Group 3_Kaira Looro Women's House Report

54. Architecture Negative Consequences Architecture always has the potential to polarise a community. In this case, the most fundamental problem is reinforcing gender segregation by encouraging women to gather in a space that supports what are culturally women's tasks. As discussed earlier, the counterpoint to this is encouraging women to gather in a safe and supportive environment in a community that may otherwise be reluctant to engage with issues of gender equality. For this reason, the potential for positives outcomes mitigates the risk potential.

While forming a collective has many potential positive outcomes, it can also foreground an already ostracised group within the community and create a physical and psychological target for anti women's sentiment. This sentiment may be furthered by increasing female independence and self-determination. This could pose a particular threat where the intention to engage women with tasks like construction. The nature of the project means adaptive changes on the fly, like integrating men into the process and education early in the program, can head off risks before they pose severe issues to the project and community.

Architecturally, there may be resistance to the materiality and form based on the use of non-industrial materials and a traditional vernacular aesthetic and tectonic.

As outlined earlier in the Architectural Expression section, cultural perceptions of traditional materials and tectonic being fragile and contemporary materials and design being strong can be problematic where alternative and sustainable construction methodologies are employed. In this case, educating the community early in the collaboration process, and implementing demonstration prototypes will lower this particular risk profile. Custom orb metal roof sheeting was included in the material specification to increase the perception of longevity and counteract the perceptions of fragility in the bamboo structural framing.

Whilst this project has been undertaken with only good intentions, there is always a risk of neo-colonialism (Zakiya, 2014, pp. 701-702). Remaining open and sensitive to cultural needs and historical context will remain important throughout te project—but particularly during the early colabrotive stage. The flexibility and adptability of the design allows room to adjust the design based on new and changing local feedback. It is important not to become fixatedand precious about the architectural design, but rather, focus on positive outcomes and the fundamental project goals.