This is illustrative of one of the excesses of #metoo. The author had clearly and very healthily and commendably moved on from this sordid flashing episode of many years before, yet the “dormant trauma” now reawoke and “came flooding back”.
None of this is to excuse the architect’s exhibitionism and propositioning, which has no place in any profession, and should be addressed. But let’s not assume that every sordid sexual advance or censurable behavior results in lifelong, massive trauma and unrectifiable pain. This working assumption ultimately hurts victims more than perpetrators. We need to keep things in perspective as a society or we will all lose and go off the deep end quickly.
1
Unlike this author, I worked for Richard Meier recently and knew Vivian Lee. I’m unsure what gives the author the right to assume Ms. Lee’s experience is so different than hers or mine...
I wish some enterprising young women had brought a camera with her and taken a picture when he flashed her. Then I wish she printed an enlarged picture of his penis and hung it up next to all of the presentation drawings in his office. Maybe that would get these men to think twice about what they are doing.
5
I couldn’t agree with the thesis of this article. I worked for a startkatect firm for a number of years. At the top of our field are both men (and a very few women) recreating this myth of a lone genius who is entitled to everything that they want in the name of genius. This behavior stems from a broader unequal distribution of power in the profession - similar to film - where the few at the top have the supposed power to make or break a career. The unequal power structure leaves lower level employees vulnerable not just to sexual harassment but general abuse. When I left that star firm I was told by my boss that I would not get any further promotion because the office had a ‘woman problem’. When I reported this comment to HR I was told by HR that when she started in architecture women couldn’t wear pants, so I should feel lucky for the advancements that have happened. It’s truly pathetic how this field with all its advance technology and thinking has offices that operate like it’s the 1950’s. Certainly it’s not all like this, but at the top it’s the norm.
5
Just wondering why Stella was at his home lobby. I wish women would stop going to see these powerful men in hotel rooms and their homes. Just stick to the office. I'm not saying their behavior is great but it's best to protect oneself.
3
@shyamela They are going to his home because it is part of their job. The article described the pipeline from getting an assignment to work on his archive to the fact that his sketchbooks were kept in his home. Clearly this was part of the deceptive process that allowed Richard Meier to conduct himself in inappropriate ways. In fact, I’m sure it was an intentional trap. Women employees are put in a very awkward position if they don’t want to do it or suspect foul play.
6
In my career in the design profession, I met very few male architects who did not seem to be inbued with a near-messaniac sense of self-importance, and I heard many stories from women who worked in the profession. It's really high time the profession began listening to them. Thanks to the NYT for publishing this article.
12
When I read: Why Doesn’t Architecture Care About Sexual Harassment? I honestly thought you meant how architecture enables sexual assault through building designs. Hallways, stairways, door entrances. That sort of thing. I thought "Okay. That's cool." Needless to say, I was a little disappointed upon reading the opinion.
5
For these people, everything is personal. "Architecture" means the personalities in the architecture profession.
Why not strip Meier of his status as an AIA member? Better yet, it should be easy to corroborate these allegations and have him stripped of his professional license and ability to practice architecture.
As an architect who has some appreciation for his work but also thinks he is a pig, not just for this behavior but in general for his pompous attitude, I say: let’s do it.
4
You don’t have to commit a crime to be ejected from a club, Raul. Any number of bad deeds will do the trick.
4
I was with you in disgust of Meier’s behavior after the last three articles, and the continuing bahavior of those around him, but I’m furious about your headline and this thesis “why doesn’t architecture care...” How do you know? Do you even cover architecture?
Ms Lee lost me when she started to promote her own practice by throwing the profession and education itself under the bus. What school didn’t she go to? Did she research every firm across the country? A lot of insinuations and assumptions.
10
Yes, a lot of insinuations. Coyly naming, but not naming, other individuals (woman/supervisor/at firm for 15 years) is a form of doxxing, and should NOT be permitted. It's one thing when that happens on REDDIT chat boards, but I would expect more from the NYT.
Yes, I was not sure if this was an opinion, or an ad.
3
As a registered architect I can confirm that Ms. Lee’s comments about architectural school glorifying suffering is absolutely correct. As a professional, I have sat through countless meetings where I was the only woman in the room and my ideas were discounted (or appropriated by a man at the next meeting). I have worked on projects where I pointed out serious flaws in a design or engineering strategy only to be ignored (I was just “the Girl” in the room”) but later proven correct after construction. My 54-year-old self has walked onto construction sites with a 22-year old male intern only to have all contractor’s questions directed to him.
10
To posit ways of solving systemic issues, do you really expect someone to know every architect, architecture educator, practice and client in the world? That's absurd.
This piece is critical, yes, but also constructive. That’s the point. How can this ugly event be used to construct a better future?
4
"What was he thinking?" Really? He was thinking that he wanted to have sex with you - probably nothing else. Sadly, isn't it that simple?
4
This seems like a run-around to implement "female-friendly" work culture where living to work is discouraged. That's perfectly fine, but many people - probably disproportionally men - thrive in such highly competitive environments.
1
I have practiced architecture for over 20 years and have thankfully never experienced sexual harassment by bosses. Clients, however, are another issue. What I have experienced, and I would posit that most women architects experience, is being ignored, men taking credit for my ideas, being left out of the design boys fraternity, not being invited to meetings, not being credited, etc.
But it’s not all bad. I have been lucky to have some excellent bosses, male and female, who have supported me and given me wonderful opportunities. I have also worked for firms that have a decent work-life balance.
Architecture is still a beautiful profession - let’s celebrate practices that are affecting positive change and doing great work. And hire them instead of the Meiers.
3
Turns out FoxNews isn’t the only propaganda outlet that projects “proof by example” logical fallacies to take down large groups they don’t like (or to rile up and anger readers). Meier is not the architecture profession, as much as the Lazy NYT would like us to believe. He’s a has been from the 80s, nobody’s favorite architect.
The general public used to know how to build and had respect for experts of the craft. Now they are only presented as villains to contrast with heroic politicians.
Either way, it’s proof that our media and politics are toxic — if people are now villianized for working hard and carring about their craft, we might as well pack it up and just get annexed to China.
7
Well written. Well said.
5
I have worked for a small architecture firm for 15 years, and I am the only female employee (I'm just the office manager, so I don't really count). No woman will ever be hired as an architect in this office as long as the current principal architect is in charge. I have put up with a lot of demeaning misogyny over the years, and my choices are either put up with it or leave and try to find another job. There is no one here to whom I can report bad behaviour: the abusive person in the office is my immediate and only supervisor and he signs my paycheques. The other men in the office have always just turned a blind eye to this situation. The only reason I stay is because the other men ensure that I get paid very well for putting up with these working conditions. Is it worth it? I often wonder. Would I advise any young woman to enter the field of architecture? NEVER.
14
I heard something in a movie - that the Swiss people built train tracks over the Alps before there was a train that could make the trip. They must have had faith that the future would bring such a train.
At a time of deepest despair for women we must have faith that our experiences, and our willingness to tell the stories of what happened to us, will someday soon carry us to a better place. We can't go back and we can't give up. We have to do it for ourselves and for everyone that comes after.
9
From my position in the profession, I don’t see much unique about it. Despite the aspirations of it, architecture isn’t above the problems endemic to society. What’s true of architecture is true of the entire design and construction industry; it’s male-dominated and not equitable towards women. If anything, women may find architecture more welcoming than engineering or contracting.
As for the educational experience, sleep deprivation and lack of self-care was the norm when I was a student in the ‘90s too. But again, not unique. Friends who went through law or medical school spoke of the same thing. Architecture’s problems are society’s problems.
Another aspect of this is that nobody goes into architecture because they want to be a HR manager. Administering the firm is an unfortunate set of chores we have to deal with so we can stay in business and get paid. No one is proactive about problematic behavior because it’s the last thing anyone wants to deal with. Problems fester until they can’t be ignored any longer.
Lastly, the vast majority of us do not work for ‘starchitect’ firms. I work in a firm of 300 people and there are no celebrities here. The Richard Meiers of the world enjoy a sense of impunity due to their celebrity and that’s an abnormal psychology the rest of us don’t have occasion to indulge. Maybe I’m unusually fortunate to not work with ego trippers and prima donnas – but I don’t think anyone here feels they have the latitude to abuse co-workers.
7
I am glad to hear that you see better behavior within your consultancy, Joe Bob the III. Maybe someday a man like Meier, at any firm, will be ridiculed and/or confronted immediately, by any colleague, when he attempts to harass. Can you imagine if a woman of similar age and stature did such a thing to a rookie architect? Regardless of her expertise, she knows that she would be cast into the category of mentally ill (as was Mrs. Robinson). Unlike Meier, who thinks that he won't have to pay a price (and for the most part, he's right). This piece and its discussion helps us get a little bit closer to the time where all of us feel emboldened to insist on better behavior from all in the workplace.
2
As a design assistant to a partner in a prominent firm in Dallas in the 1980s, I was explicitly told when I moved into the job that I could expect the boss to harass me and that I was not allowed to object—on pain of losing the position. Architecture has long been known as an ‘old man’s profession’—don’t expect anything to change. Ever.
3
"To really effect change, we need to focus on culture, and where it is solidified — in education." That's where you lost me. At what point did the architecture world get gaslit into believing that it was our fault the popular media only covers the mediocre stars? The architecture world is much bigger than the Ivy League NY scene.
It's not surprising the New York Times' connection to architecture is mostly Ivy League, but most schools are inland, local state schools tied to local production. They mostly reject the NY culture as shallow. Because the pop media doesn't cover the majority of great architecture work happening in the USA anymore, we are led to believe it is our fault.
Many of my favorite architects are great women leaders, but does the NYT even cover architecture anymore? It's ironic that sexual abuse is the only way to be featured in the pop media -- kind of says a lot.
It's also ironic that in this current age the New York Times features a single old white male architecture critic (uneducated in architecture) who neglects to cover the wider world of architecture in favor of top-down bureaucratic narratives that also blame architects for problems that media and politics causes more than covers. Seems like another case of the NYT editors only finding what they are looking for: Trump Pastoral.
5
@Jamie: Since most people have nothing to do with how any building is built, most either care nothing for architecture, or only about safety (every building should stay up even if 2 jet planes fly into it). How a building looks really means nothing, except to architects & snobs. Until architects are also licensed contractors, builders, & engineers, all they do is cartoons. That must be vetted by engineers (often in their employ & know they must ok the most ridiculous builds to keep their jobs). Just listen to the architects interviewed about the Twin Towers in 2001. Then listen to the engineers. When in doubt, show the plans to the best engineer you can afford, not allied with the architect, before you accept them from an architect.
Without testosterone we would still be living in grass huts and the women would still be getting water from a far off well.
6
@Nreb
True, but at least we would not have to deal with sexist architects, so net win right?
3
Generically bilateral sexual harassment is evil. But the attention of the press to it has gone beyond the borders of the "samokritika", as it used to be practiced in bolshevik Russia and Maoist China. As in McCarthy's days of Anti-americanism, all are now guilty of sexual harassment, unless proven innocent.
5
@Tuvw Xyz What do you mean? Women are fed up with being harassed, assaulted, and worse by *some* men who think they have the right to do whatever they want. The number of men who have been accused is a tiny minority of individuals, most of whom have had multiple accusers. No one is saying "all are now guilty." It's disheartening that many men are responding to women's calls for justice with fear for their own skin, as if women were just making this all up.
Where? Buried in the rest of it. What a silly premise. It’s everywhere not more exclusive to any one trade.
5
Sexual harassment is only one of the problems of joining the architecture profession. Add to that the long hours, low pay, back-stabbing, slave-like conditions. And the more famous the firm the worse it is. A recent NY Times article profiled architects who had become pastry chefs. No wonder.
18
Wow, it’s no wonder why politics, media and society is so toxic — the profession that could do the most to help is vilified by the media.
Richard Meier's office has been reliably producing the profession's officially sanctioned style for years--the take no prisoners, any color as long as it's white, if you're not with us you're against us--voice of the schools and voice of the establishment. A style that has struck fear into anyone who considers speaking out against it. And it turns out that the office is abusive. Quelle surprise!
9
@Paul Appleby: Putting what you said more simply: All abuse is not sexual, it just always comes from the powers that be.
The destruction of the #MeTooMovement is only collateral damage of the appointment of Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. The die is cast. The Rubicon has been crossed. Any discussion about the sexual abuse at this point is but sound and fury signifying nothing. Under the new religious court, America is in for at least thirty years of backward evolution toward a second Dark Ages. There is an outside chance, however, for reason to prevail. In the near future, we will program the human mind in the computer based on a "survival" algorithm, which will provide irrefutable proof of how we have tricked this survival program with our ridiculous beliefs about just what is supposed to survive - producing de facto minds programmed for destruction. When we see this, we will begin the long trek back to reason and sanity.
See RevolutionOfReason.com
2
Sorry, but this just sounds like a bitter, jelous person just wanting to hurt a famous architect and to take away his well gained recognition while becoming a "revolutionary". Why to take away this Pritzker? You are blowing this out of proportion? Today is friday, go to a bar, have a drink and chill out your rancor.
16
What did you think the AIA would do? They are a weak and condescending organization that has absolutely no morals or ideas on how to clean this mess up. As long as you pay there fee's they will continue to look the other way. Architects will sell there mothers if it means getting a commission. Keep wishing. Nothing will change.
5
This idea that each individual field needs to have a #MeToo moment baffles me. Of course harassment is pervasive. People (men and women) who have less power have been mistreated, harassed, and assaulted in every field. If we have to go field by field to have an actual reckoning, this will take decades.
I wish we could stop saying "it's X field's #MeToo moment" and just say we finally learned to just treat people with respect, regardless of job, field, sex, race, whatever.
25
Architects have always had the reputation for being insufferable egomaniacs which is one reason why competing skyscraper projects are called ‘weenie wagging’.
14
I am not sure what punishment Ms. Lee expects for her disclosure. The echoes of resentment here are louder than her apparent pursuit for justice. Unlike the Kavanaugh case (which had far more serious allegations with no repercussions), Richard Meier has resigned and the firm has not publicized any new work which makes me believe that commissions have dried up. The ones who really are suffering are the employees who joined the office for the quality of work but have now been dragged into this mess. And to call out the only female partner - Vivian Lee, by name, as being part of the issue, shows you the problem with this piece. I would urge NYT to carefully vet their Opinion pieces before giving people such a big platform to pontificate on.
20
@Starchitect Actually, Richard Meier is responsible for "dragging" his office into this mess and causing his employees to "suffer." If he really cared about his employees his firm would be spun off with new leadership. I think Ms. Lee is looking for an institutional response repudiating his behavior. Such a response is sorely lacking. And for that matter, she has the right to say whatever she wants. That is why they call the section "Opinion" and not "News."
21
So lets see, he's a dirty old man like former Congressman John Conyers.
Thirty lashes! 30 days confinement on bread and water. Next Case.
5
This is a great article in its scope of the problem in the architecture profession. Sexual harrassment is only a symptom of a greater problem which is that of male dominance and the male practice of winning at any costs. As an engineer with 30 years of consulting experience, I can attest that exactly these descriptions of ego-maniacal male behavior in the architecture profession are also alive and well in the engineering profession. To those who say "just suck it up, get another job," or similar, I say -- yes, we women have done that, and it's seriously hurt our financial progress and career advancement. Why is that okay, that our financial progress has to always be limited by this bullying behaviour? The underlying competetive nature that fuels this egregious male behavior towards others in the workplace must be acknowledged as morally wrong. It is the same egregious, bullying behavior that underlies much of male behavior in the US. Women as a group are only one of its victims -- many men allow other men to act as bullies towards anyone in the minority. Hey guys, it's long past time for you to change! You should have to compete just like the rest of us, on the basis of the quality of your work and your contributions, not because you can "beat your chest" the loudest!
18
@Maureen,
"...male dominance and the male practice of winning at any costs."
Baloney! It's not toxic maleness that's the rot here, it's toxic maculinity. I've seen men infect women and equally seen women infect men with this particularly pernicious architectural strain of toxic maculinity. The greatest cruelty I have ever seen in academia was what a woman faculty member put a hapless (male) classmate of mine through. The bottom line is that there are so e very fine, decent, honorable people in the profession but also an inordinate number of malefactors. I spent 40 years in the merchant marine and never saw sailors abuse each other, or an officer abuse a crewmember, as I have seen in architecture. Working and teaching architects would do their profession a great favor by visiting their nearest merchant marine academy and learn something about leadership and teamwork.
8
@Charles Becker very clear you were not a female merchant marine or other service member. They have quite a different story to tell.
You're taking this wacky, creepy flash from long ago way too far. You don't live in a bubble. This looks like a self-serving plug, a bandwagon thing
Just sayin'.
I know a lot of male (and female) architects, all gentlemen. Shouldn't be lumped in with this guy.
22
@Canadian friend - you miss the point. Systems provide scaffolding for this ancient practice. It is a violence, not a sand-box play date. It is institutionalized.
4
@Canadian friend. That's a remarkably undiscerning reply.
Just sayin'.
The essay doesn't look self-serving to me, it suggests rather a victim with enough strength not to give up when her earlier cries of outrage brought minimal responses.
There are always wonderful human beings within structures that are deeply oppressive. I too know some wonderful architects!
But that misses the point. The acceptance of sexual misconduct that has characterized much of our society is embedded in the norms and practices of institutions. If we don't confront that larger culture, real change will be a long time in coming.
7
I have absolutely no doubt about the veracity of this article. However this type of conduct is so widespread that no business, industry etc. is exempt from sexual harassment and related acts. The attack against this conduct needs to broadened to make it a federal crime, hopefully a felony.
6
I work in architecture for a women-run founded high-profile firm. Recently, one of our senior designers (a woman) gave an amazing presentation about this exact issue, and how as a company run by women principals, we have the power to help spark change. Two men in our office sat typing away on their laptops through the presentation.
After, one of the principals messaged the office to say, among other things, that although it was a great presentation, we do not practice “reverse discrimination” and will work with whomever is best. She was attempting to calm the men in our firm, to make them more comfortable, to assure the male-dominated world of architecture that we will not disrupt the patriarchy. It made me (a woman) feel sad, feel her internalized patriarchy that she felt the men’s comfort was so important that she needed to discredit a senior member of the company’s vision of female equality.
So, it comes from the male ranks of power, but it also comes from the women who work to hold those ranks in place.
14
The environment in architecture schools is, as described, a training ground that accustomizes aspiring architects to being psychologically abused. Where this goes and how it develops and expresses later in the career world I don't know because I decided to leave before becoming part of that. The ridiculous, adolescent "starchitect" environment can't be a positive, though.
7
I worked for a "starchitect" in Richard Meier's orbit for one year our of college, and it almost killed me. I saw enough in that year to understand why I had to get out for good (and I did).
Here are three reasons why it's taken so long for #MeToo:
1) The highbrow architecture world celebrates the "individual artistic genius" of principals rather than their offices. Even more so than brands like Penn State or Miramax or the Catholic church, celebrity firms are singularly tied to the image of their leaders. If the leaders are tarnished, the whole house of cards tumbles. This occurs despite the fact that architecture is truly a collaborative profession. Principals abuse their power, and others cover up to keep the house of cards intact.
2) Despite attracting smart, talented people, Architecture relies on a boorish fraternity model to exist. Its youngest members are essentially hazed (worked to death with very little pay, and often harassed) until they can eventually jump to a different firm, where they can now exploit whichever level worker is beneath them. They had to put up with inappropriate behavior and treatment, now it's someone else's turn to do so. It's just part of the job.
3) Top-level architecture firms weaponize the concept that architecture is "a calling." They use this excuse to distract from a myriad of issues, including sexual harassment. The work is what's most important, right? Just ignore whatever happened and focus on the work.
30
@Ben Point 3 is so so right!
3
@Ben A.Well said. This is a bottom up as well as a top down problem.
1
Power, profit, prestige -- they are never given away freely, but almost always taken, and taken by force. Those in power are going to fight hard to maintain their hold, in any field, large or small. And usually, they will employ about any tactic.
The men -- and sometimes the women -- who complain that abused, assaulted, offended women are making too big a deal of a situation like the one described here are part of a social pattern: keep the power and prestige in the hands of the mighty, and keep the women in their place.
Things are changing, but much too slowly -- witness the Kavanaugh/Senate debacle. We need to examine our own souls for why we allow the small dark hearts of powerful white men to intimidate and damage so many women -- and align ourselves with an ethic greater than we have thus far.
6
I think you did the best thing to help the industry by starting your own firm! Starchitects rely on abusing young designers willing to work for low or even no pay for their resume. no wonder the abuse continued beyond having to work 80 hour weeks!
9
As somebody outside of Architecture (and indeed retired and out of the work force) I take away the following: similarities to Charlie Rose and Harvey Weinstein: 1) open bathrobe on their turf: 2) "cult like" power within a profession where women are lead to believe they can hope for a position based on talent and education. So, the young professionals should not be required to "work" at the home of, or on the turf of, the cult like figure, unless accompanied by others. Thirdly, when are these powerful (predatory) guys in their seventies and eighties going to get off the stage?
4
Thanks for writing this. I had the same reaction when I read of the relatively modest response to Meier's behavior in relation to that of a Louis CK, Spacey, Moonves etc. I must admit, as a privileged white male, I have some residual squeamishness and resistance to the persistent uncovering and "punishment" of men who do things like this; as an older person, I was raised in a world where creeps acted like this and you just had to walk away and let them get away with it. It's great and right and correct that people are finally putting an end to this and not letting people get away with it any more. But for people like me who are trying to reckon with and understand it, we need some kind of clear boundary and set of rules for stepping over those boundaries; if the "punishment" is meted out randomly based on different industries or personalities, then how do we communicate this is a serious and real part of our culture now? How can we take it seriously? Offenders in architecture need to be treated the same as offenders in government, entertainment, business, etc., otherwise it undermines the whole movement. Older people like myself, steeped in the old world of "they can get away with it" need to be helped by younger people who have a clear sense of what is wrong with this behavior and be consistent in identifying it.
15
Ms Lee showed courage to speak up against Meier and to hold the architectural community accountable for a prevalent culture of abuse. Yes, maybe some have never experienced or witnessed harassment and abuse in their architectural workplace - lucky them, and kudos to the firms they worked with. And absolutely, not all architects are abusers. But there are enough of them, men and women, especially when they hold principals positions, that make professional life very difficult for their employees.
For those of us who were abused in any form it is insulting and hurtful to hear people defending anyone’s abusive behavior or arguing that abuses do not exist in the architectural profession.
Clients that are critical or difficult zoning boards reviews are professional matters and not the same as being subjected to harassment, unwanted sexual comments, touching, indecent exposure or worse in the workplace.
The lack of empathy and lack of responsibility from peers in the architectural community is the reason why so many victims keep silent.
7
This is a very important article. I am a female architect, and although I have not endured the harassment detailed in this article, I agree wholeheartedly that the grueling lack of work-life balance in school and in the workforce, and the pride taken in punishing your body for your art, is probably a contributor to the winner take all, suffering-is-okay mentality that lead so many to be silent for too long. We have to change our culture. Kudos to the author for promoting a new normal within her own practice.
56
@Melanie
God forbid you want to have a child. I worked in Architectural offices for over 25 years and the women who had children were relegated the worst work and were the first to be laid off. The principals were almost all men, though that has started to change.
Because the the practice of architecture requires so much programming--getting to know what drives your client's work and life--architects (men and women) tend to think they know everything. I found the men to be the worst offenders in that department. They truly thought that being a man and being an Architect meant they sat on the right hand of God.
Left that profession 12 years ago. Good luck to it.
1
@Melanie
Maybe if you had any sense of decency, you wouldn't allow yourself to be exploited and worked to death for your so called art.
2
@Melanie
Organize a union.
2
Stella, I am sorry that more in the architecture profession haven't taken a stand against sexual harassment and abuse.
What it takes for change is to have the profession's leaders repudiate abuse when and where it occurs. In other professions, many have spoken out against abusers such as Harvey Weinstein. But in architecture, there has been a duck-and-cover approach to Meier's career-spanning crimes. It is much easier and safer for magazines, schools, and the AIA to run symposia on women in architecture because it makes them look sympathetic and enhances their brands. But when it comes time to stand up and leverage their positions for actual victims of abuse, they fail. This shouldn't be surprising because these entities benefit from architects like Meier. Magazines depend on his projects to sell advertising, schools and the AIA burnish their own reputations by including him in their ranks. Self interest is what leads profession leaders to remain silent. That, and perhaps they don't believe the claims are significant enough to end someones career.
I also think many in the profession don't come out forcefully against Meier because they've know about his behavior for years, and have discounted it. For them to come out now seems hypocritical. But, it's better late than never.
26
I studied architecture before switching to advertising. My dad is an architect. Some of my best friends are architects. I think it is totally irresponsible to blame "Architecture" for what an individual has done. If you have a problem with Richard Meier, solve it with Meier. Don't take it out on "architects".
My experience with architecture is that it is one of the noble professions. Every architect I've met ever tends to be highly civilized, cultured and egalitarian.
Why must it be a sign of the times that one guy or two guys misbehave and then we just need to blame the entire profession?
I have not harassed women. My dad has not harassed women. The women star-chitects I've met have not harassed women. Why not, then, say that architecture is a great place based on the example of 4 people?
23
Is anyone expecting architects to recognize the dysfunction within their own profession? In the US, architecture is a predominately male profession and many American architects perceive women among their ranks as a threat to their masculinity. Although other countries think architecture is a fine profession for women, Americans don’t. According to the NCARB, the architecture profession is still struggling with gender and racial equity. Although I was never sexually harassed, I experienced discrimination, humiliation, denigration, verbal abuse and harassment throughout my career as a licensed architect. Since men don’t have the same experience, don’t expect them to acknowledge it.
17
@MSA regarding your defense and your reply to gf as well:
Do you really think that there are only FOUR perpetrators of sexual harrassment who are also well-known (male) architects? You are fortunate to have known many honorable male architects; I'm fortunate to be married to one.
However, based solely on my own work experience, as a female architect (which you never have been), I could name further celebrated architects who have consistently "tried it on" with female staff members, creating a miasma of accepted misbehavior throughout their practices.
And of course it's not just the "noble" (?) architectural profession in which this type of preying occurs. But for all the reasons that Ms. Lee clearly explained, architecture is an industry -- like show biz, or politics -- in which the single male figure is treated as a "star."
For all who model themselves on Howard Roark: Time's UP.
7
Ms. Lee, thank you for speaking up when you did and thank you also for this article.
Looking to the future, I STRONGLY encourage all employees who feel they have been the victims of sexual harassment to speak up LOUDLY, not just to their managers. File civil complaints. Go to the courts. Seek damages.
Until recently women's attempts to achieve justice were thwarted systematically by human resources firms, university administrators, police and courts. But that is changing now. It is MUCH harder now for police to brush off a rape allegation with questions about what the victim was wearing.
The world is watching now. Never in our lifetimes have more people been watching the authorities and been on the lookout to support women in their fights for justice.
So please do not retreat into silence. Fight! We'll be right alongside you.
16
I am optimistic that society as a whole is finally grappling with the serious problems of sexual abuse, sexual harassment and its prejudicial treatment of women in general. A significant obstacle is that efforts to report offenders are typically ineffective. Many reasons exist for this dilemma which makes justice through the legal system - that virtuously asserts protections for the accused - problematic. The result is that retribution against offenders often occurs outside the legal system through public shaming and responds to public sentiment, however justified, rather being based on legal precedent. While Mr. Meiers offense, and I believe the author of this article, Stella Lee, is serious, I wonder if the penalty she demands as justice is disproportionate nevertheless. My concern is that demands for justice that are unjust or extreme, lend credibility and support to the malignant forces, all too powerful right now, that seek to reverse and destroy the progress made to ensure deserved respect to women.
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These are personal matters an not important in the context of art and science.
6
These are crimes and also violations of federal and state employment laws. That is not private. If your architect violated building codes would that also be private?
4
A personal matter between the big boss and the young intern sent to his house to work?
Yeah, you and I have different definitions of work and personal, that’s for sure.
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@Bobo workplace behavior is not personal
3
Architecture has always been a macho profession. Years ago, they didn't let women into the courses because they 'couldn't be trusted' to design buildings, in case they might fall down. It wasn't until 1980 that a woman was appointed as Dean of a school of architecture in the US, and it was a public university (CCNY). The student years are full of sleep deprivation, bullying critiques and a 'work hard, party hard' ethic. The whole system makes you reliant on your boss to sign off on your work so you can achieve your license to practice. I know one architect (man) who lost 2 years of working toward a 3 year license and had to leave due to his bullying boss. He actually moved to another state to avoid the boss affecting his applications to other nearby firms.
The star architects are worshipped like gods and given lucrative roles in private universities as (part-time) lecturers and critics, pumping up their egos further. Although women may be top architecture students, the presenteeism in the office after graduation discourages many from continuing to practice and limits them from having families. Many go into the public sector to be able to have a normal life. Ms. Lee has done well to keep going and start her own firm.
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@gf - I studied architecture, my dad is an architect and I have a few star-chitects as friends. Nothing you say tracks with my decades long experience in this world.
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Because it doesn’t happen to men. When men see it happening they laugh and they definitely don’t get involved to stop it.
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Your anecdotal statements don’t reflect statistics. 50% of architecture students are women while only 18% of licensed architects are women. An even smaller percentage of leadership roles within architecture are held by women. I suggest looking into the discourse of “Equity by Design” before posting any more comments.
"To really effect change, we need to focus on culture, and where it is solidified — in education. "
Is she kidding? What makes her think that institutions of higher learning (colleges) offering courses in architecture are immune to sexual harassment. I have first-hand information of a professor/student
sexual abuse situation that occurred at a well-known college in NY, so this issue is everywhere.
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@Joan The author is saying the problem starts in education, not that there isn't a problem in education. She's very aware of a structural relationship between training and practice in the field, and her rhetoric indicates exactly that. Indeed, I think most of us agree "the issue is everywhere."
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Um, which is why she said the culture needs to change there first?!
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Not taking away Meier's Pritzker is akin to the profession condoning sexual harassment in the architectural industry's workplaces. It's not his personal life when such harassment targets colleagues or even others in the industry.
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@Dr. Bob
The Pritzker Prize is awarded to honor the work of an architect, not the character of an architect.
One would not be able to list within the comment section’s limitation of 1,500 words the names of all the morally dubious artists, musicians, filmmakers, architects, etc. who have made important contributions through to their professions. Their work does not excuse their behavior, but it can still be appreciated without admiring the individual.
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Then give the award to the building. There’s a reason Bill Cosby had most of his honorary degrees stripped.
2
His disgusting treatment of women under his charge at work would, I argue, reflect heavily on his professional work.
Unless there is actual quid pro quo, (e.g.: have sex with me or risk career advancement), so much of this behavior, from Louis C.K. to Meier, is just that, bad behavior. Wow, some guys are jerks? Who knew?
If you can't handle looking at a man exposing himself without experiencing lifelong trauma, how are you going to hold up with a zoning board? There's abuse for you. What about client meetings where your deepest esthetic principles are being sold down the river?
It's a big mean world out there. Have you ever heard the term, "Choose your battles"? Acting like wilting flowers at every tiny bump in the road is not advancing women's causes at all. The way to strength is through strength.
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Starting your own successful firm in spite of this experience easily exempts her from any "wilting flower" status. She should be commended for her strength in practice and in her voice here.
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@Sera
No "quid pro quo" required. Indecent exposure is a CRIMINAL act. In at least some states it is a felony.
I don't know about the timelines in the Lee/Meier case. But if the statute of limitations isn't up, Meier should be facing a judge and jury right now, not basking on his laurels in comfortable retirement.
Yes, "the world" is a hard place. "The world" is, of course, US. So it is entirely within our power to make it a less hard, more just, happier place. In fact, it is not only within our power, it is within our moral duty, as rational animals, to do so.
Your comment is basically an attempt to justify for criminal behavior. Sorry, but there is no justice in criminal behavior.
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@Sera You've (apparently inadvertently) identified one of the main reasons that this is such an epidemic in our culture: sexual harassment and assault is mischaracterized as nothing more than "bad behavior" by so many perpetrators and their enablers, and victims are blamed instead of the true culprits. You assessment is objectively wrong: there does not need to be quid pro quo for something to be sexual harassment or assault, and a victim can be traumatized AND respond with strength.
Also, I'm an architect: comparing a client questioning or diminishing your aesthetic principles with a sexual violation of any kind is false equivalence.
1
Back in 1981, I had just started as a faculty member at a big ten university. I was in the sciences but shortly after my arrival, a big scandal broke in the Architecture Department. They had admitted their first female graduate student and the male students responded by unbolting a toilet from the men's room and leaving it on her desk. By this time, even the physicists and chemists, both highly male bastions of intellectual thought, were becoming accustomed to women but not the architects.
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@Susan I started architecture school in 1996 and my class was 50% female. The architecture faculty was 1/3 female. The top ranked member of my graduating class was a woman. No one resented having women in class whether they were in front or at the desk next to us.
My faculty adviser was a woman. She was one of those 'pioneers' in the early '80s and had horror stories not unlike the one you describe. That would have been unthinkable when I was a student. First, we just didn't think or do things like that. Second, if we did we would have been expelled in short order.
It's not 1981 anymore. Improvement is still needed but let's not pretend nothing has changed.
1
Architects are voiceless because the AIA is a useless organization with no back bone. Was is always will be - as long as it's run with outdated notion of what architects should put up with, in this case and all matters regarding its present and future members. And that's putting it mildly.
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@Hoffmann AMEN. And considering what the AIA charges for membership (for a licensed architect in Chicago, membership dues are $750), it's even more of a travesty.
5
The architecture field needs to take a stronger stance against sexual harassment. I left architecture because of the micro aggressions I felt working in the field. I hope that if the architecture field were less about ego and prioritized human values as the author states, these misconducts would have less space to grow and fester.
24
More than half of architecture students are female yet males far outnumber females entering the profession. There are many reasons for this (low pay and grueling hours) but degrading individual treatment of both sexes, but frequently of women, is part of the problem. It doesn’t have to be this way. I worked as an architect for many years in a public agency where such behavior would have resulted in quick dismissal. Architectural firms can change if they want to.
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I’m going to sound contrarian, but please know I agree with your comment! Low pay and grueling hours don’t keep women out of a given profession - think (primary/secondary) teachers, for example. The hours between 8am-3pm are for the presentation of information and relationship building. Grading, planning, assembling tools needed are all done on their off time. Most teachers I know work 60-70 hours a week.
9
Both my parents were teachers. Lots of the outside classroom is done at home making having a family much easier. For anyone other than partners, hourly architectural pay is awful, particularly considering the needed education.
5
My husband of 46 years is an architect. With female architects in his firm. We have many close friends, male and female, who are architects. It is natural that romance might infuse a work environment, mutually enjoyed. Sexual harassment, of course, has no place there. Sounds like Richard Meier is a boor. If he makes an unwanted pass at you, slap his face or knee him in his privates. Don't work in his firm; establish your own firm. But take away his Pritzker, awarded for his design talent and achievement? Of course not.
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And how does one “start their own firm” when they have a year or two of experience in their field? We aren’t talking about coworker harassment, but from the men who are in control of their professional future, and their managers (male and female) who are complicit.
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@Anne Russell
So should the author of this piece gone into Meier's house, up to the balcony and slapped him in the face for dangling his business at her? Really? Do you think that would have helped on any level?
3
In the small world that is the architectural profession, your jocular suggestion to slap a boss or knee him in the groin is both patronizing and shockingly naive. Does this sort of thing work in your profession? Your husband’s and my profession is filled with decent honorable men and also filled with egotistical tyrants who believe professional recognition and/or seniority entitles them to criminal (not boorish) behavior. For a profession built on notoriety, withdrawing rewards is both appropriate and effective.
5