Narrating Women Architects’ Histories. Paradigms, Dilemmas, and Challenges.

Abstract

Women studies in architecture have been inspired by different ways of thinking, which can be summarized in four ‘paradigms’: difference thinking, equality thinking, constructionist thinking and intersectionalist thinking. By revising seminal books, articles and exhibitions, this paper explores the historiographical dilemmas and challenges that narrating women architects’ histories involves, focusing on two of the most relevant ones: the question of authorship and the canonical understanding of the architecture as the design of new architectural objects. The paper discusses the impact of women studies in art on the methodologies used in narrating women architects, but also presents the differences that should be taken into account when exploring the work of women artist and architects.