Women of the First Wave: Gender-essentialism and resilience of women in architecture in the early 20th century

About the Project

The ‘first wave’ of feminism is often associated with women's movements, women's suffrage and in architecture with pioneering women entering this profession. The RIBA accredited Ethel Charles as the first woman in 1898 but at that time ‘architect’ was not a legally protected term.

It is not surprising then, that census records list women who self-assigned their professions as architects, and that newspaper articles appeared written by ‘women architects’ who were not RIBA accredited. This project invites researchers from the humanities, social sciences and architecture to explore ‘hidden’ women designing and building houses, interiors and structures in the UK.

Project rationale: Women who practiced architecture between c1899 and 1939, were – with few exceptions – not accredited by the RIBA. Yet, the 1921 census records list 129 women as architects in the UK. ... No systematic study has yet investigated comprehensively women working in architecture prior to the Second World War.