Abstract:

The theory and history has explored very little the participation on women in the development of architecture, and the work of very few of them has ever been considered as a part of the architectural canon. Their subordinated position in the patriarchal society and culture did not permit them to have access to the strategic areas such as the technical and technological knowledge. Although in many countries the architectural education has been permitted for women for more than 100 years, it has not been until the late modern times when the doors of the creative architectural teamwork have been thrown wide open for them. Despite of this, it has still been complicated for a woman to occupy a leading role in the architectural design or be recognized as a ‘genius’; the place of a woman has been and still tends to be that of a collaborator.
What has been and still is the role of the architectural education in the subsistence of the traditional female stereotypes in design professions? Why do women abandon the professional field, although they are generally very good as students? How should the architectural education foment the visibility of women and open new areas of opportunity for them? These are the basic questions I propose to explore in my investigation about architectural education and gender, using as a basis my own experiences of more than 20 years as a teacher of architectural design studios.

Keywords:

Female subordination, female communion, masculine agency, architecture of the everyday, performativity.