History rewritten: UCPH project restores missing women to architecture

Quick — name a Danish architect. Struggling? You’re not alone.

Some of you, dear readers, might mention Arne Jacobsen or Jørn Utzon. But do you know Agnete Petersen? Or Anne-Marie Rubin?

Most of you will likely answer no — and this is precisely the point of the communication project Bring to Light, hosted at the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH). It has a simple mission: To get the women in architectural history onto the most accessible digital medium of our time — Wikipedia.

Leading the initiative is Svava Riesto, professor of landscape architecture history and theory at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH). Through a previous research project, she became aware that a number of women had been edited out of history.

Through our research, it has become clear to us that there are many women who helped shape modern Denmark who were simply not written into history.

Svava Riesto, professor of landscape architecture history

»Together with my colleague Henriette Steiner and a team of researchers, I have been working on the project Women in Danish Architecture 1925–1975 for quite some time. We looked into which women were active in architectural fields in Denmark during the 20th century,« says Svava Riesto, and continues:

»Through our research, it has become clear to us that there are many women who helped shape modern Denmark who were simply not written into history. They have designed major architectural works and influenced our surroundings in many other significant ways.«

Take Agnete Petersen (1916–2000), for example, who designed the garden surrounding the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. Or Anne-Marie Rubin (1919–1993), who became the first Danish woman professor in architectural disciplines in 1968.

»Anne-Marie Rubin created many large-scale urban plans, and already in the 1950s she was referred to as one of the most experienced urban planners in Denmark. Yet, she is barely mentioned in the literature on architectural history. We’ve changed that in our research — and now she’s also been added to Wikipedia,« says Svava Riesto.

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A vicious circle

Several Danish women architects were added to Wikipedia on 15 May, when the Bring to Light project hosted its first Wikipedia edit-a-thon. Anne-Marie Rubin and several others were included — and the writing continues in Danish, Italian, English, and Japanese, according to Svava Riesto.

»We’re an international workplace and study environment, so we’ve been fortunate that several volunteers with language skills wanted to help. That’s why it was possible to write entries in multiple languages,« says Svava Riesto, who believes the project matters because Wikipedia currently shows a gender imbalance.

»It’s partly about who it is that spends their leisure time writing up information, and what they consider important,« says Svava Riesto, and adds:

We provide some suggestions based on our own research, but all materials are welcome.

Svava Riesto, professor of landscape architecture history, UCPH

»Often, the problem is also that far less research has been done on women’s history compared to men’s. If there are no existing publications on the history you want to add, your entry won’t be accepted on Wikipedia. So it becomes a vicious circle.«

But now, with her team having published works on women in architectural history, Svava Riesto sees an opportunity to shift Wikipedia’s gender balance.

»We’ve received funding from the Dreyer Foundation, and we’ve partnered with the volunteer organisation Wikimedia Denmark to host these edit-a-thons,« she says.

Everyone is welcome to join in.

»You don’t need experience with Wikipedia or architectural history — we’ll guide you through what to write and how. Just show up. And if you want to write about something other than architecture, you’re more than welcome,« says Svava Riesto, and adds:

»We provide some suggestions based on our own research, but all materials are welcome.«