Before there was “Women in Architecture” (Shape the Conversation, on going now and for the next three weeks, exhibits and events organized and produced by AIA Austin, designed to increase awareness of the breadth of women designers in the built environment), there was a group, self-styled, called “Women in Architecture” in Austin. We spoke to two members of the early “guerilla” group, Emily Little and Heather McKinney, about their work and architecture.
Heather H. McKinney, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C, is founding principal of the firm McKinney York. She attended the University of Pennsylvania where she earned a Masters of Architecture. She opened her firm in Austin more than 30 years ago. Heather is a former President of the Texas Society of Architects.
MA: “How diverse is the working environment today compared to when you opened your practice?”
Heather McKinney: “The year I started at Penn, the class comprised only 25% women, the year before only 3% and the year prior to that just 1%. Architecture programs were not offered in many women’s schools and male schools did not admit women to architecture programs. Back then, you needed to grow a thick skin, to deal with youth bias, sex bias and industry bias.”
MA: “Has that changed?”
Heather McKinney: “Women still have enormous hurdles as their lives are complicated. Taking time out to raise children is challenging because of the necessity to keep pace with building and digital technology and software and on-going education. But the world today is more diverse and there are different ways to collaborate, and many women architects specialize in a field that affords them greater flexibility to accomplish all their goals.”
MA: “Did you have a mentor?”
Heather McKinney: “At Penn, Anne Tyng was an inspiration but she was tough, insisting that we work harder, try harder, in order to compete with the realities of what was then a predominantly male profession. She is best known for having collaborated with Louis I. Kahn for 29 years, but her contribution has been largely overlooked. Dallas architect Frank Welch was also a Mentor, I met him when we were both working in Boston.”
MA: “Do you think there is such a thing as ‘feminine’ architecture?”
Heather McKinney: “There are buildings with what are considered ‘feminine’ attributes, con-textural and approachable, but then there are the buildings created by Zaha Hadid, that make one’s heart jump. In 20 years of working with my partner, Al York, we almost never disagree about design. Design is not about gender, but I’ve found that clients are less intimidated by a woman architect, that it’s easier to have the kinds of conversations and discussions necessary in building private residences. The idea of architecture being a male environment with a master ego at the top of the firm has dissipated.”
MA: “What is it about architecture that you personally find satisfying?”
Heather McKinney: “You can have an idea, totally ephemeral, with no solidity, and when you finish what you’re doing it can be inhabited and changes how people live, affecting lives. Many people in the world have ideas, but we produce dwellings and have the capacity to transform the environments of the people around us, and that’s a powerful feeling. Architecture also rewards maturation. Architects continue to improve, and it is comforting to know that “better” is ahead. I am inspired by the people I work with, and how we look for the opportunity for design, even in the smallest project, because we always look to build in beauty.”
Emily Little, FAIA, of the firm Clayton & Little studied cultural anthropology at UT Austin and spent a brief time in New York before returning to her native Austin, attending school and graduating with a Masters of Architecture. She has won 10 Heritage Society Awards and has been a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation since 1979.
MA: “How are things different and how have things changed since you were studying architecture?”
Emily Little: “I think there is more camaraderie now and the faculties at schools are better balanced. It’s not so easy to get away with sexism or exclusion, or being humored or dismissed. The world is more receptive to female attributes. Once you make every effort to step up, to step in, people see that and respect it. If you encounter an attitude of resistance, you figure out a way in.”
MA: “What made you change from a career in cultural anthropology to architecture?”
Emily Little: “I needed a job, and I had a natural facility for drawing, and I was interested in buildings. But I think everyone should study cultural anthropology, it’s a platform to any career. We’re all alike, in our differences from each other.”
MA: “Your work is focused on historical buildings, has this always been the case?”
Emily Little: “I was fortunate to receive a commission early on in my career working for a property owner who restored buildings. One commission led to another and restoration and renovation formed a basis for my work. A lot of my work is referred by friends of friends. There is something magical in creating something for someone. I like to think of my work as friendly, comfortable, settled in and I aspire to create buildings with integrity and meaning where people feel good and words are not needed to explain the space.”
MA: “Clayton & Little, your firm, has a broader focus.”
Emily Little: “Since Paul Clayton became a partner in 2003, we have taken on many wonderful projects in Austin and beyond, but my focus is on the historical. The history of Austin fascinates me and I like the idea of keeping it alive and pushing that history into the future.”
MA: “Who has inspired you?”
Emily Little: “The Louisiana architect A. Hays Town was an influence, and I admire the work of Zaha Hadid.”
MA: “Is it fair to say that you design particular homes for particular people?”
Emily Little: “That is true, but I am also interested in in-fill, in back yard houses, in the spaces in between and relevancy to location.”
Join Emily, Heather and other distinguished women architects in Shape the Conversation, with lunch time speakers and featuring three exhibitions highlighting the work of women architects throughout the years, across the nation and in Travis County. Women in Architecture will also include happy hours hosted by women-led and local architecture firms. Donations raised during exhibits and events will support a leadership development program in development for all AIA Austin members and associates. For more information: www.aiaaustin.org/committee/women-architecture
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