The Emerging Female Architects of East Africa

2019-10-16T13:09:00-04:00

The East Africa region—which includes the countries of Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda—is currently in the middle of a construction boom that is transforming the region’s built environment. According to Deloitte’s 2018 African Construction Report, the total number of building projects in East Africa rocketed up by 96-percent between 2017 and 2018, with a substantial increase of 167-percent in the total value of projects. The report also notes that China is directly funding 25.9-percent of the construction projects in the region, far outweighing investment from the various East African governments, which valued at 12.9-percent. How will this new wave of fast-paced development reshape the landscape of East African countries in the decades to come?

Since last November I have been living and working in southern Tanzania on a construction research project that looks into the effect of housing on family health. During...

The New Wave of Female Powerhouses are Pushing the Boundaries of Professional Practice

2019-03-08T09:45:00-05:00

The gradually increasing presence of a diverse range of practitioners across the architectural profession has provided a stronger platform for women to showcase their work, leadership, and innovation. In remembering the past, pioneering female architects such as Denise Scott Brown and Norma Merrick Sklarek have paved the way for women like Kazuyo Sejima, Dame Zaha Hadid, and Jeanne Gang to push the boundaries of representation in the field. Further, architecture's new class of female architects are learning from their predecessors and making moves for what architecture will become in 2019. With discussions of the #MeToo movement, equitable labor practices, and diversity weighing heavily on the field, the profession still has a long way to go.

Archinect - Features

The Emerging Female Architects of East Africa

The New Wave of Female Powerhouses are Pushing the Boundaries of Professional Practice