One of the many negative legacies of the so-called Starchitect system is the relegation of many women architects/designers to a secondary status, with their husbands/partners receiving the bulk of attention and accolades for work that was developed in tandem.
A brief but insightful ArchDaily article addresses this legacy. The article is good, but I was a little surprised that Anne Tyng, who was Louis Kahn’s professional and romantic partner, was not mentioned. (One of the highlights of my graduate school experience at the GSD was hearing Anne Tyng speak shortly before her death in 2011.)
One has to wonder what the architecture profession has lost due to its suppression of women and its cult of the individual genius. As architecture faces a series of crises, including the global climate crisis, perhaps it’s about time for the profession to listen to female voices. After all, preliminary data suggest that female led countries, including Germany and New Zealand, have significantly outperformed male led countries in their response to COVID-19. Perhaps the architecture profession could learn something from that?