An architectural study of an emerging typology in the healthcare sector in response to the phenomenon of gender-based violence.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Today, gender-based violence is a widespread and deeply entrenched phenomenon with multiple impacts on the health of its victims. Based on this observation, the collective is investigating architectural solutions that provide a safe and dignified environment for women who are victims of violence.
Since 2016, facilities designed for this purpose have been established, based on a multidisciplinary approach to care. Known as “Women’s Houses,” they bring together, in a single, dedicated location, spaces for each stage of the recovery process.
Beyond the program itself, architectural qualities are harnessed to support the care process. Does this new focus on the issue of violence against women signal the emergence of a distinct architectural typology with its own aesthetic requirements?
Through field research conducted in partnership with eight women’s shelters in the Île-de-France region, the project gives a voice to care teams and service users. This will be captured in a series of documents describing these spaces of care and healing as they are experienced, practiced, and even envisioned. The aim is not merely to represent reality, but also to foster reflection on the ideal architecture of these shelters.
By shedding light on the architecture of these spaces and identifying their specific needs, the project contributes to raising awareness of the fight against violence against women and the support centers that are emerging from it.
Today, gender-based violence is a widespread and deeply entrenched phenomenon with multiple impacts on the health of its victims. Based on this observation, the collective is investigating architectural solutions that provide a safe and dignified environment for women who are victims of violence.
Since 2016, facilities designed for this purpose have been established, based on a multidisciplinary approach to care. Known as “Women’s Houses,” they bring together, in a single, dedicated location, spaces for each stage of the recovery process.
Beyond the program itself, architectural qualities are harnessed to support the care process. Does this new focus on the issue of violence against women signal the emergence of a distinct architectural typology with its own aesthetic requirements?
Through field research conducted in partnership with eight women’s shelters in the Île-de-France region, the project gives a voice to care teams and service users. This will be captured in a series of documents describing these spaces of care and healing as they are experienced, practiced, and even envisioned. The aim is not merely to represent reality, but also to foster reflection on the ideal architecture of these shelters.
By shedding light on the architecture of these spaces and identifying their specific needs, the project contributes to raising awareness of the fight against violence against women and the support centers that are emerging from it.
THE TEAM
Structur_elles is a feminist, activist collective dedicated to spatial exploration that investigates gender-based violence and resource-oriented architecture using critical mapping methods. The collective consists of four members: Adèle Busschaert, Inès Journoud, and Hannah Turcq, all architects, and Valentine Schmitt, who holds a research master’s degree in art history.
Since 2025, the collective has been examining architecture, its modes of representation, and its role in the fight against gender-based violence.
Engaged in architectural research and guided by this inquiry, they combine fieldwork, narratives, testimonies, architectural surveys, and insights from the humanities with a feminist perspective.
Structur_elles is a feminist, activist collective dedicated to spatial exploration that investigates gender-based violence and resource-oriented architecture using critical mapping methods. The collective consists of four members: Adèle Busschaert, Inès Journoud, and Hannah Turcq, all architects, and Valentine Schmitt, who holds a research master’s degree in art history.
Since 2025, the collective has been examining architecture, its modes of representation, and its role in the fight against gender-based violence.
Engaged in architectural research and guided by this inquiry, they combine fieldwork, narratives, testimonies, architectural surveys, and insights from the humanities with a feminist perspective.
