: I’m a woman and that’s a problem for some people, I’m a foreigner, and I do work which is not normative, not what they expect.” To what extent can we understand the status of women in isolation, and to what extent is it necessary to consider the intersection of other aspects of identity? General overviews: Zaha Hadid, 1950-2016: an appreciation A critique and evaluation of Hadid in her context Spotlight: Zaha Hadid If you want to be refreshed and see a collection of warm and non-sexist words spoken for Hadid over the years Zaha Hadid and women architects: Monocle24 Explores Women in Architecture A podcast that includes range of responses to Hadid (from media overview to a perspective by a feminist architect to a review of forgotten woman architects) Zaha Hadid: More Than a ‘Female Architect’ Female Architects on the Significance of Zaha Hadid For female architects, the loss of Zaha Hadid is personal The status of women in architecture: There has also been more general discussion about the status of women in architecture prompted by Hadid’s death. Notably, The New York Times conducted an informal online questionnaire on women’s experiences in architecture. The results are compiled in: I Am Not the Decorator: Female Architects Speak Out |
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Newsletter | Mar/Apr 2016