Member News: A Review of AIA UK Women Presidents

This article has been written as part of the AIA Newsletter’s commitment to up-to-date member news.  If you are aware of UK Chapter members’ involvement in other newsworthy projects or events, please bring them to our attention via a “comment” follow up note at the end of this article and we will endeavour to publish further feature articles.

With the selection of a female Prime Minister in the UK , the increasing number of other female heads of state elsewhere around the world as well as the recent, brave attempt to elect a woman President in the US, there has been an increasing focus on the growing potential for women to assume more  and more senior leadership roles worldwide. 

List of elected and appointed female heads of state, a recent survey from Wikipedia

Looking closer to home, we can report that the AIA UK Chapter anticipated this leadership trend with women playing a significant role both in creating the Chapter and maintaining it over the past 25 years.  Although the UK Chapter was not the first AIA chapter to elect a female leader, it has led the way in the quantity and consistent quality of its past women presidents and board directors.  To be fully appreciated, this achievement needs to be put into historical perspective.

Susan A Maxman, FAIA, was AIA National’s 69th President, serving from 1992-1993. According to her official AIA biography:

“Her election was particularly important for the Institute, as it marked the first time a woman had been elected to the national presidency in its 134-year history … Maxman’s election came 103 years after the AIA admitted its first female member, Louise Bethune, FAIA, in 1888.

But, as reflected by Maxman’s own path through the Institute, women held leadership positions at the state and local levels decades before Maxman became national president.  Perhaps the first woman to be elected a chapter officer was Henrietta Dozier, who served as secretary of AIA Florida in the early 1920s. Beverly Willis, FAIA, was president of the AIA California Council in 1974.”  

What the biography does not readily acknowledge is that Susan presided over the AIA at a time when the representation of women in the profession was extremely low.  According to the AIA “Women in Architecture Tool Kit” published in 2013, only 1% of registered architects in 1958 were women.  In the late 1970s, the AIA finally began to survey the number of women in leadership roles, but still “the numbers were not encouraging.” By 1988, the percentage had only increased to 4%; by 1999, it had increased to 13.5%.  

In the period from 2000 to 2006, the representation of women in the profession finally began to take off.  According to the Tool Kit, the AIA’s 2006 survey of architectural firms reported: “Since the late 1990s, the share of women in leadership roles in the profession has continued to grow. Women principals and partners at firms quadrupled from 4% in 1999 to 16% in 2005.”

Although the second woman AIA National President – Katherine Lee Schwennsen, FAIA, who served from 2005-2006 - was not elected until thirteen years after the first, she was followed just seven years later by Helene Combs Dreiling, FAIA, in 2013-4 and in even more rapid succession by Elizabeth Chu Richter, FAIA, in 2014-15. 

However, despite the low representation of women in the profession, the primary aim of this current article is not advocacy for more women architects – that must be taken as given – but it is instead a simple celebration of the UK Chapter’s seven women presidents to date who have overcome the statistical odds and gone on to lead the Chapter.  How do these women compare to each other; what led them to choose a career in architecture; what distinguishes their careers from others; and what are they doing now? 

Pre- 2007 – The Early Phase

There were four AIA UK Chapter women presidents pre-2007 who began their careers during this period of low female representation.  Justine Kingham, AIA, was the UK’s 1st woman president in 1997, followed by Lorraine King, AIA, serving in 2002, Elizabeth Casqueiro, AIA, in 2003 and Bea Sennewald, AIA, in 2006.  A short review of their histories shows little commonality in their careers.  Instead, their determination to succeed and the very diversity of their approaches to the profession typifies this early generation of pioneers.  

Justine Kingham’s first degree was in Art History from George Washington University and she worked initially as a writer, editor and graphic designer.  “I then realised,” she explains, “that only architecture brought creativity together with reality.  I love the problem solving involved in design and its execution.” See here for the full profile.

Lorraine King was originally enticed by the promise that architecture “is where art and science meet”, but she was actively discouraged from an architectural career by her high school counsellor. See here for the full profile.

Elizabeth Casqueiro’s route to London differed significantly from the other past presidents. She obtained a BA in Design at the University Institute of Art, Design and Enterprise, in Lisbon, Portugal in 1975, but she soon realised that – while she loved design - she was passionate about architecture. See here for the full profile.

Bea Sennewald’s first degree was a BS in Physics from Antioch before she decided that architecture potentially offered a more “exciting life style than working in a laboratory”. However, she has never lost her interest in science and continues to include “reading science research” as one of her primary outside interests. See here for the full profile.

Post 2007 - The Second Phase

In 2006, the UK Chapter recorded its female membership as 25% of the total of 149. The total Chapter membership grew slowly to 221 by 2014-15, with the percentage of female membership increasing to 32%. This peak percentage fell slightly in 2016-17, but the percentage continues above the 2006 level and above that of the AIA membership as a whole. By comparison, according to notes from the 2016 AIA Convention panel discussion on the Business Case for Women in Architecture, 25.3% of architects in the US  in 2015 were women, yet only 18% of AIA membership.  

There have been three AIA UK Chapter women presidents during the period post-2006 when representation of women in the profession began increasing. Elizabeth Waters, AIA, was elected president in 2011, followed by Etain Fitzpatrick, AIA, serving in 2012, and Brianne Hamilton, AIA, in 2015.  Whereas the first four presidents had few similarities in their careers, there is more commonality with the later three, particularly on their transition via large architectural firms to London and their more traditional career progressions. 

Elizabeth Waters started CAD drafting in high school and, like all the other past presidents, enjoyed both math and art.  Initial study for an engineering degree at the University of Kansas was quickly put aside for a BArch (achieved in 2005) once she realised she “wanted more of the creative side of things”.  See here for the full profile

Etain Fitzpatrick decided when she was about 12 or 13 that she wanted to be an interior designer, but she also studied calculus, physics and chemistry at high school.  When she was applying to university, her mother suggested architecture to her because she was “good at math and was artistic”. See here for the full profile.

Brianne Hamilton also excelled at art and math, so an early guidance councillor made the obvious suggestion that she should look into an architectural career - a sweet twist on advice to previous generations. See here for the full profile.

Follow Up

While not quite so early or as consistent as the UK Chapter, other AIA Chapters have also had women presidents.   Our sister chapter, AIA Continental Europe, elected its 1st woman president, Sandra Zettersten, AIA, in 2004.  It was 12 years before its 2nd president,  Nóra Demeter,  Int'l Assoc AIA, was elected in 2016, but she will be quickly followed next year by Tiffany Melancon, Int'l Assoc AIA,   The International Region’s 1st president was Christine Bruckner, FAIA, who served in 2014-15.

Although there are similarities between individual past presidents across all the chapters, the only trait that seems to unit them all is an early love of art, science and/or math, and this was always accompanied by a strong commitment to endure and to succeed in a profession with a notoriously high attrition rate.  

Each of the past presidents had their share of the many difficulties and vexations generally encountered by women architects.  Several raised families and some had to move jobs or interrupt their own career to keep their families together.  Others were originally discouraged from studying, were disappointed in promotions, were paid less than male colleagues or were side-tracked along the way.  

However, despite such stories, all the past presidents were ultimately more interested in promoting the profession than cataloguing any complaints.  Sandra Zettersen’s closing comment identifies the positive value that women’s leadership and participation can bring: “2015 was the first time that over 50% of the board of the Continental Europe Chapter were women”.  In her opinion “in that year, we accomplished more towards completing our stated chapter goals than we had in many of the previous years added together.  Women are good decision makers and not only understand the necessity of making good decisions but in handling them immediately and getting them into action…”

The UK Chapter currently has several young female board members or participants with the potential to be future leaders.  All the past presidents have offered them their support and encouragement and look forward to their successes.

Written by: Lorraine King AIA

Exchange House Lecture and Visit - 20 September

AIA/UK gathered at Skidmore Owings & Merrill’s London office on the 20th of September to celebrate the 2015 AIA 25-year award given to Exchange House. The evening featured a presentation on the project by Kent Jackson, Dmitri Jajich, and Graham Wiseman, all of SOM representing the architectural, structural and master planning aspects of the multidisciplinary design. The group then visited Exchange House (adjacent to SOM’s office), including a tour of the lobby, award plaque recently installed on the building , and drinks in Exchange Square. 

The project was selected for the award by AIA National for its clear and elegant solution to the constraints of the site which spans over railroad tracks of Liverpool Street Station. Designed in an era when local planners favoured historicist buildings clad in stone which were sympathetic to the older buildings in London, Exchange House challenged this with a brave and direct expression of its structure. 

The team showed design studies and development of the arch shape including different heights, curved and faceted profiles, and even an inverted catenary option. The final design was selected for its optimal structural efficiency. The arches on the two primary facades were held away from the building’s glass enclosure as a means of protection from fire within the building. 

At ground level, the project helped to frame the new Exchange Square at the center of the Broadgate masterplan (also above the railroad tracks). Also, the building’s clear span has enabled a strong connection between Exchange Square and the rapidly-developing area of Shoreditch to the north. 

Exchange House is the first project in the UK to win the AIA 25-year award. The project’s completion also coincided closely with the creation of SOM’s office in London , and the creation of AIA’s UK Chapter of which SOM was a founding member.

Mentorship Update: One-on-Ones and Meet and Greet 2

On 27 June AIA UK Mentorship Program held its second event. The group of emerging professionals and seasoned architects were hosted by Herman Miller for one-on-one speed mentoring. The evening began with nibbles and refreshments. Karen Fugle, an Executive Coach specialising in work with designers, was to present an introduction to mentorship and coaching, but was unable to attend due to illness so Katharine Storr stepped in to explain the mentoring process. Stephan Reinke, Lester Korzilius, Lorraine King, Michael Lischer, Fred Geiger and Dragan Krstevski then introduced themselves as the night’s mentors and spoke briefly of their experiences. 

For the rest of the evening, the mentors dispersed themselves across the various Herman Miller landscapes on display. The mentees then rotated around the showroom in pairs, with each pair allowed approximately 15 minutes to chat with a mentor. The evening ended with a group debrief at which it was agreed that one-on-one speed mentoring was a useful format and the mentorship program should continue with alternative formats - some formal evenings and other less formal ones – for discussing architectural practice, networking and support. 
On 26 September, a group gathered informally at The Blackfriar for the mentorship program's third event of the year. The evening saw round table discussions over beer and under the relief sculptures of Henry Poole for which the Blackfriar is known. Conversations in a cozy corner of the pub ranged across a variety of topics. There were discussions on the differences between working in continental Europe versus the UK; on the merits of virtual technologies and how clients interact with digital models versus physical models; on issues such as practice management and what architects can learn from the world of tech start-ups; and eventually on how architects can take a playful approach to problem solving and team building. 

As NCARB rolls out the ARE 5.0 this month, the next meeting will be a peer mentoring session. We will be addressing topics such as understanding the difference between the ARE 4.0 and 5.0 as well as advice on taking exams in the UK and what resources are available through the AIA UK chapter.

Author: Katharine Storr 

AIA UK Film Night: The Price of Desire - 25 October 2016

The 2016 Autumn series kicked off with the much anticipated movie The Price of Desire, which we were finally able to get from Munro Films. Many thanks to them for all their assistance.

The Price Of Desire is the controversial story of the bisexual Irish artist Eileen Gray and how her influential contribution to 20th century architecture and design was almost wiped from history by the egotistical ‘Father of Modernism’, Le Corbusier. The film unfolds how her relationship with philanderer Jean Badovici, editor of influential L’Architecture Vivante, and the man who made Le Corbusier famous, further fuelled the rift between the two architects, and consigned her legacy to a century of neglect and long-overdue recognition.

Set substantially on the Côte d’Azur in and around her most abiding work, the villa e1027, The Price of Desire explores the events surrounding Le Corbusier’s eventual erasure of both Gray’s physical ownership of the property, as well as her intellectual property right to be recognised as the architect of her work. A triangular tale of insidious chauvinism, The Price of Desire resonates as a universal female experience while cinematically evoking the essential aesthetic of Eileen Gray. 

VILLA e1027: Eileen Gray designed and built this first-ever modernist house in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France in 1926 for her lover, the architectural journalist Jean Badovici. Le Corbusier, the architect he promoted, so effaced and defaced Gray’s moral right to be recognised as the author of her work that her legacy as one of the most influential inspirations of a century of modern architecture and design was consigned to oblivion for almost a century.

After the Second World War, Jean Badovici made some feeble efforts to request that Le Corbusier remove the vandalistic murals he had painted on its plain white walls, and even promised Eileen Gray that he would put the house back into her name. Le Corbusier was having none of it however, and sadly Jean Badovici died intestate, leaving the fate the ownership of the house to the whims of Le Corbusier, who in turn drowned on his daily swim in the Mediterranean below it. Eileen Gray survived them all and was finally made a fellow of the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland in recognition of this work in 1995. 

The film was very well received by those in attendance, and the discussion that followed was very lively. We shall be winding up the Autumn & 2016 Film Series with a screening of Koolhaas Houselife at 1900hrs on 22 November at the BFI. 

We look forward to welcoming more of you to that screening, and many thanks to all who have attended our screenings this year!

Author: Christopher Musangi AIA

Lille: 2016 AIA UK City Excursion

The 2016 AIAUK City Excursion to Lille, France was a two-day action-packed event with 34 attendees from across the UK and Europe.  The weekend (November 5-6) began with a walking tour of key developments in the Eurolille Masterplan, including the Jean Nouvel Centre Commercial.  The morning's events concluded at the CAAU offices, with a presentation by Thomas Coldefy and Isabel Van Haute of their work in Lille and abroad.

Saturday afternoon, attendees briefly toured the redevelopment of the 200-year old industrial estate at Lille Fives Cail, Caruso St. John's recently opened culinary school complex, Lycée Hotelier de Lille. One of the highlights of the weekend was the afternoon's visit to the Musée de la Piscine, a former indoor pool and bath designed by Albert Baert in the early 20th century, that has been converted to a sculpture, art and textile museum by Jean-Paul Philippon (2000) - with a cafe that serves one of Lille's specialties, Méert gaufres (waffles).

The first day of the excursion concluded with a visit to the Villa Cavrois. Following a private tour of the Robert Mallet Stevens project, with anecdotes of its history and renovations presented by M. Paul Hervé Parsy, who led the Villa's restoration and serves as its current curator, attendees gathered in the spacious living room for cocktails and dinner - a real treat to enjoy the environs as guests of the Cavrois must have done almost 100 years ago.

Excursion events continued the following day with another museum visit, this time to LAM, an art museum housing contemporary, modern and 'outsider' works, originally constructed by Roland Simounet (1983), with a recent addition by Manuelle Gautrand in 2010, a gallery visit at the converted rail depot and warehouses of St. Saveur, and one last walking tour through the historic streets of Old Lille - including the stunning contemporary facade of the Lille Cathedral by Pierre-Louis Carlier and Peter Rice.

The weekend was organised by AIAUK Board Members Amrita Raja, AIA and Lester Korzilius, AIA, former AIACE president Bertrand Coldefy, Int'l Assoc. AIA, Thomas Coldefy, Intl'l Assoc. AIA, Chantal Coldefy and Isabel Van Haute.  The 2016 AIA UK City Excursion was sponsored by Kaldewei. The UK Board offers its many thanks to Kaldewei, co-coordinators and local guides in France, and all the attendees for contributing to such a spectacular weekend.

Walk on air – Brighton’s new Vertical Promenade Pier

AIA UK is delighted to have supported a sold out lecture entitled “Walk on air – Brighton’s new Vertical Promenade Pier”. The joint AIA, RIBA, IStructE event took place on Tuesday the 18th of October 2016 at the RIBA’s Jarvis Auditorium. The focus of the talk was the recently completed British Airways i360 (BAi360) in Brighton, the world’s tallest moving observation tower. David Marks and Julia Barfield of Marks Barfield Architects and Dr John Roberts of Jacobs explained the thinking behind its concept, design, engineering and construction.  

It is thought that this was only the second time Architects and Engineers have shared the platform at RIBA to talk jointly about a project. Julia Barfield referred to the collaboration as a “great example of the symbiotic relationship between Architecture and Engineering”. Building on the success of the London Eye, the BAi360 is an ambitious project which aims to offer a unique visitor experience. Standing at the foot of what used to be the West Pier, the tower is almost exactly half as high as the pier was long. Just as the original pier welcomed Victorian society to ‘walk on water’, the new attraction invites visitors to gain a different perspective on the city and ‘walk on air’. This is achieved with a state of the art glass pod which can accommodate up to 200 people. The pod ascends to a height of 138 metres, offering slowly unfolding 360-degree views over Brighton and Hove, the South Downs, the South Coast and the Channel. At the landward end of the pier, two existing Victorian cast iron tollbooths, designed by Eugenius Birch, were restored to their former glory.

The tower’s unprecedented slender ratio of 1:41 meant that Engineers had to push the boundaries of what is structurally possible, overcoming challenges such as wind forces and turbulence. The talk featured construction photos and videos from the steel manufacturing and the construction sequence. The tower was constructed from the ground by jacking-up the 17 steel cans, which make up the 162 m tower, one under the other starting from the top. This avoided work at height and was the safest way of building.

The entrepreneurial approach behind the development allowed Marks Barfield to ensure that the project gives back to the city with 1% of ticket sales going back into the local community in perpetuity.

The talk concluded with a Q&A session followed by drinks reception.

1.5 CES Credits were available for attending the talk. 

Author: Yevgeniy Beylkin