Black Turtleneck, Round Glasses - by Karin Hartmann (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

According to a recent
American study, sexism and racism are so widespread in architecture
that there is a distaste for these topics within the branch itself. What
are the reasons for this exclusionary working culture? Even in Germany,
most architecture graduates since the turn of the millennium have been
female--but a large number of conventions and assumptions within the
discipline make it difficult for women to remain in the profession. As a
result, a great deal of highly trained talent is lost. Black Turtleneck, Round Glasses
uses an intersectional feminist perspective to examine the structural
causes that push women--and anyone else who isn't a white cis man--out of
the branch. How can architectural teaching and discourse as well as the
industry's self-image become more diverse? Where are the experiences of a
pluralistic society missing from the built environment? How can we
bring about cultural change in planning and architecture?

Featuring an interview with the Dutch architect Afaina de Jong

About the Author

Karin Hartmann is an architect and an author as well as associate member of the Bund Deutscher Architektinnen und Architekten (BDA). She researches, writes, and speaks on building culture and intersectional feminism. Since 2013 she has initiated artistic and architectural interventions in the urban fabric of Paderborn and written for both industry publications and her own blog. From 2016 to 2021 she was a policy officer at the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR), and she has worked as a freelancer and for Baukultur Nordrhein-Westfalen since 2021.