Archinect - News

UCL issues an apology and published report on the decades-long investigation of misconduct at the Bartlett School of Architecture

2022-06-09T19:09:00-04:00

A resolution has been provided in the saga at the UCL Bartlett School of Architecture that has made waves in the press since first coming to light last year.

The institution has now issued a formal apology in response to the independent investigation into educational practices and environment that permeated at the school for decades.

UCL says it is also in receipt of the recommendations for improvement put forth in a recent investigative report created by independent consultancy Howlett Brown using a survey of more than 300 former faculty and students. As was expected based on previous reporting of first-hand accounts, the respondents in their survey detailed a frightening and toxic culture of abuse, racism, bullying, and even sexual harassment occurring at every level. Accordingly, the school has announced it will be removing several faculty members from student-facing administrative duties in addition to setting up a new working group that will help further adapt the recommended ...

Controversy at SCI-Arc over labor practices leads to faculty members placed on leave. Isolated incident or a wake up call for the industry at large?

2022-04-01T15:30:00-04:00

On Friday, March 25th, a panel discussion became a lightning rod striking attention to the questionable ethics of architectural academia and professional practice. Depending on what news and social media platforms you follow, keeping track of the events that followed SCI-Arc's Basecamp lectures can appear like organized chaos.

Everyone has an opinion. Everyone has a "take" on the highly controversial and unsettling comments. But before I dive into what's already been documented and shared across the internet, it's vital to address the larger issues. Discussions surrounding work and studio culture within the architecture community are nothing new. It would be foolish to say that those working within the industry at both the professional practice and academic levels are unaware of the highly problematic issues of labor and equitable working conditions.

Ongoing efforts to reform toxic and exploitative work environments have been pushed to the forefront thanks to organizations like Th...

AIA completes its "Guides for Equitable Practice"

2019-12-20T17:56:00-05:00

The Guides for Equitable Practice were developed in collaboration with the University of Washington and the University of Minnesota. The aim of the guides are to inform firms on issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion, aiding them in improving these aspects within their office cultures.

According to a recent press release, the final three chapters, released earlier this week, focus on on developing employee career paths; building and involving authentic community engagement; and measuring firm progress in developing equitable practice. the development of the guides were in response to a recommendation by the AIA's Equity in Architecture Commission, which was established in 2015.

Learning from the female architects behind Africa's tallest building

2019-08-12T16:00:00-04:00

Co-Arc International Architects director Catharine Atkins and architect Malika Walele are the leading women behind the 55-story building on Maude Street, which was designed by Co-Arc’s emeritus partner, Francois Pienaar.

In Sandton, Johannesburg stands the Leonardo, Africa's tallest building. Designed by the team of Co-Arc International Architects, the building stands at 55-stories tall and is set to be completed this year.

Besides the record-breaking height of the building, there's another aspect to this project that has made headlines: The design team behind the project is predominantly female-led. However, according to the Co-Arc team, this detail went unnoticed until a recent progress photo of the project emerged.

Co-Arc International Architects’ Director Catharine Atkins and professional architect Malika Walele are supported by Salome Daley, Janel Venter, Megan Holman, Angela Barnard, Keitsitse Losaba, Antonella Giuricich, Rachel Zwane and Mitchell Gibbon. Image courtesy of Co-Arc International Architects' Director Catharine Atkins.

According to TimesLIVE writer Alex Patrick, "The thought of an all-woman architect team doesn't sound groundbreaking until you consider only 21-percent of South Af...

Is the AIA doing enough to address sexual harassment in architecture?

2019-08-06T14:05:00-04:00

Post-Meier, the AIA has centered its efforts to stop sexual harassment by affirming good behavior in the profession. It’s using positive reinforcement to address sexual harassment and discrimination by saying the best work emerges from firms that embody equitable practices, and using that as the foundation of its strategy to incentivize better behavior.

Curbed's Diana Budds takes a deep dive into the efforts being undertaken within the architecture community to eradicate sexual harassment in the workplace in the wake of the #MeToo movement.

According to the report, although the American Institute of Architects (AIA) has worked to update its Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, the organization has largely avoided taking punitive measures in their efforts to reform the profession's workplace culture. The report brings into question the effectiveness of AIA's current role in addressing delicate and difficult issues like workplace harassment, and whether architectural workers might be better served through the existence of a more official "secondary avenues" for reporting harassment, abuse, and other ethics issues.

The reactive approach, according to Gabrielle Bullock, director of global diversity at Perkins and Will and a member of the AIA’s Equity in Architecture commission, is to be expected. Bullock told Curbed, “The AIA is g...

The AIA works towards improving how it awards architects in conjunction with the rise of the #MeToo movement

2019-06-06T13:57:00-04:00

The plight of sexual harassment claims and news of misconduct within the profession continues to surface as more practicing architects stress the importance of equity in the workplace, representation, and accountability. The global rise of the #MeToo movement has impacted several industries, the architecture profession included. More women and men have voiced their opinions and stressed the importance of fostering better professional standards as well as reassessing professional character in practice and during award recognition.

On June 5th, the AIA announced it's efforts towards improving review standards on how architects will be selected for awards. "Although the rules and processes governing AIA's awards programs are currently effective at identifying design excellence, the AIA's leadership believes they can be improved to better address issues of professional character, especially related to harassment of any kind, and to send a clear message that inappropriate behavior will n...

Happy with your employer's architecture labor practices? Nominate your firm in the JustDesign.Us initiative

2017-05-05T15:44:00-04:00

Working toward fairer professional architectural practice is an ongoing uphill climb in the industry, but which practices are already getting it right? The Architecture Lobby recently co-launched an initiative called JustDesign.Us, a certification process to distinguish architecture firms with exemplary labor practices, including fair pay, family-friendly policies, diversity, transparency, and agency.

Certification is a two-stage process. In Stage I, employees who want to nominate their firm will answer an online questionnaire — which The Architecture Lobby, the Yale School of Architecture’s Equity in Design, and the Harvard Graduate School of Design’s Women in Design developed. Submissions will remain anonymous.

Image via justdesign.us.

In the second stage, JustDesign.Us will ask the nominated firms corresponding questions that may lead to certification (endorsed by the JustDesign.Us partners and affiliated organizations like SEED, ArchiteXX, and the American Colleges and Schools ...

How sexist is architecture? Female architects share their experiences

2016-04-13T12:54:00-04:00

After Ms. Hadid died on March 31 at 65, The New York Times, in an informal online questionnaire, asked female architects among its readers to talk candidly about their experiences in the profession: the progress they’ve made and the obstacles they still face on construction sites and in client meetings. Below are edited excerpts from a few of some 200 responses we received.

Architecture, already a tough field, can be even more challenging if you happen to be female. As Christine Matheu from Bloomington, Indiana recalls in this article, “There was a time when women were not allowed to be members of the Century Club. About that same time, as a young architect trying to survive, I was doing exhibition design and had been hired by an N.Y.C. art collector to do an installation of Piranesi prints for the Century Club. When the club learned that I was a woman architect, I was not allowed to install the exhibit. I, like many other women architects, found it much easier and less humiliating to just strike out on my own. I have been in my own practice now for 20 years.”

Also, a lifetime pro tip: STOP CALLING WOMEN OVER 18 GIRLS. Thanks!

Why International Women's Day matters (for architects)

2016-03-08T15:45:00-05:00

You’ve probably heard that today is International Women’s Day. But what exactly is it? And why is it important?

For many in the global West, the significance of March 8th is probably a lot less familiar than, say, Mother’s Day. In fact, the holidays originated around the same time, during the early 20th century, at the nascence of struggles for equal rights and suffrage. But unlike Mother’s Day, International Women’s Day has always been explicitly political: a day to both celebrate women and to fight for emancipation.

A first iteration of Women’s Day was organized by the Socialist Party of America in 1909, but its international observance began properly in 1911 with large protests throughout Europe, albeit on different days in the different cities. In 1914, International Women’s Day was held for the first time on March 8. Sylvia Plankhurst, the great British suffragette, was arrested in front of Charing Cross on her way to deliver a speech at Trafalgar Square.

Then, on March 8, 1917, R...

AIA moves one step forward in approval of Equity in Architecture resolution

2015-06-04T17:38:00-04:00

A total of 4,117 AIA delegates largely voted in favor for the widely talked about Resolution 15-1, titled "Equity in Architecture", during the Election at the 2015 AIA National Convention in Atlanta last month. Sponsored by AIA San Francisco and the AIA California Council as a response to architecture's long tradition of gender and racial disparity, the resolution calls for the Institute to take definitive measures to strengthen the presence of underrepresented demographics especially in membership, firm leadership and ownership in the profession. The Resolution was drafted by Rosa Sheng, AIASF Assistant Treasurer and Equity by Design Committee Chair; Julia Donoho, co-founder of the Julia Morgan Foundation; and AIA National Vice President Frank Pitts.

In its intent, the resolution asks for the AIA to develop an ongoing program that will assess data, track progress, set a plan of action, and report on results. "[T]here needs to be a reflective look at valuing our human capital within ...