Women Architects and their Material Strategies: Bo Bardi, Merrick & Hadid

Although there is more of a balance between women and men in architecture today, the landscape was quite different a few decades ago. Pioneering women architects have been resistant in a profession dominated by men, and have faced skepticism in challenging contexts, such as construction sites itself. Zaha Hadid commented on the difficulty of inclusion in what she called the “boys club”, listing the difficulties in coming to agreements or creating partnerships. Lina Bo Bardi, in turn, used her strong personality to overcome the sexism of her time. Even though these difficulties, women have always found a way to stand out and bring priceless contributions to the profession.

6x60 House / Alexander Tochtermann + Philipp Wündrich

6x60 House is a one-storey building settled along a stream. It hosts three apartments with different dimensions, belonging to three members of the same family. The building is located between two different surroundings: wide agricultural fields and a far forest on one side, and the main road of the village on the other. In order to detach the house from the ground, a system of piles has been used to support the concrete slab on which 21 parallel walls are resting and supporting a pitched roof. 3 concrete steps located along the South-East side permit to access to the porch on the platform, from where it is possible to walk all around the building and access the apartments.

La Ribera Housing / Zeller & Moye

A Vecindad, a traditional housing typology with simple row houses facing a linear patio in Mexico City, is re-interpreted as a new apartment building for young families. The program is implemented in a typical narrow but deep plot in the Santa María La Ribera neighbourhood, just a few blocks away from the famous Moorish Pavilion. As a new impulse to its immediate vicinity the housing development contributes like a catalyst to the regeneration of the currently otherwise undervalued barrio.

Thanh Tan Primary School / 1+1>2 Architects

Thanh Tan School Site is located in Thach Thanh District, Thanh Hoa Province where the weather condition is unfavorable with hot sun and many natural disasters, resulting in economic difficulty. Currently, the school has 4 existing classrooms that do not meet the needs of the students coming to school. The new building block consists of 3 classrooms, each is enough for 30 students. New block construction is oriented in the main north-south direction (south-oriented corridor to avoid sunlight while catching the cool breeze from the southeast direction).

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