About

A+W NZ simply shines the spotlight on women working in the field of architecture, because it so often misses them.

Visibility & Inclusiveness

The core aims of ARCHITECTURE + WOMEN NZ are; visibility - to provide a support system which helps make visible the hard work of A+W NZ members, and inclusiveness - to remove or reduce as many barriers as possible, (class, religion, culture, gender identity etc) working from the strong platform of gender, for the benefit of all those who work in architecture.

A+W NZ is a non-profit Incorporated Society. It was initially founded in May 2011, with the website launch in November 2011. A+W NZ became an Incorporated Society in January 2013 (certificate number 2573642), and Annual General Meetings are held each year in May/June - AGM minutes and financial reports are available.

The purpose of this website is to provide a current database and network of women trained or working in architecture and associated with Aotearoa New Zealand. You may be working within New Zealand or elsewhere in the world, or currently not working in the architectural field. (Joining our free Database may be a good way for you to stay connected to the architectural community while not practicing.) Whatever your relationship to architecture, your information counts to us, and we would like to help keep you connected and visible.

Individuals are encouraged to upload their details to build the growing A+W NZ Database. Watch the pie chart on the Home page change as more join the database. Information collected will create a relevant and important resource of statistical information, displaying how women make architectural lives, whether in the profession or in expanded fields. The 'snapshot' of the data in September 2013 contributed to a national series of exhibitions, and the launch of our publication Snapshot 500 in 2013. (For documentation of the exhibitions, see the Articles and Exhibition sections.) It also allows for the many diverse working lives of women trained in architecture to become more visible, one of the key aims of the organisation.

Following the success of the original 1993 exhibition "Constructive Agenda" the A+W NZ Exhibition 2013 was held to mark the passing of 20 years since that event. It provided another snapshot of the activities of women in architecture, so that the issues of what has changed, and what hasn't, since that event can be seen. A publication, Snapshot 500, accompanied the four exhibitions, held in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown.

The relationship of Architecture + Women changes throughout the decades, as recent research by Professor Errol Haarhoff, Paola Boarin and Natalie Allen from the Auckland University Architecture School, has indicated. We can also compare the New Zealand situation with Australian statistics, and are lucky to have access to excellent data and analysis published by (New Zealander) Gill Matthewson for Parlour.

Wherever, whenever and however you work - we want you to be a part of A+W NZ. The organisation is free and accessible, if you meet the three criteria (listed below in the Rules, 2.0) then please upload your profile onto our website. We will keep you updated with news and events via our monthly email newsletter. Check out our Mentoring Page and social media pages as well, links are under 'Networks' of this website.

A+W NZ is a radical and inventive organisation, which seeks to remove social and professional barriers through the design of its many activities and platforms.

(Please note that all information on each A+W NZ Database profile page is controlled by the person who created it, A+W NZ cannot accept responsibility for misrepresentation.)