Author(s): Jane Hall

Architecture | Snips

A ground-breaking visual survey of architecture designed by women from the early twentieth century to the present day

'Would you still call me a diva if I were a man?' asked Zaha Hadid, challenging as she did so, more than 100 years of stereotypes about female architects. A century in which women were refused entry to architecture schools, were denied degrees when they had completed courses, a century in which even now, women occupy just ten per cent of the highest-ranking jobs in architecture firms.

In contrast, Breaking Ground is a pioneering, even essential, celebration of incredible architecture designed by women. Featuring more than 150 architects and buildings, and spanning the last 100 years, Breaking Ground is both a glorious visual manifesto and a timely record of the extraordinary contribution female architects have made to the profession.

Review: 
"Breaking Ground: Architecture by Women marks and celebrates women's roles in the architectural world, and presents a glorious visual manifesto of more than 180 exceptional buildings from around the world."-ELLE Decoration
"Breaking Ground illustrates a diverse range of styles... Hall has selected striking images of prominent buildings... [and] less widely known gems stand alongside them... A compelling and visually powerful introduction to the strength and variety of the groundbreaking work of over a century of outstanding female architects."-Morning Star newspaper
"Features more than 200 architecturally significant buildings around the world and celebrates the trailblazing women who designed them."-Houzz
"...The breadth is impressively wide, shining a welcome spotlight on lesser-known names. Recent vocal campaigns have helped to highlight overlooked contributions of many women, from Denise Scott Brown to Madelon Vriesendorp, and this book helps expand the canon."-RIBA Journal online
"Jadwiga Grabowska-Hawrylak, Raili Pietila, Flora Ruchat-Roncati - just three of the many names I hadn't even heard of, but about whom I'm now compelled to find out more, after flicking through the new Phaidon book, Breaking Ground... [and] there are many more such discoveries in this new book... The breadth is impressively wide, shining a welcome spotlight on lesser-known names."-RIBA Journal
"We're not at all surprised that some of the world's most impressive structures were designed by women architects. This new visual survey celebrates their groundbreaking projects."-Architectural Digest Online/Clever
"For the Grand Designs disciple."-ELLE
"Breaking Ground celebrates women in architecture from the early 20th century through the present day with a detailed account of over 200 masterpieces around the world. Quotes from the likes of Eileen Gray and Elizabeth Diller provide inspiration from women of the past, present, and future."-The Architect's Newspaper
"A quick survey of the wide-ranging influence of women in the field, the book is a good jumping-off point that prompts deeper exploration."-Architectural Record
"Breaking Ground is an ideal gift for a young woman unsure of a career direction that might bridge art and science. Hopefully this book will inspire more efforts to finally give women in architecture their just place at a welcome table."-ArchNewsNow
"Eye-opening."-Metro
"A celebration of some of the greatest female architects of the past century, Breaking Ground showcases the many profound contributions that women have made within the discipline."-Broadway World
"A visual manifesto of over 200 richly illustrated structures by seminal figures and contemporary icons."-Azure Online
"Breaking Ground reevaluates the authorship of buildings that have been wrongly attributed to men, and attempts to disentangle the often complex working relationships of architectural husband-and-wife teams."-The BBC
"The often neglected achievements of female architects throughout the 20th century are celebrated here in 200 eye-opening images."-The Metro
"Breaking Ground dispels the notion that projects by women have a particular aesthetic. There is no uniting thread of curved forms or soft lines through the projects chosen; the only commonality is the quality of the work presented. It makes this book deserving of a place on the coffee tables and bookshelves of many architects: men and women alike."-Canadian Architect

Author Biography: Jane Hall is the inaugural recipient of the British Council Lina Bo Bardi Fellowship (2013) and a founding member of Assemble, the London-based, Turner Prize-winning collective.