Bloomsbury Global Encyclopaedia of Woman in Architecture

Title: Bloomsbury Global Encyclopaedia of Woman in Architecture

Editors: Emma Cheatle (ed. for UK); chief editors Lori Brown and Karen Burns

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Year: 2022

Abstract: The Bloomsbury Global Encyclopaedia of Women in Architecture will fill a void in architectural history, giving students, scholars and professional architects an authoritative reference to women architects and their work, and to key terms for gender and feminism in architecture.

Surging interest in women architects over the last decade has launched equity campaigns, lobby organisations, international prizes, books and research. Issues of women, architecture and gender are now at the centre of architecture’s public stage and the hitherto absent histories of women in architecture have become of urgent interest.   

With approximately 1,000 entries and 480 images across two volumes, the encyclopaedia will cover a key period in women’s history from 1960 to 2015 – from when the gender bar was lifted at iconic architecture schools to the present day. Women now comprise half of all architecture students in many countries but students and scholars lack authoritative, globally connected histories of female mentors, peers and forebears. The encyclopaedia introduces them to the notable and overlooked women of the global built world, unearthing hidden histories and helping to found a new field of historical scholarship. 

Within a geographical and historical framework, key architects from over 45 countries will be included in detailed biographical entries. Coverage includes an expanded field of female designers plus influential scholars, writers, policy makers and activists as well as entries on keys terms, themes, books and exhibitions and pedagogy.

The encyclopaedia will have a broad readership both within and outside the discipline of architecture – including the fields of Landscape, Planning, Art History, Design History, Interior Architecture, Environmental Design, Cultural History, Women’s History, and Feminist Theory. The focus on larger built environmental issues beyond known or named architects will serve to address the needs of this large audience. The book will become an invaluable resource for all libraries, academic and public.