Women's Share: What Architects Say

We asked several questions to women architects. We have 27 responses. About whether gender hinders work or, conversely, helps; about how to win without fighting. Strength—for some in perseverance, for some in multitasking, for some in restraint... And among ideals, Zaha Hadid is the undisputed leader. Though some named compatriots as well.

Much has been said about the position of women in the architectural profession: some of it speculative, some fair. Nevertheless, fact: there are noticeably more female students in architecture schools than male students; and more female employees in architectural firms than male employees. They go on site supervision, do working drawings, and sometimes draw quite well... And some even found their own bureaus, yes. And another fact—there are not yet many women leading their own bureaus. Although many who do exist are quite well-known and successful. In short, we decided to finally not limit ourselves to a New Year's survey once a year, but to raise, or at least slightly lift, the gender questions of the profession. Our questions were:

1. Is it true that it's harder for a woman in the architectural profession? If yes, list the difficulties point by point.
2. Have you encountered devaluation of your creative contribution "because you're a woman"? From colleagues, clients, builders on site? How do you overcome such problems?
3. Your main achievements in the profession, points of pride?
4. Name a woman architect, designer, or artist who inspires you and serves as a professional role model (if any).
5. What is the strength of a woman architect?

Anna Kulikova
Partner at FANTALIS Architects

1. In my opinion, there aren't difficulties as such. Indeed, few women reach high career levels: those who truly want to dedicate their entire lives to architecture are not so many. For those willing to work hard and invest in this craft, the doors are open.
2. At the very beginning of my professional path, such moments did occur. But this was due to having little experience and making many mistakes. Over time, as experience accumulates, an architect gains resilience, confidence in themselves and their competencies. This makes work and communication much more comfortable than at the beginning of the journey. Experience changes you greatly, and you begin to see the world differently.
3. My life's project and point of pride is my bureau, which comprehensively designs large-scale objects: it includes an engineering department, BIM, marketing, and, of course, architecture and design. I am very proud that I am not a "paper" architect: my first major project—a public building of 2500 m²—was realized when I was 28 years old. At that time, I was already leading the bureau and all processes. Now there are many more such realized projects, so I can confidently call myself a practicing architect.
4. Creating architecture is creativity. But creating architecture and running a successful project business are not the same thing. Therefore, I try to broaden my horizons: I pay particular attention to how women run businesses, especially one as complex as a project business. You can engage in creativity endlessly, and it always brings pleasure, while business development does not forgive mistakes and requires tremendous attention and involvement.
5. A woman senses this world very subtly, and this is especially evident in the design approach, starting from understanding the building's volume, interiors, to the ability to anticipate the client's wishes. In my opinion, women are more diplomatic in many aspects: they strive to ensure that the results of the work benefit everyone, considering both the client's interests and the end user's needs. This skill is especially important when working on large-scale projects with serious clients who have billion-dollar turnovers.

Source: https://archi.ru/russia/100726/zhenskaya-dolya-chto-govoryat-arkhitektory#kulikova