Minnette De Silva: Constructive Dialogues
A conference organized by Womxn in Design and Architecture
Thursday, March 4, 6PM
Friday, March 5, 9AM - 4PM
Minnette De Silva’s unique position in the mid-20th century exemplifies cultural and local specificity in dialogue with a global modern movement. Her architectural practice was expressive of the materials, techniques, and history of her native Sri Lanka as well as her participation in a network of international architects and designers. As a result, De Silva’s legacy traces the complex and multi-directional vectors of modernity.
The conversation between her built work, dedication to the production of her own archive and commitment to the inclusion of traditional forms of labor, present De Silva as a leader in design. With most of her buildings lost to time and neglect, her architecture survives primarily through images and words. Denying reductive dichotomies of International Style and vernacular, client and architect, object and archive, her work instead reveals nuances in architectural practice that continue to be relevant today.
This year’s Womxn in Design and Architecture conference expands the geographical focus of architectural practice by taking De Silva’s work as a point of departure. In order to root its narrative in a wider context, we pose the question, how might this work move contemporary theory and practice toward productive dialogues?
Related Press
Twenty-two women architects and designers you should know. Dezeen’s article featured Minnette De Silva, in addition to 2021 speaker Anupama Kundoo, and Anne Tyng. 3/8/21.
Minnette de Silva: The story of an “Asian Woman Architect” Keynote speaker Anooradha Iyer Siddiqi interviewed in Architectural Record, plus mention of the 2021 WDA conference. 3/24/2021.
Program Schedule
THURSDAY, MARCH 4
6:00 PM EST / 11:00 PM UK / 4:30 AM LKA
Welcome + Introduction
Dean Mónica Ponce de León
Keynote Presentation
Anooradha Iyer Siddiqi PhD, Assistant Professor, Barnard College + Columbia University Department of Architecture; Affiliated Faculty, Barnard College Department of Art History, and Columbia University Institute of Comparative Literature and Society, Institute of African Studies, and South Asia Institute
Q&A + Discussion
Larissa Guimarães + Sonia Sobrino Ralston, WDA Members
Wrap Up + Short Schedule Announcement
Luis Fernando Muñoz, WDA Member
FRIDAY, MARCH 5
9:00 AM EST / 2:00 PM UK / 7:30 PM LKA
Welcome and Introduction
Welcome + Introduction
Dean Mónica Ponce de León
WDA Introduction | Mission + Members
Introduction to Constructing Memories Presenters
Elena M’Bouroukounda, Shoshana Torn, + Priscilla Zhang; WDA Members
9:15 AM EST / 2:15 PM UK / 7:45 PM LKA
Constructing Memories
Presentations
Ashley de Vos, Architect, Landscape Architect + Conservation, ADV Consultants
D. Raja Segar, Artist + Client
Brinda Somaya, Principal Architect, Somaya & Kalappa Consultants; A. D. White Professor-at-Large, Cornell University
David Robson, Architectural Historian + Author
Discussion + Q&A
Moderated by Shivani Shedde, PhD Candidate, History and Theory of Architecture, Princeton SoA
12:00 PM EST / 5:00 PM UK / 10:30pm LKA
Traversing Boundaries, Locating Histories
Introduction to Presenters
Patty Hazle + Jacqueline Mix, WDA Members
Presentations
Tariq Jazeel PhD, Professor of Human Geography, University
College London, UK
Gillian Darley, Architectural Historian + Author
Discussion + Q&A
Moderated by Shoshana Goldstein PhD, 2020-21 Princeton Mellon / Princeton Institute for International & Regional Studies Fellow and M.S. Chadha Center for Global India
BREAK
2:00 PM EST / 7:00 PM UK / 12:30 AM LKA
Activating Legacies
Introduction to Presenters
Lisa Ramsburg + Laura Fegely, WDA Members
Presentations
Yasmin Shariff, Director, Dennis Sharp Architects
Anupama Kundoo PhD, Principal, Anupama Kundoo Architects; Professor, Potsdam School of Architecture, Germany
Discussion + Q&A
Moderated by Curt Gambetta, PhD Candidate, History and Theory of Architecture & Urbanism, Princeton SoA
About WDA
Womxn in Design and Architecture (WDA) is a graduate student group formed in 2014 at Princeton University School of Architecture. The annual conference celebrates the work and legacy of a pivotal female architect or designer with contributions from international historians and scholars, in addition to artists, curators, and practitioners. Read more.
2020-21 Active WDA Members include Kaitlin D. Faherty, Laura Fegely, Larissa Guimarães, Patty Hazle, Elena M’Bouroukounda, Jacqueline Mix, Luis Fernando Muñoz, Sonia Sobrino Ralston, Lisa Ramsburg, Shoshana Torn, Priscilla Zhang
The WDA conference is made possible by the Jean Labatut Memorial Lecture Fund. The School of Architecture, Princeton University, is registered with the AIA Continuing Education System (AIA/CES) and is committed to developing quality learning activities in accordance with the AIA/CES criteria.
