Author(s): Matrix

Design | Architecture | Feminism

Timely re-issue of the groundbreaking manifesto for feminist architecture Making Space is a pioneering work first published in 1984 which challenges us to look at how the built environment impacts on women's lives. It exposes the sexist assumptions on gender and sexuality that have a fundamental impact on the way buildings are designed and our cities are planned. Written collaboratively by the feminist collective Matrix, tthe book provide a full blown critique of the patriarchal built environment both in the home and in public space, and outline alternative forms of practice that are still relevant today. Making Space remains a path breaking book pointing to possibilities of a feminist future. Some authors worked for the London-based Matrix Feminist Architect's collective, an architectural practice set up in 1980 seeking to establish a feminist approach to design. They worked on design projects--such as community, children and women's centres. Others were engaged in building work, teaching and research. The new edition comes with a new introduction examining the context, process and legacy of Making Space written by leading feminists in architecture.

Review: Matrix defined feminist architectural practice in twentieth century Britain: their influence however, resonated globally. They achieved this through publishing the first clear articulation of feminist design theory in Making
Space. -- Chris Wall, University of Westminster
Matrix has exerted a long-lasting international influence through their 1984 book Making Space. -- Dr Karen Burns, University of Melbourne
..the work of Matrix expanded the discipline's reach. Their work continues to inspire so many of us today. -- Prof Lori Brown, Co-founder of ArchteXX Syracuse University

Author Biography: Matrix Feminist Design Co-operative was set up in 1980 as an architectural practice and a book group that grew out of the Feminist Design Collective. They were one of the first architectural groups in Britain to take an overtly feminist stance in their way of working and designing, and in the projects they took on. Although there were as many as twenty members of the collective, initial members include Frances Bradshaw, Susan Francis, Barbara McFarlane, Anne Thorne, Julia Dwyer, Jos Boys and Benedicte Foo.