Open Seminar Series

School of Architecture, UTS hosted by BVN.

Seminar I: Models of Flexibility from outside of Architecture
On average, a student of architecture submits to the Registration Board seven years after the completion of their architecture degree. If we assume that the average student is a school leaver (and we know this is not the case) that makes the average age of registration as an architect 30 years old. According to the 2006 census, the average age for childbirth in Australia is 29.8. This is a catastrophic collision between the most demanding time in one’s architectural career and the most challenging undertaking in one’s personal life.

This is not a women’s issue, this is an issue for everyone in the field. Not only is it a personal issue for those juggling the complex demands of practice, with the complex demands of a young family – but it’s also a professional issue for the whole field of architectural practice. We simply can’t afford to have 50% of the graduates of a degree in Architecture have to make the difficult decision about whether they stay in practice after their first child, or if they simply leave.

It may be you giving birth; it may be your partner; your team mate; your colleague; your friend.
How do people make this work? How does one juggle the demands of a challenging career and the demands of a young family – or as we age, how does one answer the broader responsibilities to family and life.

Join us for a glass of wine and what should be a lively discussion.