To celebrate Women’s History Month this year we reviewed our own work through a feminist lens, as part of our Conference Day Thursday at Four session. We wanted to focus on how taking this approach could lead to more equitable placemaking and urban design, where safety, children and accessibility for all are prioritised.

After my introduction and overview of this complex topic, our office coordinator, Negin Namdar, guided us through existing ‘gender mainstreaming’ projects. She first introduced Vienna’s pioneering gender-sensitive initiative, Frauen-Werk-Stadt - a 357-home development completed in 1997, designed exclusively by women and centered around women's daily lives and experiences. Next, she highlighted Barcelona’s pedestrian-friendly superblocks, which prioritize people - families, the elderly, and children - over cars.

Associate architect Rebecca Lee then brought us back to London, with a refresher on key recommendations and insights from recent gender-inclusive design guidelines - the London Legacy Development Corporation’s handbook Creating Places that Work for Women and Girls and This is for the Majority, published last year by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

Architect Nina Virdi emphasised how an intersectional approach, taking protected characteristics into account – neurodivergence for example - is key to equitable design. She identified three key themes integral to gender-inclusive design: accessibility, safety, and a care-centred approach.

We then split into groups for partner Sarah Eastham’s workshop – persona-led urban design. Sarah allocated characters to each PTE staff member: fictional local residents and neighbourhood visitors with diverse lived experiences and priorities. Our colleagues were asked to imagine a day in their lives at one of our schemes – from Riba award-winning Dover Court and City Park West in Chelmsford, to Eastman Village, East Square in Basildon and Coronation Square, which is nearing completion in Leyton - and what we might redesign to improve their experience.

Lighting, navigation, play on the way, overlooking, and inter-generational and affordable housing were key topics of discussion. Using these insights we plan to create our own gender-inclusive design checklist to help shape our projects in the future.

Oh – and we expanded our library too – with 100 Women: Architects in Practice by Monika Parrinder, Naomi House, Harriet Harriss, and Tom Ravenscroft. Great book!