Lessons to Learn from the Overlooked
Written by those in charge, history has a tendency to obscure details which do not matter to its authors. Ideas, events, people get squashed into obscurity, brushed into countless crevices for eternity. Occasionally, a hand willing to pull up these squashed entities, or a focused beam of light’s illumination bring these once-forgotten things to the public’s attention. And every once in a while, we find that these discoveries are more intriguing and exciting than we could have hoped.
One such discovery, buried within the copious amount of information we call the internet, is found in an article on arch daily. Shrugging off the obscurity caused by famous architects’ overshadowing, the article looks at ten women’s contributions to architecture. Though famous designers, notably Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, and Frank Lloyd Wright, gained fame at the same time period in which these women worked, their contributions to the field were neither paltry nor unimpressive.
Their work spans decades, styles, and methods of looking at architecture, but many overarching themes tie them together. Some women faced ridicule and poor job outlooks for those of their sex, while others contributed greatly only to find themselves uncredited for the final product. A few had emotional breakdowns, and others powered past adversities to gain success. As time passed and attitudes changed, some even gained fame and respect. This variety of responses, as well as approaches to their work, makes these women particularly important.
Take, for example, one of the earliest female architects. At a time where the field was entirely male dominated, Sophia Hayden Benett defied 1880s and 1890s stereotypes by attaining a degree from MIT (she was the first woman to ever do so). The working world was not yet ideal for women, and she taught technical drawing at a high school. However, Benett submitted a design for the Woman’s Building, which would be part of Chicago’s Word’s Columbian Exposition. Her design won, but her payment was only a tenth of what a man would have made. The construction itself was incredibly stressful and demanding, ultimately causing her to have a break down. Though she refused to do architectural work after that, her legacy lives as a testament to what women, even when faced with adversity, can do.
Another example of a woman generally overlooked in history textbooks is Eileen Gray. Anyone who attended this semester’s first lecture might remember both her and the significant role she played in Le Corbusier’s life. She studied art in London and Paris before working with Siezo Sugawara, a Japanese craftsman. Her work with furniture and architecture gained her commissions in the interior design industry. Gray’s most famous work, the holiday house E-1027 in southern France, was greatly admired by Le Corbusier, who studied it and even painted murals on its walls. Her fame spanned many decades, beginning in the 1930s and lasting until the 1960s. As one of the first women to gain fame in the architectural field, Gray’s work has been displayed in many places but has a permanent exhibit in the National Museum of Ireland.
As time passed, women gained more fame and recognition within the design fields. Fewer and fewer women were buried into obscurity as societal views altered over time. Though there still exists a disconnect today between men and women, the condition of women within the profession has certainly improved from the past hundred and twenty years.