IT’S A MAN’S WORLD?​

I went to the Thom Mayne Lecture at the Boston Architectural College a couple of weeks ago. It has taken me a while to process my feelings. A few things struck me about the work of Morphosis (Thom Mayne’s firm) besides its impressive size/scope, dramatic looks, and exciting technological feats:

Although his artwork has some color, all of his buildings are colorless.

Although he clearly cares more about form than function, he describes his presentation to his clients as about performance, not aesthetics.

He reminded me that when I entered the architecture field, it was a Man’s World.

If I think back to my 20-year- old self I would not have believed that it was an old boys club. I thought that my intelligence, creativity and work ethic would take me wherever I wanted to go. It is not that simple.

Maybe the reason there are so few female architects is that we women may care more about the client, the needs of the client, community, and the planet, their budgets and the people who use the spaces than our “star” peers who may care more about form or the wow factor than the above.

Star or not, I’ve enjoyed a wonderful career in a field I love – even if the playing field isn’t level.

Whose work do you admire in the field of your choice?​