The Formal Representation of the Female Image in Architecture

Abstract

The aim of this study is to reveal the representational strategies and formal cues through which the image of women is constructed within architectural forms, and how these cues are interpreted by different viewer groups. In this context, the study aims to identify the formal cues that most strongly trigger the perception of the female image in a structure through visual stimuli consisting of buildings containing physical, formal, and symbolic representations of women, as well as control structures lacking such representations, and to test whether these relationships differ significantly between participants with and without architectural/interior design education. As part of the study, a stimulus-based questionnaire was developed using images of seven architectural structures, including three representative categories and control examples. The questionnaire was administered to participants with and without architectural or interior design education, as well as to those with no direct connection to architecture. Participants were asked to evaluate each structure based on criteria for the analysis of the female image perception—feminine representation perception, bodily associations, and aesthetic appeal/attractiveness—and based on adjective pairs for the analysis of the participant’s formal perception—curved/fluid-angular, organic-mechanical, and soft-hard. The findings reveal three key results: First, the strongest variable triggering the perception of the female image in architectural form is the curvilinear/fluid formal language. Second, it was observed that the representational strategy strongly shapes the viewer’s interpretation of the female image. Third, it was determined that this interpretation systematically differed across the categories of representation according to architectural education: while formal representation was more strongly encoded by participants with architectural/interior architecture education, symbolic representation produced a more direct feminine connotation among participants with no direct connection to architecture. These results support the qualitative body of feminist architectural theory with empirical data.