On the Tools considers the multiple ways that women have been involved in the production of buildings throughout history as both architects and builders. By showcasing examples from medieval Europe to the present day, Jane Hall presents the making of buildings as a feminist issue, from design and construction to maintenance and repair. Highlighting a rich history of women collecting water and sand, mixing mortar, demolishing walls, thatching roofs and digging ditches, the talk will explore an alignment between gender variance and building with organic materials, including hemp, cob, solid timber and straw. Using Assemble's early projects as an example and focusing on natural construction methods, the talk will also explore our interest in a material culture underpinned by heterogeneous genders and queering of building practices.
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Dr Jane Hall is the inaugural recipient of the British Council Lina Bo Bardi Fellowship and founding member of the architecture collective, Assemble, who won the Turner Prize in 2015. She is currently the Director of Studies for Architecture at Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge and a Visiting Lecturer at the Architectural Association (AA) and the Bartlett School of Architecture where she specialises in the intersections of gender and architecture. Jane is the author of two books, Breaking Ground: Architecture by Women (Phaidon, 2019) and Woman Made (Phaidon, 2021), both about the work of women architects and designers globally.
