Our favourite female architects & designers

Owais picked Barbara Hepworth as one of his favourite female artists.

“My favourite female artist has to be Barbara Hepworth. Her sculpture often relates herself to landscapes and finds a beautiful connection to the materials she uses. I would definitely recommend The Hepworth Wakefield to anyone who hasn’t been. 

[pictured above] is a part of her series ‘Family of man’, A collection of abstracted human figures representing people at different stages in their life, often creating family groups.”

Alasdair pointed us towards Part W, a female-led collective working to challenge gender imbalance across the architecture and construction industry. Their latest action ‘Women’s Work: London’ is a crowdsourced map that seeks to shine a spotlight on the immense contribution of women to the built environment in London.

Alasdair also nominated Seijo Townhouses, a project in Japan by practice Kazuyo Sejima & Associates.

Paul spotlighted someone a little closer to home – Clare Nash Architecture.

“Clare and her team design lovely contemporary Architecture; often adapting difficult historic buildings. This is no mean feat in itself. However, the main reason I’m nominating Clare is the design of her business. She has developed a business that suits the lifestyle needs of her and her team. It has been wonderful to watch them strike out in their own direction and make a huge success of it.”

Anna chose Marie Jose Van Hee, who lives and works in Ghent, Belgium.

“I was lucky enough to meet her and visit her house a few years ago, and was really inspired by how she’d made a home which was unique to her and the way that she wanted to live!

For example in her house all of the bedroom spaces, kitchen etc. are a modest size but then she has an enormous hall which she uses for everything from working and dining, to lectures and music concerts. 

Her homes are made of simple materials, but composed really well. They also often have courtyards or covered outdoor spaces so a good connection from outside in and a clever use of natural light. 

She’s also the master of walls of storage!”

Alan highlighted Lizzie Fraher of Fraher & Findlay.

“I’ve chosen Lizzie because I really admire the quality of her practice’s designs, their consistently high quality marketing and social media presence and their approach to business.

They’ve set up their own construction arm and set up their own CNC fabrication facility to allow them to build their designs out to a really high quality. I’m really inspired by what she’s doing.”

Julie chose Charlotte Perriand (1903 – 1999).

“She was a pioneer in interior design who laid the path for all the future women creatives. The iconic Chaise Longue Basculante and La Maison de The are among my favourites.”

Nathan spotlighted Bernice Alexandra Kaiser Eames; better known by her childhood nickname Ray, who was half of the partnership that created some of the 20th century’s most enduring designs.

“Erroneously referred to as “the Eames brothers” Ray’s contributions to the partnership and Eames legacy have only grudgingly come to light in recent years. She was responsible for groundbreaking contributions in the fields of architecture, graphic design, textile design, film, and furniture.

The excellent 2011 documentary film Eames: The Architect and the Painter, captures the magic of the Eames’ studio and most importantly, it shows the impact that Ray’s creativity had on building the Eames legacy.”