Feminist critiques have long drawn attention to the working conditions in architecture. From challenging the confinement of women to domestic projects, to exposing unequal recognition in the profession, these perspectives highlight how inequality is woven into the structures of architectural working conditions. On Thursday 23 October, Irene Feria Prados - one of the selected curators of our Open Call - invites Alina Paias and BAU (Belgian Architects United) to Antwerp for an evening exploring architectural labour from intersectional feminist perspectives.
Today, these questions remain urgent: in Belgium, the debate around freelance status raises a fundamental issue of accessibility, stability, and equality: Who can afford to be an architect? This evening centers a conversation between architectural workers themselves, inviting young architects, students and established practitioners of all backgrounds to join the conversation. Through exploring different perspectives and localities, we want to open up the discussion beyond Belgium - understanding the intersectional and translocal struggles of architectural workers.
During this evening we bring together different perspectives of Alina Paias, a researcher and curator examining exploitation in architecture through a wide range of philosophies, BAU, a grassroots collective fighting for sector reform and against false self-employment in Belgium, and Irene Feria Prados, an architectural worker, teacher and researcher based in Brussels. Through translocal lenses, together with the speakers and the audience, we will connect local with international realities. Precarity in architecture disproportionately affects women*, migrants, disabled and neurodivergent practitioners. From lack of sick or maternal leave to salary opacity and visa insecurity, many working in architecture face structural inequalities that shape their careers and limit autonomy.
This evening is not only about raising awareness but also about calling for action. We invite students, practitioners, academia and all those engaged with architecture to come together, exchange experiences, to discuss more inclusive and sustainable ways of practicing architecture in Belgium and beyond.
Program
18:30 – 19:00 Walk-in with coffee and tea
19:00 – 19:15 Introduction Irene
19:15 – 20:30 Talk by Irene, BAU and Alina Paias + movie?
20:30 – 21:00 Small group conversations
21:00 – 21:15 Reflections and collective closing
21:15 Drinks and aftertalk
The event will be held in English, but you are welcome to join the conversation in Dutch, French, or any language you feel most comfortable with. We will do our best to offer ad hoc whisper translations if needed.
About the speakers
Irene Feria Prados is an architectural worker, teacher and researcher based in Brussels. Her work explores how spatial design can contribute to more just, inclusive, and situated ways of living by addressing realities often overlooked in architectural discourse—particularly those shaped by gender, race, and class.
Alina Paias is a spatial designer, writer, curator, and researcher investigating the systems of architecture production by engaging with a broad range of philosophies. She has worked on the curation, design and production of several exhibitions in the Americas and in Europe.
BAU is a movement for and by architectural workers, a small team of overly engaged troopers fighting an outdated system. BAU pulls political strings to put false self-employment and sector reforms on the radar of different media, the professional organisations and the federal government.