Karin Braitmayer
is the founder and managing principal of Studio Pacifica. Under her leadership and direction, the firm has grown in stature and scope over the 20-plus years. Early in her career, it occurred to Karen that—as an architect and a wheelchair user—it was possible for her to make a unique contribution to the field. Her professional focus on accessibility and her advocacy efforts for inclusion certainly did just that.
Tip
1. Boek: Joan Didion - Slouching Towards Bethlehem
waarom? “This book is neither directly architectural nor strictly feminist. In this collection of essays, Joan Didion offers an intimate and detailed observation of the places she writes about (mostly the cities she lived in California, and sometimes New York). Her physical descriptions are blended with memory, reminding us once again that our perception of space is never neutral. Her writing feels so honest and personal that it almost convinces me that I have experienced being a woman in those cities I have never been to.”
wat en wie? In Slouching Towards Bethlehem (1968) beschrijft Joan Didion hoe Amerika in de jaren zestig uit elkaar valt, en legt ze met scherpe essays de onrust en verwarring van die tijd bloot. Het boek werd uitgegeven via FSG Classics.
2. Boek: Peggy Deamer - Architecture and Labor
waarom? “Architecture is infamously a precarious profession, especially under the false self-employment conditions we face in Belgium. We need to acknowledge it as “work” rather than romanticizing it as “passion", and understand the economic and institutional conditions we work in if we want to take action for a better profession. Architecture and Labor tackles these questions. Peggy Daemer, together with contributing essays, looks at the practice of architecture as labor rather than idealizing it as an abstract artistic or heroic practice, and asks "how can we come up with new organizations and new methods of production?”
wat en wie? In Architecture and Labor (2020) bekijkt Peggy Deamer aan de hand van dertien hoofdstukken het beroep van architect als een verzameling van architecturale werknemers in plaats van als een abstractie. Gepubliceerd door Bloomsbury Press.
3. Boek: Arundhati Roy - The God of Small Things
waarom? “Writer and political activist Arundhati Roy’s first novel, and it’s possibly one of my favorite books ever. I re-read it last year after coming across a secondhand copy, and it is as powerful each time. It tells the tragic story of twins Estha and Rahel, who grew up in Ayemenem in Kerala, India, with the politics, social inequities and the patriarchal system as the background to the story. Roy is trained as an architect, and I think it somehow comes through in the telling of the story, in the way she describes spaces, houses, and rivers, almost as if they embody the boundaries between social classes.
Here is a quote from her: “In buildings, there are design motifs that occur again and again, that repeat; patterns, curves. These motifs help us feel comfortable in a physical space. And the same works in writing, I’ve found. For me, the way words, punctuation and paragraphs fall on the page is important as well; the graphic design of the language.”
I love this connection she makes between writing and architecture. It reminds me of how architecture is also a process of imagination and “narration”. It’s such a joy to read, and I’d recommend not only her fiction, but also her political writings and essays on social and environmental justice.”
wat en wie? The God of Small Things (1997) is de debuutroman van de Inidische auteur Arundhati Roy.
4. Documentaire: Bêka & Lemoine - Living Architecture Series
waarom? “The documentary series by Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine represents the “architectural masterpieces” of some of the world's most famous architects in their everyday use. The movies are humorous in the way they show another point of view on the often idealized architectural object. The first movie of the series, Koolhaas Houselife, is especially entertaining to me. We follow the cleaning lady of Koolhaas's Maison Bordeaux, Guadalupe, as she does her daily chores, carrying a vacuum cleaner around the house, complaining, and sometimes mocking the architect. I find these films strong because they break the image of the architect as the singular author, and instead explore the building after occupation, suggesting that the users also continuously make and remake the space.”
wat en wie? Living Architecture Series (2020) is een documentairereeks door filmmakers Ila Bêka en Louise Lemoine.