Part W, with support from Moda Living, is seeking to recognise the significant and groundbreaking contributions of women to the built environment in London with a printed map – Women’s Work: London map. The action group is calling for people to suggest projects for the map via social media as an action for International Women’s Day today (8 March 2022) and continuing throughout the month of March during Women’s History Month (1 to 31March).
Part W is inviting suggestions for built projects in Greater London where a woman or women have played a pivotal role in its design development, conservation, commissioning or construction. These women could be architects, engineers, placemakers, landscape architects, designers, commissioners, conservationists, activists, community groups, citizens, etc.
In 2021,, Part W produced an initial map of 20 projects that was included in the exhibition How We Live Now: Reimagining Spaces with Matrix Feminist Design Co-operative. Projects included the Jagonari Women’s Centre led by feminist collective Matrix, Waterloo Bridge built by female construction workers, and Dawson’s Heights social housing designed by architect Kate Macintosh. Part W now are launching this open call for nominations to expand on that first step and gather a diverse and intersectional range of projects. New suggestions should be for schemes that are realised and still exist in built form.
Participants are invited to make a suggestion and join in on social media by tagging @PartWCollective with #WomensWorkLondon. Posts should include an image of the project and why it should be on the Women’s Work: London map. The deadline for suggestions is 31March 2022.
Following this, the information will be curated by Part W to form a printed Women’s Work: London map and inform associated educational outreach with schools in London. Not all projects suggested will be able to be included on the physical map but the growing list of suggestions can be viewed in this live document.
Suggestions for UK projects outside of London are also welcome – as Part W is treating this 2022 step for Women’s Work: London as a test project with a view to creating future ‘Women’s Work’ maps for other areas.
Part W are crowd sourcing funding with a starter donation made by Moda Living. Last year, Moda joined forces with Part W to drive gender equality in the property sector. Supporting Part W’s mapping project forms part of Moda’s commitment to diversity and inclusivity in all aspects of the business’s operations, and celebrating diverse, rich London heritage.
Contributions both large and small from built environment companies are welcome to deliver this much needed project. The women-lead group is seeking to raise £4,000 via donations from offices and companies who promote and value women in the built environment sector. Funding will cover project costs, graphic design work and the production of printed maps which – via a ‘buy one, give one scheme’ will see printed maps be sent to schools in and around London with priority given to sending resources to schools where the need is greatest.
“To build the best possible places for communities to prosper in, it’s crucial that the needs of every person within that community are considered, and that there is a diverse range of voices feeding into any placemaking project.
“We’re so proud to be working with Part W on the Women’s Work London Map to educate people and celebrate the fantastic contributions of women from a range of communities to London, and are looking forward to getting out and about the city to see it for ourselves when the map is completed.”
Lydia Whitaker, Marketing Director and Head of Wellbeing, Moda Living
Part W also intends to arrange future walking and cycling tours to visit sites that are selected for the map and this campaign promotes the value of visiting, seeing and exploring projects in real life.
“The final crowdsourced map will be an opportunity to get outside, go and visit these spaces in person and learn more about how women have shaped the city around us. The map will highlight lesser known stories of women’s significant contribution to the city around us, and spark conversations about who is (and is not) involved, represented and recognised in the production of our built environment.”
Alice Brownfield, Chair, Part W
The project: why?
This project seeks to address the huge gap in how projects by women through history are so often missed off digital and printed maps and in archives. It aims to address the fact that throughout history, female-centred design projects has not been granted equal recognition to the work of men via resource packs at school level, in universities, and in precedents that is promoted by architectural foundations and design institutes.
This Part W campaign seeks to proactively celebrate the intersectional work of those who self-identify as women from all backgrounds. It aims to celebrate the diverse design work of all women, Black women, women of colour, members of the LGBTQ+ community and women who have diverse religious beliefs – and offer up examples of built works that can be visited and learned from.
“For too long the work of women in design has been undervalued and the contribution of women has not been accounted for in mapping studies, written texts and in studies that promote role model examples of who designs our cities. This map continues work already begun recording built projects by diverse women in London – our aspiration is to achieve funding and support from others that allow Part W to expand this work UK wide and beyond.”
Zoë Berman, Founder of Part W
