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’

By Ellie Stathaki

last updated 7 October 2022

in News

Waterloo Bridge, built by female construction workers

(Image credit: press)

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.

Aerial view of woman walking down outdoor stairs — 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!

Ruins of old brick building — Barking Town Square

Multi storey block of flats — Dawson's Heights

Birds eye view of busy ground floor of library — The British Library, MJ Long (with Colin St John Wilson)

INFORMATION

Submit your nomination here

part-w.com

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).