Our Events group is working in collaboration with the How Women Build Conference, supported by the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art and The Women’s History Network. The conference will bring a new, more detailed understanding of the recent history of the professionals of architecture, landscape architecture, planning, interior design and engineering, and rather than focusing individual designers, it will celebrate the female contribution in its many formats. The conference will be run alongside Helen Aston and Dr Luca Csepely-Knorr.

Helen Aston

Helen is experienced in practice, teaching and research. She has more recently set up PRAXXIS: a feminist architectural research collective. This has led to the launch of PRAXXIS, a feminist atelier in both BA3 and the M.Arch. It has three key aims... inspire//challenge // impact. PRAXXIS is an explicitly feminist teaching atelier aiming to stimulate a positive intersectional feminist debate within the MSA.

Website:
praxismsa.wixsite.com/architecture


Dr Luca Csepely-Knorr

Luca’s research is multidisciplinary in its approach. Her cross-disciplinary interest in the theory and history of urban open space design derives from her education in a variety of subjects. Her research described and compared the urban design principles of landscape architect and civic designers, most importantly Hungarian architect Bela Rerrich (1881–1932), who was a key figure in the Hungarian urban design theory of the 20th century and the first teacher of garden design at the Royal Horticultural School (Budapest).

Website:
msa-uk.academia.edu/LucaCsepelyKnorr

Week 1

Our event is a live project in collaboration with this conference. Our brief is to design and build 12 collapsible exhibition stands to display artefacts and information relating to 12 inspirational women. Week 1 will focus on the design of these stands through a competition. The group will split into smaller teams and each team will be given a feminist figurehead to inspire and direct their design. Each team will be presenting their ideas through models and drawings to a panel of judges at the end of week 1.

Week 2

Week 2 will focus on the fabrication of the winning proposal. So, for this we’re looking for team players with an interest in building and fabricating. The project has a quick turnaround, so we need enthusiastic people with a passion for design. As well as designing these exhibition stands, we will also be creating super graphic banners to hang through the space, as well as curate the exhibition space/layout. We are hoping to connect with and visit local fabricators, makers and creators, to help inspire you guys and enrich the design process!

Koehorst in ’t Veld is an editorial design practice that concerns itself with exhibits. They produce books, exhibitions, concepts and research for museums, publishers and other institutes. Their interest in history, place, and the mechanics of display are a driving force behind their work. They complement design with editing, writing and curating.

This exhibition is useful for us because it serves as an example of how information can be presented in a linear format. The frame allows for rotation of up to 45 degrees allowing the information to be viewed from multiple perspectives. It’s construction out of wood is fairly simple too, just what we love!

Website: http://koehorstintveld.nl/projects/de-nieuwe-smaak/

Through the use of wooden frame structures, a diverse set of practices including painting, sculpture, video, audio and writing, the work presented in After ISLAND takes inspiration from their experiences of Freespace, ISLAND, and the city of Venice. We can apply this notion to our concept of feminist principles, using the structure to explore wider
questions through the development of our own practice.

Website: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/architecture/events/conferencesandexhibitions/after-island/

How Women Build THANKS YOU ALL!

It is with great shame we are sad to announce that due the recent outbreak that is COVID-19, the How Women Build Events programme will no longer be running in accordance with the national requirements due to the pandemic.

Events 20 has brought overwhelming liberality and enthusiasm from our collaborators and special guests. The How Women Build Conference was the perfect chance to celebrate the female contribution in its many formats, whilst the EasyPeelStudio collaboration was a great opportunity to network and learn a new design and build approach. We have had assurances that these connections will continue to be developed in the future, so fear not! Our posts shall continue to encourage your thirst for feminist and building knowledge, as well as an in depth look into the work of the guests and precedence shown. Don’t forget, these concepts are forever changing!

The feminist value embedded within the development of the built environment profession has been an evolving subject matter. It has been a pleasure introducing you to several figureheads that serve as introductions to this conference which aims to broaden the discussion and bring a comparative, multidisciplinary approach, that allows the examination of not just individuals, but also networks of professionals stretching across disciplinary boundaries.

Thank you to Helen Aston, Dr Luca Csepely-Knorr, staff, students, and other collaborating bodies involved in the project of the past few months.

Lastly, we would like to apologise to the prospective students who will no longer benefit from the opportunity to learn valuable skills this project presented.

Was always a pleasure, never a chore. Stay safe!

How Women Build 2020