LITTLE WOMEN IN BIG ARCHITECTURE

Abstract

The history of architecture knows a lot of man’s names. It’s not surprising, even though most of the history of worldly professions was occupied by the people themselves, but women didn’t have the right to take away the space and introduce such contagious places for us, like theaters, musical comedy and other kinds of controversy. The article bears the knowledge of the nature and reveals the role of women in the architecture of the New World, tells about historical turns that redevelop the development in this sphere. A gendered approach is first traced to Jane Jacobs' book The Death and Life of Great American Cities, where she criticizes modernist urban planners for cultivating «male experience» or «male ways of life» while disassociating vital functions of the city. In contrast to men's daily practices, the traditional «women's experience» in public spheres includes a significant share of the private sphere: housekeeping, shopping, raising children, caring for the elderly and the sick. Today, the situation in the world favors gender equality, at least when it comes to choosing professions and positions. At the Faculty of Architecture, more girls are entering universities all over the world. However, the way their career develops afterwards is alarming. It is difficult for a woman to combine her personal life and work as an architect, so few manage to apply the knowledge gained at the university in practice. This is also confirmed by the figures of the Federal Chamber of Architects (Bundesarchitektenkammer): in 2016, the share of female architects in the field of construction and freelance employees was approximately one fifth. Among city planners, the share of women is only nine percent. Since the 20th century, small women have taken a big step in the contribution of world architecture, confidently moving forward according to new world trends.