Mind the Gap

It is as true in architecture as any other field that women often have to work harder and fight harder to be successful in their careers. Female architects are less likely to rise to management positions, receive less visibility, and are often paid less. It is not only gender, though, as skin color and cultural affiliation can also slow down a career. Changing this is the major goal of DIVIA, the platform founded in 2021 and headed by Dr. Ursula Schwitalla.

But how can we make the world of architecture fairer? And how should female architects deal with the current situation? These questions were discussed on November 1 at the Aedes Architecture Forum in Berlin, when DIVIA hosted its first conference, Mind the Gap. DIVIA's inaugural award was given last year, and the plan moving forward is to alternate the biennial awards with the conferences every other year.

In contrast to the sobering figures touched on above, there were encouraging insights into practice, such as when Jette Hopp spoke about the inclusive culture at Snøhetta. Perhaps most valuable was the advice given by Indian architect and professor Anupama Kundoo during the closing panel. Due to her background and lifestyle, she often had to deal with prejudice, but she never let it wear her down. Her message: pay no attention to the bad opinions and gossip of others; instead, focus on yourselves and fight injustice wherever it occurs.

The organizers took a broad view of diversity and also considered issues of social and ecological sustainability in their program, with a focus on the Global South. Critical questions from the audience showed that decolonization is currently one of the most burning issues in architectural discourse and is of particular concern to younger people.

9:30 Welcome + Introduction
Dunya Bouchi, Aedes Metropolitan Laboratory, Berlin  
Dr. Ursula Schwitalla BDA ao, DIVIA, Berlin
Martha Thorne M.Sc., DIVIA, Berlin

10:00 — Session 1 — Researching the Gap 
Moderated by Dr. Katharina Stolz, Stuttgart University

• Pascale Sablan M.Sc., CEO, Adjaye Associates, NYC Studio: I Was Asked to Stand
• Dr. Friederike Landau-Donnelly, Ass. Prof. at Radboud University Nijmegen, Visiting Scholar TU Dortmund: Difference within ‘the Gap’ – Reflections on Structural and Lived Gender Inequities in Academia and Beyond
• Mechthild Ebert M.Sc., saai | Archiv für Architektur und Ingenieurbau, KIT Karlsruhe Institute of Technology: Missing Perspectives. Browsing the Catalogue of saai
• Students’ Session, Stuttgart University: Tuba Benli M.Sc. | Nadine Bunge M.Sc. | Leticia Ivania Da Costa Pedro B.Sc. | Eva Dingeldein M.Sc. | Sarah Mohammad Ali M.Sc.: Research on the Visibility of Women Architects

12:00 — Session 2 — Bridging the Gap
Young Experts, Hochschule Niederrhein, Mönchengladbach, moderated by Prof. Dr. Phil. Dipl.-DES. Marina-Elena Wachs with Gesa Balbig

• Marc Küperkoch: ‘Paludi’-Cultures and the Potential of Cotton Grass and Other Bast-Fibers for Architecture
• Charlotte Weber | Ramona Möllers: Africa-project—DENKraum—to Fill the Gap
• RePete: Architecting Creative Rooms for Educational Weaving in Kenya
• Janka Schmerge: See’ soo t[ext]tile—Re-Textile in Architecture

14:00 — Session 3 — Building Without the Gap
Moderated by Dr. Julia Roever M.A.

• Jette Hopp M.Arch., Dipl.-Ing. Arch., MNAL, Director Snøhetta, Oslo: Designing for People
• Melodie Leung M.Arch., Director Zaha Hadid Architects, London: Cross-Generational Practice: Bridging Past, Present, and Future at Zaha Hadid Architects
• Rozana Montiel M.A., Rozana Montiel Estudio de Arquitectura, Mexico City: Between the Acts: a Manifesto

16:00 — Panel + Open Discussion
Moderated by Christiane Stahnke Dipl. Ing. Arch.

• Claudia Berger-Koch Dipl. Kauffrau, HPP Architekten, Düsseldorf
• Renato Turri MAS, World Architects, Zurich
• Prof. Anupama Kundoo DI. M.Sc., Anupama Kundoo Architects, Potsdam
• Prof. Mona Bayr Dipl.-Ing. M.Sc., Atelier H2A, Eislingen
• Sol Camacho M.Arch., RADDAR, São Paulo

16:45 — Closing Remarks
Dr. Ursula Schwitalla BDA ao, DIVIA, Berlin