Aston, H., Crompton, E., 2019.

PRAXXIS: Always Personal, Always Political

Using the feminist design atelier PRAXXIS at the Manchester School of Architecture these three position statement posters will explore the extent to which a research-led atelier within one of the largest UK University can subvert and interrogate architectural education from a critical gendered standpoint. The Atelier aims to challenge normative practice by questioning current working cultures, suggesting who is missing and making space for those absent from spatial practice. We claim that architectural education and research can be a transformational activity for students, staff and researchers, and we believe design is a transformational tool which can challenge existing systems. We will use the following three themes to illustrate the creation of a research led collective and our developing pedagogical methods - in both BA3 and the M.Arch, to challenge institutional and societal structures.
* We claim that architectural education is a transformational activity for both students and staff. Created as a platform and safe thinking space, where prominence is given to the production of both personal and political projects.
* The atelier has developed a project roadmap as a tool for critical self-reflection so that each student can identify, unlearn and re-learn feminist tactics and ways of doing architecture. The roadmap recognises the student as an individual reflective practitioner where projects are situated globally, nationally and locally.
* As a way of challenging normative practice, we ask the students to consider who is 'around their table', suggest who is missing and make space for those absent from spatial practice.