Читать книгу bdia Handbuch Innenarchitektur 2021/22 - Группа авторов - Страница 10

PIA A. DÖLL

Interior architect,

bdia President

photo credit:

Oliver Schiebener

Dear Readers,

Our bdia Interior Architecture Handbook 2021/22 showcases the achievements of interior architects in Germany. The bdia publishes the Interior Architecture Handbook once a year and offers members of the association a platform for presenting their projects. Our jury this year comprises: Ingo Haerlin, interior architect bdia (Design in Architektur, Darmstadt), Bettina Billerbeck, in her former function as editor-in-chief of the Schöner Wohnen magazine, Tina Freitag from Callwey Verlag and myself. From 153 (!) submissions, among them a large number of very good designs, we had to make a selection and choose 25 projects for the handbook. Definitely not an easy task! By the way, a shortlist is available on our website bdia.de.

The special circumstances made it necessary for our jury session to take place online, and yes, I missed walking through the presentations with my fellow jurors. Nevertheless, the high quality and diversity of the submitted projects was clearly recognisable and could be evaluated even without an analogue walkthrough. The long discussions that followed were very intensive. The selected projects are a Best of in the selected categories to show you, dear readers, the very broad spectrum of interior architecture. Once again it becomes evident that interior architecture is not a mere accessory but the essence of a space: well-designed interiors are quality of life.

The last year has shown us, as if under a burning glass, what it means to spend most of our time inside our own four walls. Well-designed interiors that meet our needs allow us to stay healthy, be productive and find relaxation. It’s a whole lot that interiors have to do!

The profession of the interior architect involves a great deal of communication and requires precise analysis of the functions a specific space is supposed to provide. This requires numerous discussions with clients, empathy and creativity. Is this a reason why so many women are drawn to universities? So why is it that a majority of firm owners are male after all? Why is it mostly male colleagues who make it onto the big stage and into leading positions?

Three essays on the topic of “Women in Interior Architecture – Frau Innenarchitekt” deal with these questions. More than 90 percent of students at the start of their training are women, notes Sabine Keggenhoff, Innenarchitektin bdia (office: Keggenhoff | Partner) and winner of the German Interior Architecture Award 2019. Mostly the only woman in a leading position at panel discussions, in meetings and on the construction site, she has actually smiled away many an issue in her career, writes Keggenhoff (starting on p. 124).

The intensive and cross-sector discussions about women and quotas have increasingly appeared on the agenda for some time now. This also affects our discipline and the position of women in architecture. The increased awareness in the professional and general public can do nothing but encourage us. This was demonstrated, for example, by the exhibition “Frau Architekt. Seit mehr als 100 Jahren: Frauen im Architekturberuf”, which was on show in cooperation with the Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM), Baukultur NRW and the Chamber of Architects of North Rhine-Westphalia in Düsseldorf in autumn 2020.

The uniquely elaborate exhibition on Charlotte Perriand at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris (October 2019 to February 2020) also illustrated the discrepancy between the artist’s work and how she was perceived that had existed for years. As one of Le Corbusier’s employees, she was long overshadowed by the great master; the exhibition now paid tribute to her in a major retrospective.

There is now an understanding among all stakeholders that women have been paid far less attention over the last 60 years and that their planning and design achievements have not been acknowledged in the profession — and if so, it was often only considered an adjunct of well-known, famous masters. In itself, this is nothing new, but it is now being publicly addressed, it has become the focus of attention, and awareness continues to rise. Various publications on women in architecture, on the Bauhaus anniversary in 2020 and the role of women at the Bauhaus, along with many other texts in popular media, explore the topic.

On the one hand, we are experiencing a kind of “rediscovery of women”, on the other hand, the issue is very different for each individual woman (interior) architect. What does it take to hold one’s own in the often male-dominated world? “Building is a tough business, and that includes interior architecture,” writes Monika Lepel, Innenarchitektin bdia (office: Lepel & Lepel) in her article starting on page 132. This also means asking oneself: Am I prepared to go the extra mile? A good marriage is like a good team: In the end, the most capable person always leads.

Peggy Kastl, Innenarchitektin bdia (office: Baustudio Rostock) emphasises that courage is needed: “Only those who prove themselves will survive on the construction site. The obligatory running of the gauntlet on the building site will always be determined by the gender-independent personality of the novice; everyone has to go through that,” says Kastl (from p. 139). However, role models in society also continue to matter and more should be accomplished in this regard. Women do not always put their careers before their children or their partners – but that is also a good thing, the author continues.

Yes, there are still structural inequalities that make it more difficult for women in their professional lives. We should therefore continue to point out outdated role clichés, put them on the agenda – and confidently live out our role, pursue our work, expand networks and look for and be role models ourselves.

Allow yourself to be inspired on the following pages, discover trends and ideas. Browse through the many high-quality projects that the interior architects of the bdia, both men and women, have implemented.

I hope you enjoy the read!

Yours sincerely, Pia A. Döll