Observed, Alexandra Lange|Shameless Promotions
May 16, 2012
Women, Equity, Architecture
Parlour, a fascinating new Australian site with the tagline above, has a dual objective: first, creating a forum for discussion of and opportunities for women in architecture, and second, reporting on research, scholarship and the history of same. The name is a play on both parler (from the French) and parlor (from the American): a place to speak about and advocate for better representation of women in architecture. (It also has a terrific identity, designed by Catherine Griffiths, of Studio Catherine Griffiths.) The site is curated and edited by Justine Clark, with co-editors Naomi Stead, Karen Burns, Sandra Kaji-O’Grady, Julie Willis, Amanda Roan and Gill Matthewson. While the site has an Australian focus, the issues it covers are international: recently, Andrew Maynard has written about “Work/Life/Work Balance” and how ingrained, exploitative work patterns for architecture firms hurt both women and men, while in her essay “I Count” Neph Wake, describes why the feminist project is not complete for architecture.
Discussing the role for women in architecture is a necessary first step to change. The next step will be setting up parlors for frank talk in other countries.
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By Observed & Alexandra Lange
Alexandra Lange is an architecture critic and author, and the 2025 Pulitzer Prize winner for Criticism, awarded for her work as a contributing writer for Bloomberg CityLab. She is currently the architecture critic for Curbed and has written extensively for Design Observer, Architect, New York Magazine, and The New York Times. Lange holds a PhD in 20th-century architecture history from New York University. Her writing often explores the intersection of architecture, urban planning, and design, with a focus on how the built environment shapes everyday life. She is also a recipient of the Steven Heller Prize for Cultural Commentary from AIGA, an honor she shares with Design Observer’s Editor-in-Chief, Ellen McGirt.
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