WOMEN WHO BUILD was established in 1995 as a debate and meeting Forum. The idea, spontaneous and intuitive in nature was born during a New Opportunities for Women (NOW) course in Toledo, Spain, financed under the European Community (EU). It was then, when a group of women architects from Madrid (Gloria Chacón, Genoveva Christoff, Ana Estirado, Cristina García-Rosales & Isabel Navarro) decided to join forces and address why as professionals, integrated and committed to the field of Architecture was not enough to create a social impact.
The name was chosen to enbody all that is positive in human action, which means to build and not destroy. We joined the words: "women" and "build" to establish a symbolic parallelism between our identity, work and our philosophy of life. Therefore, our name became a statement of intention.
As a starting point we made an open call to all women architects living in Spain; this call was spread across the country to all Architecture Orders. More than two-hundred professionals women architects responded with an interest to form part of a cultural project that advocated for women and architecture.
Through time this project has grown and developed with the help and support of Institutions and Organizations associated with space, culture and areas of social necessity, groups which understood the importance of valuing the visions of women in respect to their contribution in the field of architecture and believing in their capacity to awaken new and unique areas of architectural interest.
Lucía Cano. Apartments EMV. Las Rosas. Madrid