Women's Month Profile:ZAHIRA ASMAL, DIRECTOR, THE CITY

This August, in celebration of Women’s Month, Leading Architecture + Design has profiled a dozen inspiring women in the fields of architecture, urbanism, interior design and engineering, showcasing their skills and achievements, as well as their views on the challenges that the industry faces.

ZAHIRA ASMAL, DIRECTOR, THE CITY

“The City puts ingenuity to work in the built environment through research, publishing, and critical and inclusive engagement,” says Zahira Asmal, who founded The City in 2010. “From architecture to design, culture and society, our focus is the making of cities.”

Her work addresses the social, spatial, cultural and economic inequalities in South Africa to find ways to make our cities inclusive.

“My observations and experiences of life during apartheid, especially the Group Areas Act, made a lasting impression on me,” she says. “Space for me became an important matter.”

Zahira’s publications, presentations and exhibitions include the book Reflections & Opportunities, which was published in English and Brazilian and presented in 17 cities, and the triple-volume Movement, which examines the socio-political, economic and cultural environments shaping South Africa’s big cities. She also worked with British-Ghanaian architect Sir David Adjaye on his book Adjaye Africa Architecture. Other highlights include representing South Africa at the International Architecture & Design Showcase in London in 2012. Between 2013 and 2018 she led a placemaking project that re-imagines underused and abandoned spaces at Johannesburg’s prominent Park Station.

Her current project, See, explores contested urban histories, equal representation in the memorialisation of history, and the construction of resilient postcolonial urban identities. She serves on the board of advisors for the International Archive of Women in Architecture.

“I would like to see more networks and institutions supporting women at various levels of education, mentorship, construction and business development,” she says. “In addition, the obstacles to our development and advancement should be dismantled.” www.thecityagency.co.za | www.iseeyou.capetown