women in practice

The AJ's January issue focusses on women in practice and features contributions from Anne Thorne Architects to Zaha Hadid.
You can have a look on line or get a copy from the RIBA bookshop.

Below is an unedited extract of the questions by Fran and Rute.

Quickfire Q&A

1.       Your name
 Fran Bradshaw
2.        Practice name
Anne Thorne Architects LLP
3.       Job title
 Partner
4.       Place of study (Part 1; Part 2)
 Newcastle Uni part 1
Polytechnic of Central London part 2
5.       Reason you became an architect
 hmmm - whatever it was it soon became clear that it was the buildings-people relationship that fascinated me

About your work:

1.       The first project you ever worked on was...
a health centre
2.       Current projects
 An environment centre in Lordship Park, passivhouses in various places,
3.       Sectors you primarily work in
 community, housing, education, health....
4.       Describe your design ethos
as green as possible - push the boundaries, and work with people collaboratively - you find out something new and surprising and the building gets better
5.       Clients you’ve worked with
 Lambeth housing, Metropolitan Housing Trust, Centre 404., Haringey Leisure

About women in practice:

1.       Biggest misconception about women in architecture
women like designing kitchens
2.       If you could tell a young aspiring female architect one thing, it would be...
 be determined and don't listen to anyone who tells you what you are doing is irrelevant
3.       Why do you think so many women leave practice?
death by a thousand cuts
4.       What changes to the RIBA/architectural culture would improve the retention of female architects?
 more women at all levels of staff, RIBA boards, policy decision making groups etc
5.       Advice to other women on how to make it work...
 I think you need to really want to do it, to love thinking about places and spaces, and still live a life outside the office
6.       If you have children, advice on how to manage maternity leave and childcare issues – anything worth saying ...
 get together with a wonderful partner - preferably not an architect!
7.       The biggest challenges women face working in this industry are...
 being marginalized, sidelined, elbowed out of the way
8.       Sexism in the industry - is it getting better? How much further to go?
 yes, much better than when I was starting, but I sometimes think the boys still think their ways of working are the only ways
9.       The best defence against sexism in the industry is...
 say clearly and simply what you want to say,
10.   Women in architecture (or elsewhere) that has inspired you the most, and why.
Liz, Ginny, Jessica, Sue, Emma, Deanne and others - the first Women's Building Co-op, who just got out there and built buildings with great joy,
11.   The best piece of advice you ever received
 be yourself

Quickfire Q&A
 1.       Your name
Rute Ferreira
2.        Practice name
 Anne Thorne Architects LLP
3.       Job title
Architect / Partner
4.       Place of study (Part 1; Part 2)
 Part I University of Westminster, Part II Royal College of Art


5.       Reason you became an architect
 My dad used to say he wished he'd trained as an architect. We did a lot of drawing together when I was little, maybe it rubbed on me.

About your work:

1.       The first project you ever worked on was...
A timber garden room for a 19th C house in Oporto
2.       Current projects
 A terrace of family houses part of the West Hendon regeneration (on site) and a feasibility study for a North Camden and Islington housing Co-op.
3.       Sectors you primarily work in
new build housing, education and children's buildings, green retrofit
4.       Describe your design ethos
 make places and design for people with people
5.       Clients you’ve worked with
 Metropolitan Housing Trust, L&Q, Barratt Metropolitan, Albemarle School, Centre 404

About women in practice:

1.       Biggest misconception about women in architecture
at university, that we're scared of the workshop. in practice, that we're good a doing colour schemes.
2.       If you could tell a young aspiring female architect one thing, it would be...
apply yourself to whatever it is you're interested it
3.       Why do you think so many women leave practice?
hours, kids, little money, bully males
4.       What changes to the RIBA/architectural culture would improve the retention of female architects?
 this culture of sacrifice for the profession is difficult to pursue when you have to be home to feed the kids at 6:00. Cultures don't change very easily, though. Maybe being unionised would help.
5.       Advice to other women on how to make it work...
if you work in an office, talk to colleagues/ bosses and find a way of working on projects you really want to be working on
6.       If you have children, advice on how to manage maternity leave and childcare issues – anything worth saying ...
 work with people that understand and respect the challenges around bringing up young children. It pays off, you become a much better architect once you've had to deal with the pleasure and stress of kids
7.       The biggest challenges women face working in this industry are...
that they are so few of us. it's not uncommon being the only women in a meeting with ten men in suits. it's not nice though, not when when things are so much more balanced at university.
8.       Sexism in the industry - is it getting better? How much further to go?
 I think so. There are fantastic, talented women designers working today. We just need more in higher posts.
9.       The best defence against sexism in the industry is...
 not to feel intimidated
10.   Women in architecture (or elsewhere) that has inspired you the most, and why.
 Junko Suetake, Tessa Baird, Joana Rosa, Jolanta Dzikowska, Alicja Borkowska, Matilde Seabra
11.   The best piece of advice you ever received
My old tutor and wonderful friend Anna Hart once told I should leave a job if I wasn't happy, I did, started at ATA and I'm still there.