Female in Community
Introduction
Women’s labor in the family has been gradually ignored in the past history. They use
their time and energy to create more time resources for men, but they are despised
in economic production labor. This project is about how to use women to build a
women’s community to break the long-term oppressive labor environment for women
and give them the opportunity to join a social environment where men do not
have to exist. Maybe we can’t change the fact that women are tied to gender roles for
the time being, but we can try to change the family structure, which is the smallest
form of ownership, as the first step.
Project Information
Optional Studio | Columbia Universiyu | 2022 Fall
Location: Bronx, New York City
Instructor: Byrony Roberts
Team: Ruodi Zhang
Women living below the poverty line in the U.S. tend to be single-handedly responsible for household labor and childcare while working. The energy and time required to support their families are incalculable, making their lives extremely difficult. In New York, women of childbearing age and women who have given birth face similar challenges, including poverty, lack of health insurance and medical
In such an environment, women’s lives are undoubtedly oppressive. In order to further study the situation of women and break down the hierarchical fortress of feminist theory, I chose the Bronx in New York as the project location.
The Bronx has the largest number of poor single mothers in New York, as well as a relatively large population of women of childbearing age and family units. Women’s labor is often invisible: they spend the day working, mostly in physically demanding jobs, and return home to cook, clean, care for children, and sometimes look after elderly family members. Many families rely on relatives for childcar
In this project, I designed a total of five parts. From bottom to top, the space gradually becomes more private as the floor increases. The largest space is dedicated to the collective kitchen, which allows people to cook together and serve the community voluntarily. As an important part of folk houses, the kitchen has long been criticized as a space that restrains women, and is often regarded as
In addition to providing space for public labor, this building uses ramps as the space organizer to divide the space into six floors for convenience. The design of the ramp also provides convenience for mothers who need to take care of children and the elderly, and makes the space safer.
People can move more freely in the space. The ramp blurs the boundaries of the space and at the same time dissolves part of the privacy and the plasticity of the environment, so I added the design of the curtain to the design. In addition to adding some vibes to the space, the biggest role is to ensure the privacy of the small space and play a part of the role of sound insulation.
