WOMEN IN ARCHITECTURE Meet the shortlisted candidates for this year’s awards PLUS Results of the 2014 Women in Architecture survey £4.95 THE ARCHITECTS’ JOURNAL THEAJ.CO.UK AJ Women in Architecture 2014 Shortlist yvonne farrell and shelley mcnamara 52 roÍsÍn heneghan 54 francine houben 56 marÍa langarita 58 Kirsten lees 60 sadie morgan 62 Woman adriana natcheva 64 architect of the on five simple details crucial to the quality of the design and the look and feel of the complex, working with a limited palette of materials. The quality is all-pervasive, but particularly striking when you enter the ground floor reception, where the scale ams I ll steps down and the detail is unusually I fine for a London 2012 project. The washrooms have delicate mirror yearw stanton surrounds and smart, circular rooflights with concrete surrounds, and the sports hall has glass balustrades capped an interesting tectonic affinity with for Paralympic use. with circular stainless steel sections, concrete construction and carefully Externally, the main hall is timber with tidy glulam beam connections integrating services whose routing Above CGI clad, joining a LVRPA trio with designed by Stanton Williams. This was proposed by the architect. Pettitt showing dramatic Hopkins Architects’ Velodrome space takes the evolving language of notes that, as the design of the complex cantilevered canopy (AJ 29.09.11) and Faulkner Brown engineered timber construction to new is Part M-compliant, it needed few proposed for post- Architects’ White Water Canoe Centre levels of refinement, demonstrating enhancements to satisfy requirements Games facilities in Broxbourne. The compositions, 10.01.1402.08.12 shortlist 51 AJ Women in Architecture 2014 Woman Architect of the Year shortlist DENNIS GILBERT Yvonne Farrell and Shelley YVONNE FARRELL & McNamara founded Dublin- SHELLEY McNAMARA based Grafton Architects in directors, grafton 1978. It has been a significant architects year for Grafton: its scheme for the University of Limerick was shortlisted for the Stirling Prize and the practice picked up its first UK project, seeing off a strong shortlist to win the job to design a flagship new building for Kingston University. Grafton was also shortlisted in the contest to design a new £90 million Global Centre for Social Sciences for the London School of Economics. .. .. ‘WE LOVE ARCHITECTURE’S AMBITION BOTH TO BE USEFUL AND TO BE MORE THAN THAT’ Clockwise from of Economics, Bocconi left The Stirling UTI Capitol University, Milan; Prize-shortlisted University, Technology University of Toulouse; School building, Limerick; School of Economics, UTEC, Peru Why did you choose architecture? that. We feel it is important to create things. Visit buildings. it is because if the balance of ere were a number of reasons: to remember that architecture Learn from them. Research. Do worth shifts from meaning to a combination of instinct and is commissioned. We are a competitions. Teach, read, talk drudgery and if the experience of fascinations with art, culture profession that needs to listen, to and listen. Find trustworthy working is one of exclusion and and people. What is your design hear what is being said, to what friends. Help each other through not inclusion, then women make ethos? e older we get, the is un-said, and to invent. Each thick and thin. Practice. Find other choices. more we are convinced of the project is significant and each good clients. Keep going. Set up importance of architecture, both project deserves 100 per cent a structure that suits you and the for itself and for the possibilities focus. What our profession does way you think. Let your voice be of benefiting society. We love really matters. Which architects heard. Why do you think women cv architecture’s synthesis of inspire you? Eileen Gray, Flora leave the profession? We are being an art form that works Ruchat-Roncati, Lina Bo constantly amazed that so many Place of study University College Dublin and that has a job to do. We Bardi, Anna Heringer, Carme really talented female architecture Current projects School of Economics, UT1 Capitol love architecture’s ambition to Pinos and Zaha Hadid. What students, whom we come across University in Toulouse, France; Universidad de span both need – basic human is your advice to aspiring female while teaching, somehow Ingenieria y Tecnologia, Lima, Peru requirements – and meaning; architects? Love architecture. vanish from the profession after Clients UT1 Capitol University, Toulouse; to be useful and be more than Nurture your talents. Find ways university. It is a real loss. Maybe UTEC, Peru .. AJ Women in Architecture 2014 Woman Architect of the Year shortlist HUFTON + CROW HUFTON Róisín Heneghan co-founded RÓISÍN HENEGHAN Heneghan Peng Architects in director, heneghan 1999. e practice’s highest- peng architects profile project to date, the visitor centre at the Giant’s Causeway, was shortlisted for the 2013 Stirling Prize. Heneghan is currently overseeing the construction of the 100,000m² Grand Egyptian Museum, which the practice won through competition in 2003. She lectures at Yale, Harvard, MIT, University College Dublin and Cornell University, and has served on the juries of several international competitions. ODA .. .. ‘MY ADVICE TO ASPIRING FEMALE ARCHITECTS? HAVE PERSISTENCE’ Clockwise from the 2012 Venice skin on one of far left Stirling Biennale; Heneghan Prize-shortlisted visualisation of Peng’s London Giant’s the 2,700m2 2012 Olympic Causeway Visitor Palestinian Park bridges; Centre, Antrim, Museum, Birzeit, landscaping and Northern Ireland; Palestine; bridges at the Irish Pavilion at stainless steel Olympic Park Why did you choose cv architecture? It’s a good question and I’m not 100 per cent sure of the answer. I didn’t know what I was getting into. Which women architects inspire you? Eileen Place of study University College Dublin, Harvard Gray. What is your advice to Current projects School of Architecture and aspiring female architects? Have Construction, University of Greenwich; the Grand persistence. Why do women Egyptian Museum; National Gallery of Ireland; leave the profession? I don’t know WMQ office fit-out, Dublin; the Palestinian many who have left, but leaving Museum; and student accommodation for the to have and look after children National University of Ireland Clients The National would appear to be the principal Trust; University of Greenwich; Office of Public reason. What would make them Works, Ireland; Ministry of Culture, Egypt; National stay? I suspect it would be the University of Ireland; Olympic Delivery Authority; provision of good, affordable Klassik Stiftung, Weimar; and the Arriyadh childcare. Development Authority, Saudi Arabia .. AJ Women in Architecture 2014 Woman Architect of the Year shortlist CHRISTIAN RICHTERS Founded by Francine Houben in FRANCINE HOUBEN 1984, Dutch practice Mecanoo founding partner, Architecten now employs 120 mecanoo architecten staff, of which 40 per cent are women. In the past year Houben completed one of the practice’s highest-profile UK projects, the £193 million Library of Birmingham, which was voted Building of the Year in an online poll of AJ readers. Houben is a professor at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), a visiting professor at Harvard University and has sat on the jury for a number of major international MARCO VAN RIJT MARCO VAN architecture competitions. ISITA KOUZI .. .. ‘FOR MEN AND WOMEN, THE CHALLENGE LIES IN CHANGING THE PERCEPTION OF THE ARCHITECT’ Left Library of Performing Arts, Offices, Boston, Birmingham Taiwan USA Bottom left The Below Right Amsterdam Wei-Wu-Ying Visualisation of University College, Center for the Dudley Municipal interior view S ER T H C N RI A I ST HRI C Why did you choose architecture? is about combining all of the was simply a necessity to realise cv When my older brother took individual elements into a single that dream. So my advice is to me to see TU Delft, I entered concept. What counts in the remain true to yourself, use your the model-making room of the end is the arrangement of form common sense and follow your architecture faculty and instantly and emotion. Which architects dreams with determination. knew I would be an architect. I inspire you? Ray Eames and Lina What is the biggest challenge have a strong desire to combine Bo Bardi. What is your advice facing women in architecture Place of study Delft University of Technology human, technical and aesthetical to aspiring female architects? today? For both men and women, Current projects Wei-Wu-Ying Center for the aspects in an unorthodox way, Looking back, my career consists the challenge lies in changing Performing Arts, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Dudley and to contribute to a better of logical steps and choices. the perception of the architect. Municipal Offices, Boston, United States; the HOME world. Architecture gives me Starting my own practice was Architecture is never a solo act. Art and Culture House in Manchester; the opportunity to do all of never my goal. My dream was I like to compare it to directing a postdoctorate housing scheme for the University of that. What is your design ethos? to be able to act on the ideas, symphony orchestra; it’s all about Cambridge; a new city hall and train station, Delft Architecture must appeal to energy, ambition and drive I was teamwork, about being visionary, Clients Birmingham City Council, Manchester City all the senses. It is never a bursting with. Building a client sensitive and supportive at the Council, North West Cambridge, City of Boston; purely intellectual, conceptual base, a multidisciplinary team same time. Women are especially Ministry of Culture Taiwan, Schiphol Real Estate or visual game. Architecture and a professional organisation good at that. and Rabobank, The Netherlands .. AJ Women in Architecture 2014 Woman Architect of the Year shortlist ‘SOCIETY NEEDS TO ASSURE WOMEN THE PROFESSIONAL SPACE THAT HAS BEEN THEORETICALLY CONQUERED’ María Langarita co-founded MARÍA LANGARITA Madrid-based Langarita- founder, langarita- Navarro Architects in 2005.