Women in Architecture
Who are the overlooked women in Danish architecture? What is the state of architecture in the year 2022? Can prominent international architects like Tatiana Bilbao and others inspire us to create spaces that improve our quality of life? And what are the hopes and future dreams of the younger architects?
Female architects have been relatively less visible in architecture than their male colleagues. Their names are not to be found in connection with as many large and spectacular projects, nor have they designed as many of our city halls, banks or churches. Nonetheless, architectural achievements and breakthroughs by women have greatly shaped society and the world we live in today.
“Women in Architecture” is an exhibition that showcases women in architecture across time, age and geography. Explore Danish architectural history and discover – or rediscover – projects designed by Danish architects such as Hanne Kjærholm, Karen Clemmesen, Lene Tranberg, Dorthe Mandrup, and others, as well as spectacular installations by international architectural studios such as Tatiana Bilbao Estudio, Helen & Hard and Ensamble Studio.
The exhibition spotlights some of the women through history who played a pivotal role in conceptualizing, designing and building Denmark from the 1920s to the 1970s. What opportunities did these women have back then? And what is the legacy they left behind?
The historical part of the exhibition, “The Archive”, was prepared in collaboration with scholars from the University of Copenhagen. The Archive celebrates the untold stories and overlooked accomplishments of female architects. We meet architects Ragna Grubb, Karen Hvistendahl and Ingeborg Schmidt, who were among the first to speak out in support of the idea that children should have their own bedrooms, and kitchen architect Ulla Tafdrup, who opened the kitchen up to the living room, paving the way for the modern open-plan kitchen and dining area.
Through them, we also discover that there are many different ways to be an architect. The diversity and interdisciplinary collaborations featured in the exhibition provide a new and deeper picture of what architects are and the contributions they make. Exhibition visitors can see the short film “On the trail of the forgotten architects”, and the exhibition opening will be accompanied by the launch of the podcast series, “The Forgotten Architects”.
The philanthropic association Realdania has provided funding for the exhibition at Danish Architecture Center and for the research project Women in Danish Architecture 1925-1975.