International Women’s Day 2022: Part W plans London map centred on women in architecture
To celebrate this year’s International Women's Day and Women’s History Month, Wallpaper* catches up with Part W, the collective launching an open call for ‘built projects where a woman or women have played a pivotal role’ in order to create the ‘Women’s Work: London map’

Part W, a London collective campaigning to raise the profile of women in design education, architecture and the wider built environment industry, is today launching an open call in search of ‘built projects where a woman or women have played a pivotal role’. Their goal? To create the ‘Women’s Work: London map’, a printed, illustrated map that celebrates the achievements and groundbreaking contributions of women to the UK capital’s fabric. The group, which spearheads awareness and activism in architecture when it comes to representation and equality for women, will receive suggestions through a digital form and social media until 31 March 2022, before putting the printed piece into production.
‘For too long, the work of women in design has been undervalued and the contribution of women has not been accounted for in mapping studies, written texts, and in studies that promote role-model examples of who designs our cities. This map continues work already begun recording built projects by diverse women in London – our aspiration is to achieve funding and support from others that allow Part W to expand this work UK wide and beyond,’ says Zoë Berman, founder of Part W.
V&A Exhibition Road Quarter by Amanda Levete Architects.
The crowdsourced map seeks to highlight the wealth of significant projects created by women, which can be found all over London, addressing ‘the huge gap in how projects by women through history are so often missed off digital and printed maps and in archives’, says the collective, whose members include Christine Murray, Dr Harriet Harriss, Sarah Castle, Sarah Wigglesworth, Yemi Aladerun and Fiona MacDonald. The project is planned to be expansive, celebratory and fundamentally inclusive, aiming to flag works by ‘all women, Black women, women of colour, members of the LGBTQ+ community and women who have diverse religious beliefs’.
To make the map a reality, Part W is looking to raise £4,000 via donations to cover project costs, such as graphic design work and production. The project is set to eventually inform associated educational outreach with schools in London.
For a project to enter the list for inclusion on the London map, it needs to be within Greater London, built and still in existence, and driven or created by women – not just architects, but also engineers, placemakers, landscape architects, designers, commissioners, conservationists, activists, community groups, citizens, and more. The lines are now open!
Barking Town Square
Dawson's Heights
The British Library, MJ Long (with Colin St John Wilson)
INFORMATION
Submit your nomination here
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Is this the world’s most comfortable sofa? Cozmo and Pearson Lloyd invite you to find out
Pearson Lloyd and Cozmo lay bare the design process behind ‘Hug’, their new high-backed sofa design, at the eye-opening exhibition ‘Comfort Lab’ during LDF
-
A Mexican clifftop retreat offers both drama, and a sense of place
Casa Yuri, a clifftop retreat by Zozaya Arquitectos, creates the perfect blend of drama and cosiness on Mexico's Pacific Coast
-
Tour David Lynch's house as it hits the market
David Lynch's LA estate is for sale at $15m, and the listing pictures offer a glimpse into the late filmmaker's aesthetic and creative universe
-
The new 2025 London Open House Festival tours to book
2025 London Open House launches this weekend, running 13-21 September; here, we celebrate the newcomers in the residential realm, flagging the exciting additions to the festival's growing home tour programme
-
The wait is over – the RIBA Stirling Prize 2025 shortlist is here
The restored home of Big Ben, creative housing for different needs, and a centre for medical innovation – the RIBA Stirling Prize 2025 shortlist has just been announced, and its six entries are as diverse as they can be
-
Slides, clouds and a box of presents: it’s the Dulwich Picture Gallery’s quirky new pavilion
At the Dulwich Picture Gallery in south London, ArtPlay Pavilion by Carmody Groarke and a rich Sculpture Garden open, fusing culture and fun for young audiences
-
Bay House brings restrained modern forms and low-energy design to the Devon coast
A house with heart, McLean Quinlan’s Bay House is a sizeable seaside property that works with the landscape to mitigate impact and maximise views of the sea
-
A whopping 92% of this slick London office fit-out came from reused materials
Could PLP Architecture's new workspace provide a new model for circularity?
-
Meet the landscape studio reviving the eco-brutalist Barbican Conservatory
London-based Harris Bugg Studio is working on refreshing the Barbican Conservatory as part of the brutalist icon's ongoing renewal; we meet the landscape designers to find out more
-
A refreshed Victorian home in London is soft, elegant and primed for hosting
Sobremesa house by architects Studio McW shows off its renovation and extension, designed for entertaining
-
15 years of Assemble, the community-driven British architecture collective
Rich in information and visuals, 'Assemble: Building Collective' is a new book celebrating the Turner Prize-winning architecture collective, its community-driven hits and its challenges