archint event no. 2, presentations and discussion, © Photo: Zuzana-Markéta Macková, 2025
archint at BHROX 2025: “Women in architecture after 1945 in Czechoslovakia and Germany”
Part of the Women in Architecture (WIA) Festival 2025
How have the working conditions of female architects in the Czech Republic (Czechoslovakia) and Germany evolved from the post-World War II period to the present day? What works and legacies have female architects left behind? These questions are at the center of the second evening of the newly launched series archint at BHROX, which takes place as part of the Women in Architecture (WIA) Festival 2025.
The panel event “Women in Architecture after 1945 in Czechoslovakia and Germany” explores the professional conditions and architectural contributions of female architects in the Czech Republic (formerly Czechoslovakia) and Germany – from the post-war period to the present.
Two keynote lectures open the historical perspective:
- Elke Krasny, Professor of Art and Education at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, feminist cultural theorist, urban researcher, curator, and author. Her internationally recognized work focuses on social and ecological justice, care practices in architecture, and the effects of urbanism in today’s global context. Krasny co-curated the exhibition and publication “Critical Care: Architecture for a Broken Planet” (with Angelika Fitz; MIT Press, 2019).
”From East to West: Rethinking Architectural History Through Feminist Lenses
In her keynote, Elke Krasny explores how we write the history of architecture today, and why it matters. She focuses on questions of justice in knowledge production, especially how gender influences which stories are told—or left out. Reflecting on the shifting political and ideological narratives that have shaped our understanding of architecture in both East and West, under communism and capitalism, she calls for a more grounded and inclusive approach. Drawing from feminist thought, she advocates for telling complex, local, and sometimes messy stories—about building, using, caring for, or even tearing down architecture—in order to challenge the dominant, often exclusionary versions of architectural history.” Elke Krasny
- Helena Huber-Doudová, Curator of the Architecture Collection at the National Gallery in Prague, presents the professional conditions of Czech female architects after 1945 based on her research as part of the project “Women in Architecture 1945–2000”, developed in cooperation with the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (UMPRUM). The project documents and interprets the work and legacy of Czech female architects in social and political contexts, including an online architects database (www.zenyvarchitekture.cz/en).
”In her keynote, Helena Huber-Doudová, curator of the Architecture Collection at the National Gallery Prague (NGP) presents key findings from a study on career trajectories and works of Czech women architects between 1945 and 1989. It was a part of a groundbreaking research Women in Architecture in Czech Republic 1945-2000, developed in the NGP in cooperation with the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague and supported by the Czech Science Foundation.
The presentation also features the research database zenyvarchitekture.cz (https://zenyvarchitekture.cz/en), a result of a team effort, which maps 105 biographies of postwar Czech women architects, including a list of works and their major architecture and design projects, offering new perspectives for historiography, collecting practices, and the architectural canon.” Helena Huber-Doudová
Following the lectures, a panel discussion brings together representatives from the Czech and German architectural scenes to discuss historical findings, current challenges, and the strengthening of cross-border networks.
Panel Participants:
- Elke Krasny, Professor, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, feminist cultural theorist, urban researcher, and curator
- Helena Huber-Doudová, Curator of the Architecture Collection at the National Gallery Prague
- Markéta Zdebská, First Vice President of the Czech Chamber of Architects (ČKA) and head of the Equality Working Group
- Ursula Müller, Head of the Architecture collection, Berlinische Galerie – Museum of Modern Art, Photography and Architecture, with a short presentation on the current exhibition “ Comrades and team players: Women who built Berlin, capital of the GDR”
- Susanne Sturm, Dipl.-Ing. Managing Partner at CKRS Architektengesellschaft, Member of the Representative Assembly of the Berlin Chamber of Architects (AkB) for the BDA
- Elke Duda, Architect, Co-founder of n.ails e.V. – Berlin Women Architects & Planners Network,Initiator of the WIA Festival 2021, Member of the Advisory Board for WIA25
- Marcela Steinbachová, MgA. PhD., Architect and Founder of the festivals Den Architektury / Day of Architecture and Film a architektura / Film and Architecture – with a 2025 focus on female perspectives in architecture and the city
The event offers an opportunity to build bridges between research and practice and to engage in dialogue about the professional and societal image of female architects in both countries.
Moderators:
Simona Binko and Robert K. Huber
The event was consulted and developed with Helena Huber-Doudová.
Registration:
Please register via Eventbrite.
Event language: English
The Women in Architecture (WIA) Festival 2025 will also feature two complementary events:
A) In-depth workshop for professionals on 24.06.2025, 14:30
The workshop will take place in the afternoon before the evening event and is thematically linked to the main topic “Women Architects after 1945 in Czechoslovakia and Germany ”. Participation is only possible for registered experts, please register via this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd7uvrCCWrlkS3J-LYKtpxhRNflspBB-sekdbDessURuALhUQ/viewform
B) Dialogical guided tour through the exhibition “Comrades and team players: Women who built Berlin, capital of the GDR” by Katharina Deppisch, Berlinische Galerie and Helena Huber-Doudová, National Gallery Prague, on July 7, 2025 at 14:00
In cooperation with the Berlinische Galerie, National Gallery Prague, Czech Centre Berlin and BHROX, a part of the series archint at BHROX. The guest speaker will be Helena Huber-Doudová, who will contribute with the Czech perspective.
About the archint at BHROX series
archint at BHROX is an initiative of BHROX bauhause reuse and the Czech Center Berlin to promote transnational dialogue on building culture, architecture, urban development, and art in public spaces between Germany and the Czech Republic.
The series is implemented in cooperation with and supported by the Chamber of Architects Berlin (AkB), the Czech Chamber of Architects (ČKA), the National Gallery Prague, and other partners. Furthermore, the series is a milestone project of the transnational “ETOM NEB Lab” within the framework of the “New European Bauhaus” (NEB) and the “ETOM – European Triennial of Modernism” network, which promotes exchange on the legacy and future of trans-European modernism, with the participation of around 40 organizations from 15 countries.
This project is supported by Deutsch-Tschechischen Zukunftsfonds.
