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This book is a historical and cultural study of the work of the Jewish women architects who flourished in Palestine under the British Mandate (1920-1948). This comprehensive study adds a new chapter to the story of women in architecture in the twentieth century, demonstrating how women architects made a key contribution to the design of the emergent Israeli built environment.
Through in-depth historical documentation based on newly discovered archival material, Davidi analyzes the influence of European modernism on the design of institutions for the welfare of women and children. These were developed by Zionist women's organizations that drew inspiration from the idea of the New Woman.
This book offers a multidisciplinary perspective on the study of gender, architecture and the Jewish society in pre-State Israel. It provides a fresh look at this period based on new research and is intended for academics as well as for a general audience.
List of contents
Part 1. Ideological Foundations.- 1. Towards a New Society.- 2. A Pioneer and a Professional: The Woman Architect in Mandatory Palestine.- 3. Modernist Conceptions and the Women s New Institutions.- Part 2. The Building Project.- 4. Lotte Cohn and Elsa Gidoni: Architets for WIZO.- 5. Elsa Gidoni and Genia Averbuch: Architects for the Women Workers Council and WLI.- 6. Genia Averbuch designs for WIZO and the Mizrachi Women's Organization of America.- 7. Afterword.- 8. Appendix: Fourteen Architects and One Home Reformer.
About the author
Sigal Davidi is an architect and architectural historian who received her PhD from Tel Aviv University, Israel.
Summary
This book is a historical and cultural study of the work of the Jewish women architects who flourished in Palestine under the British Mandate (1920-1948). This comprehensive study adds a new chapter to the story of women in architecture in the twentieth century, demonstrating how women architects made a key contribution to the design of the emergent Israeli built environment.
Through in-depth historical documentation based on newly discovered archival material, Davidi analyzes the influence of European modernism on the design of institutions for the welfare of women and children. These were developed by Zionist women's organizations that drew inspiration from the idea of the New Woman.
This book offers a multidisciplinary perspective on the study of gender, architecture and the Jewish society in pre-State Israel. It provides a fresh look at this period based on new research and is intended for academics as well as for a general audience.
