Watch our very first Parlour LAB session here!
The session begins with our guests, Julie Collins and Gill Matthewson, sharing a brief outline of what they do, why it is relevant and how they do it. They then join Macarena de la Vega de León and myself for a discussion about archives and data. How do they sort through large amounts of information and decide what is relevant? What unexpected things have came up in their research? Why is history, and the history of women in architecture, relevant for practitioners? Julie and Gill talked about the importance of having time to research. Although research can be time consuming and laborious, having the time to “bury yourself” in data is necessary because that is how you learn the themes that come up again and again and find the clues that make it relevant.
Key takeaways from their research on women and the built environment included:
A lot of women specialise within architectural practice as it’s a way of making themselves distinct and helps with their continued employment;
For over 40 years, research has found that women’s experience of public transport is different from men’s, yet public transport design continues to only cater to one type of generic commuter;
In terms of women’s safety in public spaces, CPTED principles work to a certain level, but require a kind of gender lens over them. For example, the quality and type of lighting in public space is more important than the amount of lighting for perceptions of safety. Furthermore, there is a limit to how much design can do because safety is dependent on who is in the space and how they have been socialised to behave.
Parlour LAB is presented in collaboration with the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ), and The University of Queensland. The aim is is to bridge the gap between practice and research, to provide a platform for researchers to speak to new audiences and an opportunity for the world of practice to engage with research. The series is convened by Macarena de la Vega de León and me!