GENDER IN ARCHITECTURE.
Existence of expression gender in architecture possible misunderstood the people, namely as understanding discriminating a scheme as woman or man own property. This understanding besides wrong, also implication will make to narrow in have masterpiece. Its impact, many people opposing effort research smelling gender in the field of architecture, or look into side eye. Though, goodness confessed by and also do not, that physically woman, born by there is difference in the form of body, potency, with the man, taking example in potency pregnancy, bearing, suckling, strong-bigness of body muscle etc. But the things is not the intention of conversing of gender in architecture. Also not aim to solely to look for the quota voice the woman in following share in architecture problems, to avoid a masterpiece referred by a man architecture and or on the contrary, woman architecture. Even though might be there are different impression from a architecture masterpiece, result of from touch of a man architect with the touch of a woman architect.
In fact, target of this discussion is to look for related/relevant among social psychology, environmental psychology, psychology of architecture or psychology of place (Canter, 1977) with the bases are understanding of architecture and psychology gender.
So, third above the mentioned is differ to sit its problems. first, tend to to have the character of the possessive, narrow, tight, pragmatic; secondly, tend to the talking of equivalence gender in vulgar meaning, textual; and third matter of expression gender in architecture, tend to have the character of to huddle up, opened, contextual and wide because comprehended as, effort to explore, understanding of perception, cognition of each woman and also man in answering to (even plan and design) a good masterpiece design of architecture and also interior. Which more related/ relevant to problems of psychology of women and also men, concerning, relation/ link]/ interaction among them ( good social) among man to woman, man to man or woman to woman; How the ‘ catching’, ‘ approximating’, mapping, like what perception, attitude and their response action when staying in a space scope of built environment (made in).
Efficacy from comprehending characteristic of a woman, a group of women, one man, a group of man, a woman with a man, a group of woman and man, if have interaction to with an environment of made in (architecture masterpiece / space) is represent the ideal efficacy. Like word Alexander (1977) that every part of an environment, made by mixture of instinct of man and woman, masculine and feminine balances,…So, besides accommodating problem gender, understanding which emerge from this understanding, that a architecture masterpiece is not masterpiece which dictator’s pattern, non typical masterpiece ever leading or searching separate name, non egoist one , but an architecture masterpiece is which populism, democratic, open minded, and dynamic, conducive, adaptive, accommodative as according to perception, and also in perspective is good, both the architect/ planner and also society of all consumer. With this effort, hopefully this matter can bring back the image of architect role as ‘facilitator’, moderator, dynamist and also player in a process of planning and architecture scheme.
Jogyakarta- Indonesia, February, 5th 2008.
Lidi "Rib" Wilaha, Architect-Researcher “Shopping Mall in Gender", Jogyakarta, 2004.
(mobile phone: +6281578796931)