Voices of Women in Architecture
A collaboration between Women in Architecture UK (WiA UK) and Women in Architecture Pakistan (WAP)
- Tanisha Raffiuddin, Creative Director of Concept Culture
Voices of Women in Architecture was a 3 day symposium, held across London and Lahore jointly organised by WiA UK and WAP, celebrating the voices of South Asian women in architecture in January 2024. I had the pleasure of traveling to Lahore along with WiA Chair Igea Troiani to participate in the Lahore edition as a panelist.
The symposium addressed pressing issues faced by women architects in Pakistan, the Indian sub-continent and beyond. Talks, panels, and workshops focused on stereotypical assumptions, gender pay gap, and challenges faced in academia, in professional practice and on construction sites.
Day 1 in London took place at LSBU. Chaired by WiA UK Chair Igea Troiani, it was an inspiring experience, hearing about the stories of women who dared to make themselves known in a time when the profession was heavily male dominated, and female achievements were sidelined. As well as stories from the more contemporary voices, their current challenges and successes. Sumita Singha's closing keynote at the end of the day was a particular highlight with a message of ‘be proud of who you are and your heritage’.
Day 2 in Lahore was opened by WiA UK chair Igea Troiani with a keynote titled ‘What is a woman architect’, exploring identity formations of an architect through gender, race and voice. This was followed by an inspirational presentation by recent RIBA Royal Gold medalist Yasmeen Lari, who shared her views on the role of the architect in a changing world. The day culminated with 2 thought provoking panels on the challenges of architectural practice in the Global South and challenging gender stereotypes in academia. Day 2 ended with an evening hosted by WAP President Sana Nauman, bringing together all the speakers and leading Pakistani architects and academics.
Day 3 in Lahore kicked off with my panel on ‘Challenges and Triumphs of Women Architects in Practice’. I shared my ‘squiggly’ career journey through practice, that led me to set up and Concept Culture. I was also asked what my advice to aspiring female architects would be, which I outline below:
Visualise what success means to you- map out goals, and an action plan and stick to it with rigour and discipline.
Network, network, network. Grow your network from day 1. Your value is the value of your network. In this business it can often be who you know, not what you know, that will bring you your next opportunity.
Seek out mentors, join a mentoring programme. Learn from those who have been there, done that and got the t-shirt. You can't become what you can't see.
Join a practice that has an inclusive and flexible working culture, with an HR function. Do your diligence beforehand. Speak to former and current members of the team for first hand accounts of how the practice operates.
Don't let anyone else define what your architecture practice looks like. Design your practice to align around your lifestyle, and not the other way around.
Along with the formal proceedings of keynotes, panels, exhibition, and workshops across the 2 days in Lahore, we also enjoyed site visits to the old city of Lahore and recent developments, as well as the undergraduate art and architecture degree shows of the National College of Arts. I particularly enjoyed engaging with the young Pakistani architecture students in the feminism in architecture workshop, which was an eye opening glimpse of the everyday realities of being a young woman in Pakistan.
It was humbling to see my work presented at the exhibition alongside legendary and contemporary Pakistani architects including Yasmeen Lari, Sajida Haider Vandal, Dr Neelum Naz, Yasmin Cheema, Maria Aslam, Amina Mirza, Munazzah Akthar, among others. We also had the opportunity to meet many of them in person which was an absolute honour.
The symposium was an excellent platform elevating the ideas,stories, and experiences of South Asian women in architecture, bringing their ‘voices’ to the forefront of the architectural discourse. The hope is that these ‘voices’ will inspire, encourage, and empower women architects to carve a sympathetic, resilient, and sustainable space in the field of architecture in an increasingly globalised world.
I'd like to thank WiA UK and WAP for the opportunity to participate in this cross cultural and ground-breaking symposium. In particular, special thanks goes to to Dr. Igea Troiani and Dr. Mamuna Iqbal for convening the conference.
Last, but not least, thanks to the students and faculties of LSBU London, UET Lahore and BNU Lahore for all the hard work behind the scenes and for your generous hospitality.
Let's build on the spark of collaboration that has been generated during the symposium, and keep the conversation going to bring more and more voices of women in architecture into the spotlight.
Till we meet again…