A letter to Rem Koolhaas

July 16, 2013

Dear Rem Koolhaas,

we have never met, or so it seems. We are a non-relevant group. We are about half of the humanity, maybe more. We are also about 20% of our and your profession, maybe less. We are architects, yet female.

We have seen you signed the retroactive campaign about Denise Scott-Brown’s spoliation of the Pritzker Prize. That made us feel better about the fact that again, a white male in his late 60’s has been given power, this time over the Venice Bienniale. We thought you might help. Maybe not.

We have scrutinized the 2012 edition by your predecessor David Chipperfield and found the number of female participants appallingly low. We though you could do better. But then, someone said you appointed Hans-Ulrich Obrist for the Swiss Pavilion.* **

“Women are the ghosts of modern architecture, everywhere present, crucial, but strangely invisible,” says Colomina. Please make sure we are not side-lined, invisible, marginalized once again at the 2014 Architecture Biennale.

We would like you, for next year’s edition, to say F*ck Old White Men and give space to women in architecture: the talented, unjustly ignored architects, that happened to be female.

Through positive action and representation, we believe gender equality to be fundamental and hope you do too.

Hopelessly yours,

Die Architektin (Verein für)

*edit: Hans Ulrich Obrist, has been named curator of the Swiss Pavilion at next year’s 14th edition of the International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. The choice was made by the biennale jury of Pro Helvetia and not by Mr. Rem Koolhaas.

** Misspelled earlier: Hans-Ulrich Obrist

The list of the jury is here.

die architektin