Meat and potatoes

The other day I was watching 'Good Girls Revolt' and it struck me that there have been courageous women who fought against all odds for equal opportunities. It must've been difficult at times but they stood their ground, worked doubly hard to prove that they could manage house and still be good at their jobs. Good girls, adored by their parents for obeying them, loved by their husbands for always taking a backseat, made an example by their employers for not asking questions. But, they revolted, spoke up, asked questions. I shout out to those women for making it easy for me.

In the early 1900s, just like in all other fields, women were making forays into architecture too. An interesting titbit about E-1027, a house designed by an Irish architect and furniture designer, Eileen Gray, reveals architect Le Corbusier's obsession about this house. Apparently he couldn't believe that a woman "could create such a fine work of modernism" and  tried to leave his mark on it by painting murals. If this were true of a man who is considered the pioneer of modern architecture, then Eileen Gray must get a pat on her back for the back-handed compliment she received from the great.

Restored E-1027 , Photo by Manual Bougot

Eileen Gray

           

Knoll Relaxed Lounge Chair - 1954 

Then there was Florence Knoll who pioneered a design  service under the name 'The Knoll Planning Unit' that went on to create interior spaces for the biggest corporates in America at that time. Like Eileen Gray, Florence too designed furniture. She called her furniture 'meat and potatoes' among celebrated furniture pieces by the likes of  famous  Mies Van De Rohe. I think it's quite witty and humble because these designs reflect a mature and difficult to achieve simplicity. 

Women have come a long way from 'meat and potatoes' to 'famously extravagant' designs by Zaha Hadid, declaring boldly to the world we're here.

Does that mean they've arrived? Are they star architects?  Are they winning the Nobel of architecture called 'The Pritzker Architecture Prize?' Do they get commissioned for big projects or heading big architectural firms?

Not  really!

Debates will go on about the merits and demerits of being a woman in the field of architecture. About whether or not they are breaking glass ceilings. Many a article will be written about how only women married to architects or partnering with a male architects make it big.

Architect Alison Brooks recently quoted that ideas are gender-free. Which is so true because if you ask women architects if they approach design differently than men, the answer would be no. If one was to see two separate buildings designed by a man and a woman, one would not be able to say that this building looks feminine so its designed by a woman or vice versa. Take a guess, which one is designed by  a woman?

Photo: DigiDaan

Photo via Flickr/Robert Lyle Bolton

Even though the approach to design is gender-free the process involved is different. My experience is that women tend to listen to other people's opinions and act on them, therefore, the process is more inclusive. Also they tend to downplay their own achievements so ego clashes are less. Women multitask at ease and have an excellent emotional quotient required to deal with people.

In a profession that deals with people and emotions, women bring their unique talents to the table. Their sensitivity to understand communities and empathize helps them to come up with solutions for a better living. If you listen to Marwa al-Sabouni's TED talk you'll know that women can go beyond cement, mortar and design for rebuilding healthy societies through architecture.

A different kind of revolution is required now. The kind that makes women take pride in their work and have faith in the unique abilities they possess. A kind that makes role models who emerge into the professional mainstream without fear of their work being called 'meat and potatoes.'

Bibliography

https://www.archdaily.com/640870/images-from-the-much-anticipated-restoration-of-eileen-gray-s-e-1027
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/mar/05/how-women-changing-cities-urbanistas-architecture-design