May 22, 2025 | 1950s, Week 8
In the article, “The Lens of Race: Whiteness and Architectural Photography at Case Study House #22.” Dianne Harris argues that the iconic architectural photography functions as a visual reinforcement of the upper-middle-class, white identity, ignoring the racial and social differences. She discusses the idea that the image romanticizes domestic modernism in a way that makes whiteness the central goal and seems desirable, even though the goal is actually neutrality and universality. She also critiques the role of architectural photography in promoting this vision, highlighting how the imagery had a role in helping to shape the public’s knowledge of modern living in racialized terms. While doing this, readers are forced to reconsider the role race has within the mid-century architectural representation.
The first supporting point is that the image of the Case Study House #22 presents a sterilized and exclusionary view of what modern domestic life is like. The photo shows two women gazing out over the Los Angeles skyline at night, reinforcing the idea that the modern home and by extension the future, is white space. This exclusion is a conscious choice to reflect a broader pattern of postwar American housing policies and media that marginalize people of color. By emphasizing the people that are included and the people that are excluded, Harris spotlights the implicit racial politics that are embedded in architectural representation.
The second supporting point focuses on the aesthetic conventions of modernist photography, which Harris argues contribute to whiteness as a visual idea. She highlights how composition, setting, and lighting in the photography by Shulman work together to create calm, clarity, and order in the photo which are traits associated with modernist design and thus with white identity. The elements are not racially neutral though instead they work to connect whiteness with modernity, control over spaces, and sophistication.
Fig 1. Modernfold Door
House Beautiful, October, 1951, no. 93 pt. 2
“‘Modernfold’ doors by New Castle Products, Furnishings by L. S. Ayres & Company, Indianapolis, Indiana”
This shows a house that is designed specifically for the sterotypical white family model where the father works and the wife takes care of the kids. It shows how the door makes it easy to close the kids off from the father while he works.
Fig 2. Small Space Living
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/small-space-living-with-kids-how-parents-make-room-for-themselves
This is a photo showing a small family space and how parents make the space work for their family even though its not the most ideal space.
Apr 30, 2025 | 1920s, 2010s, 2020s, reaction paper, Uncategorized, Week 4
Summary
During a time when architecture (along with the majority of professional fields) was male-dominated, House Beautiful and other “Shelter Magazines” gave women a medium to contribute to the field of design. In the 1920s, women were beginning to attend architecture schools, including Lin Huiyin. Lin Huiyin was the first Chinese woman to study architecture in the United States and completed her education at the University of Pennsylvania. While women were able to attend school, it was not yet socially acceptable for them to work, restricting Lin and similar women from directly applying their education. Instead, many women took to writing and worked for architectural publications like House Beautiful as a means of influencing and interacting with the field of architecture. It is not known if Lin herself read House Beautiful; however, some of the women in her circle did and took part in writing the and in some capacity influenced Lin’s career. House Beautiful played a vital role in providing a space for women to contribute to and work in architecture and paved the way for future women to enter the workforce.
Historical Case – House Beautiful Volume 56
The case from House Beautiful comes from the July 1924 issue and was written by Ethel Power. At the time Power was the editor in chief of House Beautiful and she serves as a key example of a woman in architecture during the 1920s. While she could not practice at a firm, she was able to contribute through writing and critique.
Figure 1. Commentary on a prominent home renovation project in House Beautiful written by Ethel Power. House Beautiful 1924, no. 56, p. 462.
Current Case – Kazuyo Sejima
Kazuyo Sejima is a Pritzker Prize-winning architect from Japan. Sejima, who began her career in 1981, has worked on numerous celebrated projects in and out of Japan, including the Glass Pavilion in Toledo, Ohio, the Sumida Hokusai Museum in Tokyo, and the New Museum in New York City. Her acclaim and accolades are indicative of how the role of women in professional settings has changed significantly. From previously being restricted from architecture firms to now running their own, women have come a long way in architecture, in part thanks to early efforts from women like Ethel Power and publications like House Beautiful that established a place for women in the field.
Figure 2. Kazuyo Sejima’s Grace Farms River Building in New Canaan, CT; An example of her modern, dynamic, and innovative style. Image courtesy of: ArchDaily.
Apr 24, 2025 | 1970s, Week 4
In the article “Lin Huiyin, House Beautiful, and women’s place in architectural culture in the United States in the 1920s,” topics surrounding how women were able to navigate and contribute to the architectural field during a time when the field was predominantly male. The article argues that women took use of the platforms available to them, like House Beautiful magazines, in order to assert their presence. Some well-known women were Lin Huiyin, Ethel Power, Louise Blanchard Bethune, Minerva Parker Nichols, and Eleanor Raymond, who challenged traditional gender roles and expanded the boundaries of architectural practice specifically for women.
One point is that during the 1920s, society limited the level of participation women were allowed to have in professional architecture. Some exceptions to this were publications like House Beautiful, where countless women were encouraged to engage with architectural ideas by focusing on home design and aesthetics. Some topics women discussed in the magazines included interior design, spatial planning, and the integration of beauty and functionality in the home.
Another point is how Lin Huiyin was educated in the United States and exemplified the transnational exchange of architectural ideas. She was the first woman from China to study architecture in the United States, studying at the Unviersity of Pennsylvania where she was exposed to Western architectural styles. She then later integrated these styles with traditional Chinese aesthetics when she returned to China, enriching Chinese architecture. She produced a lot of writings and designs which contributed to a unique dialogue that was a blend of Eastern and Western principles.
Figure 1. Article Written by a Woman
House Beautiful, November 1971, no. 113 pt. 2, pg. 113
This is a photo from an article written by Natalie Schram. It shows how women were encouraged and welcomed to be part of the magazine and how they were able to write articles for them.
This is a photo from a very well known Chinese interior designer, Joyce Wang. She has her own firm and has been very successful.
Apr 17, 2025 | Week 3
In “Elsie de Wolfe and Her Female Clients, 1905-15: Gender, Class and the Professional Interior Decorator” By Brenda Martin and Penny Sparke, the argument of how de Wolfe’s career as a professional interior decorator was deeply connected to the gender and classes of early 20th-century society was brought up. de Wolfe’s work showcased much more than just aesthetic changes, it also showed how elite women were offered a means of expressing modernity and autonomy through their domestic environments. Simultaneously, de Wolfe used opportunities available to her to create a professional career for women working in a male-dominated field.
One key factor in de Wolfe’s success was her strong relationships with socially significant, elite female clients such as Potter Palmer, Ogden Marmour, Ethel Crocker, and many more. The interiors specifically requested by these women were lighter, brighter, and feminine spaces. For example the Colony Club in 1907, New York City, was the first all-women’s club and the project she is most well known for. It has a “trellised restaurant, painted furniture in the private dining-room, the chintz in the bedrooms, and the use of pastel colours–soft grey, off-white, rose and cool green–throughout the project” (Sparke 47). Another important point was how de Wolfe carved out a new professional space for women in interior design when the field had been previously dominated by male architects and decorators. de Wolfe was very strategic when it came to using her social connections in order to secure high-profile commissions which led to her strong reputation. One interesting quote from the reading was that “Her contacts with women, her desire to express their needs and desires through an empathetic understanding of them, and her embrace of what was perceived as a stereotypically feminine visual language combined to make her a key player in the evolution of a feminine response to modernity,” (Sparke 46). Through her career, de Wolfe contributed to the professionalization of interior decoration, which opened doors for women and redefined the kinds of work that were considered acceptable for women.
This is a space designed by Brigette Romanek who is an award-winning interior designer who owns her own studio that provides a full range of services tailored to each client. She has worked with some really famous clients including Beyonce, Kelly Rowland, Gwyneth Paltrow, Rachel Zoe, and Demi Moore.
Figure 2. The Gardens of Delight
House Beautiful, August 1981, no 123 pt. 2, p. 81
“Instead of a spread, this bed is fitted with a white woven blanket cover and, a mixture of pink-and-white-patterned linens from Manuel Canovas”
This is a photo of a space that was designed by Katherine Stevens who was a female interior designer. It shows how the space has been feminized.
Apr 16, 2025 | reaction paper, Week 3
Reading Summary:
In Chapter 3 of “Elsie de Wolfe and her Female Clients” by Penny Sparke, we explore the intersectionality between class and gender expectations in the 20th century, constructed by Elsie de Wolfe’s interior decoration. According to Parke, Wolfe helped shape the field into a professional domain where women could assert influence and taste in a socially acceptable way. By challenging the dark and heavy Victorian norms with lighter and more modern styles, Wolfe helped create a new identity for upper-class women. Because of these wealthy women, interior decoration became legitimized as a professional and gendered practice.
Sparke argues that de Wolfe’s success was made possible by the relationship between women and the household, which historically had been seen as a natural extension of femininity. Rather than contesting this association, de Wolfe took advantage of it; she created a legitimate and respectable profession for herself and other women. She framed her decorative work as both practical and moral, helping upper-class women to create homes that reflected their social values.
At the time, interior decoration was not recognized as a solemn profession. Instead, it was considered more of a hobby or an extension of housework. The house was the woman’s, and the man was forever a guest. De Wolfe helped it be recognized as a profession, using her elite social connections and public persona to blend taste with authority. Sparke shows that this process of professionalization was closely tied to class privilege, as de Wolfe’s clients were highly wealthy, white, upper-class women who could afford to turn their homes into reflections of modern taste, refinement, and dreams.
Application:
Historical Case: Interior Decoration is a Female-dominated profession
Figure 1. A print advertisement for a built-in vacuum cleaning system, using a woman as the model and primary user. House Beautiful, January 1922, page 75. “Spencer. Central Cleaning System. ‘Keeps a House Clean.’“
Figure 2. Architects Yvonne Farrel and Shelley McNamara, after winning a Pritzker Prize. House Beautiful, March 03, 2020. “Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara.“
Historically, women were only seen in advertisements modeling for products related to cleaning, home goods, or decorating, but only as a pass-time. Meanwhile, men were seen in images working on houses, cars, or other related activities. With the help of de Wolfe and other social evolutions/progressions, women have become more recognized in the design field. Not just as interior decorators, but as architects as well, seen in Figure 2, which celebrates the accomplishment of two female architects winning a Pritzker Prize, a prize known to be historically sexist. However, as we move onto case number two, it is important to know that this field is still associated with the upper-class.
Contemporary Case: Can only the wealthy achieve beauty?
Figure 3. An example of how most of the houses in this magazine are large, luxurious, and “exotic”: that was the standard definition of beauty and ideal. House Beautiful, January 1922, pages 35.
Figure 4. House Beautiful Website screenshot as of April 15, 2025, from their ‘Inspiration’ page. House Beautiful Website, Decoration page.
Of course, beauty is subjective. However, there have been countless debates about the norms of beauty and what it means for something to be beautiful. The design field is no stranger to these arguments. House Beautiful, architects, and other publications have, throughout time, publicized their ideas of attractiveness, ultimately creating a near universal agreement of beauty that can only be achieved if you are wealthy enough.
