Centre for Alternative Technology, which was started by a group of volunteers in an abandoned slate quarry in 1974 with a single building during the worst fuel crisis.
Now runs courses in architecture and building including an M Arch in sustainable design.
@centreforalternativetechnology@cymru
#sustainable #design #construction
On #internationalwomensday I’m pleased to be part of two initiatives by women, for women and with women!
First, the premiere of the documentary ‘Transnational Narratives: A Documentary Celebrating South Asian Women in Architecture’ by Professor Igea Troiani, Mamuna Iqbal, PhD, Paula Roush and Rime Tsujino at the Fundació Mies van der Rohe (the Barcelona Pavilion designed by Mies Van Der Rohe) tomorrow, 9th March.
Filmed across India, Pakistan and the United Kingdom, it gives voice to architects of South Asian origin. Along with me are featured Chitra K Vishwanath Architect, Sarah Khan, Fauzia Husain Qureshi, Sajida Vandal and Neelum Naz. The film ‘explores professional paths shaped by migration, activism, sustainability, and the struggle for access and recognition in patriarchal contexts.’
Secondly, I’m honoured to be featured with a full page entry for the Bloomsbury Publishing Plc The Bloomsbury Global Encyclopaedia of Women in Architecture 1960–2020, by Lori A. Brown, FAIA and Karen Burns to be published in 2026. My entry is written by Manijeh Verghese, and covers my work before 2020 alongside 38 British women and over 1000 women globally. I’ve also written a small entry for BHAG- the Bengali Housing Action Group (Bengali meaning Bangladeshi here) in the 1970s. It was the first ever self initiated activist movement in the UK that led to better and safer social housing.
@womeninarchuk@southasianheritagemonth_uk
#SouthAsia #womenarchitects #housing #socialhousing
My first book, Architecture For Rapid Change and Scarce Resources @routledgearchitecture , was published on 14th February 2012. It was written for students who were studying that course but gradually I started getting emails from others who had read it and liked it. A few years later, perhaps in 2016, I sent a copy to Barack Obama, at the White House. His wife had said in an interview that he took ages to read anything even if he did, so I was prepared for a long wait or no response at all. During Covid 2020, I heard back from a person at the White House that she really liked the book. Whether the President had not passed it on to her without reading it, I’ll never know. I was chuffed to hear that the book had been adopted for design courses in the US. There was a reprint of the book that year.
But the main story here is the cover of the book. The book cover was designed by my ex-student, Bára Šafářová, Ph.D., using one of my art works. Soon after the book was commissioned, I had suffered a stroke and was unable to write. This incident had happened in Venezuela where I had taken my students on a visit. So I decided to paint instead. This painting on a Masonite board lying around, was inspired by a photo taken by a woman who lived in the barrio, Julian Blanco. I had distributed disposable cameras and asked people to take photos of their favourite subjects as a means of engagement and understanding of their lives. Her photo showed the El Evila mountains and La Bombilla, an informal settlement in Caracas. It was also my favourite view during my time there. Painting helped me heal.
The events last month reminded me of the wonderful people I had met there and the many friends I have made, who have remained in touch. The places in the news reports weren’t just names to me- they were places I had visited and even taken my children on later visits.
#climatecrisis #ecofeminism #venezuela #architectureforrapidchangeandscarceresources
Interface 2026! Where architecture education meets architecture practice. Organised by the education team led by @byjennyrussell@riba
As the Board trustee for Education and Professional development, I was delighted to give a welcome address to those who gathered at @kingstonuniversity Town House.
The building received the Stirling prize in 2021. It is designed by @graftonarchitects led by two women architects. It is the first building on the British mainland designed by Grafton. The hope, said Yvonne Farrell, who with Shelley McNamara founded Grafton, was to create a ‘social spiral’ rising up the building, to allow the ‘kind of abrasion’ of different people doing different things, which ‘is what a university is’ in an interview in 2020.
#university #design #education #architecture #womeninarchitecture
Sneak peak at the new @riba temporary offices at @thebma with rooms named after women architects!
A good move 😉
@womeninarchuk
#womeninarchitecture #womenarchitects #namesmatter
Speaking at the annual Biophilia conference organised by the wonderful and appropriately named @vanessachampion !
As an architect, I have promoted building with natural materials and nature since I set up my practice in 1993. In 2010, I set up a small charity @charushila_org which has worked in the UK and internationally. The kitchen garden projects promote food security, sustainability, connection with nature and use waste materials. Our projects have helped people with mental and physical disabilities and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The word Biophilia might have been coined in the 1970s but all spiritual traditions have perceived the connection between humans and nature. The Buddhist phrase in particular, Esho Funi, means oneness of person and environment while the practice of ‘forest bathing’ which arose in Japan, benefits people mentally and physically.
#biophilicdesign #buddhism #nature #foodsecurity #zerowaste #forestbathing #biophilia #health #connectionwithnature
Lights, camera, action! Busy with promoting the cause and remedies of damp and mould in social housing on television and radio!
Awaab’s law came into force on 27th October 2025. The legislation came after a five year campaign following the death of two year old Awaab Ishak in Rochdale, greater Manchester from prolonged exposure to damp and mould. I was asked whether architects would face consequences for poor design. Like the aftermath of the Grenfell tragedy, I think this will have consequences for designers, specifiers,and landlords. Since this legislation appears to have fallen more softly than the BSA, designers aren’t thinking about it too much and trade press coverage has been poor. But it will have serious consequences for housing design and specifications.
#housingdesign #awaabslaw #healthandsafety #architecture #design #dampandmould #architects
Launch of the Gender Equity report by @fawcettsociety and @riba at the House of Commons hosted by MP Sara Gibbons who trained and worked as an architect.
Fantastic to catch up with people I haven’t seen for some time! Though the report makes sobering reading (I’ve been the RIBA Board sponsor for it and helped it along)!
@womeninarchuk@kudzaimatsvai@blackfemarc@fame_collective@leedsrobbie
#womeninarchitecture #report #womenarchitects #womenempowerment #womeninspiringwomen
