Feminism and modern architecture
Encyclopedia
Feminist theory
as it relates to architecture has forged the way for the rediscovery of such female architects as Truus Schröder-Schräder
and Eileen Gray
. These women imagined an architecture that challenged the way the traditional family would live. They practiced architecture with what they considered feminist theories or approaches. The rediscovery of architecture through feminist theory is not limited to female architects. Architects like Le Corbusier
and Adolf Loos
have also had their architecture reexamined through feminist theory.
's book The Grand Domestic Revolution she explains the ways in which "a lost feminine tradition" led to a "redefining of house work and the housing needs of women and their families, push[ing] architects and urban planners to reconsider the effects of design on family life" This idea of the changing needs of the family can be seen in the houses of Truus Schröder, Eileen Gray and LeCorbusier's Villa Stein
de-Monzie. The Rietveld Schröder House
is an excellent example of the way that the "modern" lives of the family demanded a new architecture.
The movable walls and partitions give a sense of consciousness and an overall feeling that the architecture was built with a greater purpose. The fact that Truus Schröder's beliefs in the family and as the house playing a part in the family; the house almost as a member. Truus Schröder is closely related to Dutch and European feminism
of the twentieth century, based on her goals for her house.
Eileen Gray's E-1027
is another example of feminist theory being applied to architecture.
Much like Schröder, Gray designed an architecture that would address the needs of the occupants and the new family unit. Gray worked within the model of modern architecture, LeCorbusier's "5 points of new architecture" for example as well as addressing the issues of the building or home as an experience.
Gray also worked with LeCorbusier on E1027 who is well known for his work on another house that called traditional family structure and architecture into question. Like E1027 and The Schroder House, Villa Stein de Monzie was rediscovered through feminist theory. More well known is the way in which this house called gender relations and the way in which the relationship between men and women was negotiated in a new way.
This house is of particular importance in feminist theory because it called into question the typical domestic group and gender relations. This domestic group that included a married couple and a woman with her child called domestic space into question.
Feminist theory
Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, or philosophical discourse, it aims to understand the nature of gender inequality...
as it relates to architecture has forged the way for the rediscovery of such female architects as Truus Schröder-Schräder
Truus Schröder-Schräder
-Biography:Truus Schröder-Schräder, was born in Deventer in the east of the Netherlands in 1889. Her father owned a textile factory and her mother died when she was four. Her father remarried two years later and Truus did not get along with her stepmother. Truus was sent to a convent boarding...
and Eileen Gray
Eileen Gray
Kathleen Eileen Moray Gray was an Irish furniture designer and architect and a pioneer of the Modern Movement in architecture.- Biography :...
. These women imagined an architecture that challenged the way the traditional family would live. They practiced architecture with what they considered feminist theories or approaches. The rediscovery of architecture through feminist theory is not limited to female architects. Architects like Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
and Adolf Loos
Adolf Loos
Adolf Franz Karl Viktor Maria Loos was a Moravian-born Austro-Hungarian architect. He was influential in European Modern architecture, and in his essay Ornament and Crime he repudiated the florid style of the Vienna Secession, the Austrian version of Art Nouveau...
have also had their architecture reexamined through feminist theory.
The architecture
In Dolores HaydenDolores Hayden
Dolores Hayden is an American professor, urban historian, architect, author, and poet. She teaches architecture, urbanism, and American studies at Yale University.-Background:...
's book The Grand Domestic Revolution she explains the ways in which "a lost feminine tradition" led to a "redefining of house work and the housing needs of women and their families, push[ing] architects and urban planners to reconsider the effects of design on family life" This idea of the changing needs of the family can be seen in the houses of Truus Schröder, Eileen Gray and LeCorbusier's Villa Stein
Villa Stein
Villa Stein, designed by Le Corbusier, was built in 1927 at Garches, France. The building is also known as Villa Garches, Villa de Monzie, and Villa Stein-de Monzie. Located at 7 Rue de professeur Victor Pauchet, the villa was built for M. de Monzie and then sold to Gertrude Stein.- External...
de-Monzie. The Rietveld Schröder House
Rietveld Schröder House
The Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht was built in 1924 by Dutch architect Gerrit Rietveld for Mrs. Truus Schröder-Schräder and her three children. She commissioned the house to be designed preferably without walls. Rietveld worked side by side with Schröder-Schräder to create the house...
is an excellent example of the way that the "modern" lives of the family demanded a new architecture.
"The Schröder House was not only a creative work of artistic design but offered its users a new envirnoment in which to redefine family life, women's rights and the responsibilies of individuals and to each other"
The movable walls and partitions give a sense of consciousness and an overall feeling that the architecture was built with a greater purpose. The fact that Truus Schröder's beliefs in the family and as the house playing a part in the family; the house almost as a member. Truus Schröder is closely related to Dutch and European feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
of the twentieth century, based on her goals for her house.
Eileen Gray's E-1027
E-1027
In 1924 Eileen Gray and Jean Badovici began work on their vacation house, E-1027 in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Alpes-Maritimes, in southern France . L-shaped and flat-roofed with floor-to-ceiling windows and a spiral stairway to the guest room, E-1027 was both open and compact...
is another example of feminist theory being applied to architecture.
Much like Schröder, Gray designed an architecture that would address the needs of the occupants and the new family unit. Gray worked within the model of modern architecture, LeCorbusier's "5 points of new architecture" for example as well as addressing the issues of the building or home as an experience.
Gray also worked with LeCorbusier on E1027 who is well known for his work on another house that called traditional family structure and architecture into question. Like E1027 and The Schroder House, Villa Stein de Monzie was rediscovered through feminist theory. More well known is the way in which this house called gender relations and the way in which the relationship between men and women was negotiated in a new way.
This house is of particular importance in feminist theory because it called into question the typical domestic group and gender relations. This domestic group that included a married couple and a woman with her child called domestic space into question.