Kiel architect shows women's power: Wia Festival 2025 starts!

Kiel architect shows women's power: Wia Festival 2025 starts!

in the foyer of the Kiel Unihochhaus, where the history and future of architecture meet, Alice Kriegel sits, an architect with deep roots. In casual clothing, bound with her gray hair into a practical braid and a fabric bag on the side, she prepares for the conversation. Your concern? The visualization of the role of historical women in architecture, which have significantly shaped the cityscape of Kiel. Ellen Krotz in particular stands out, who as an architect built the university house. "Women have heard a voice and should be heard," says Kriegel, who is also the granddaughter of the well -known architect Wilhelm Neveling, who still shapes Kiel's reconstruction after World War II. Nevelings buildings, including the Howe House or the Baltic Sea hall, are formative elements in city history.

Kriegel not only committed itself to the historical processing, but also actively participated in the design of the architectural future. It organizes the "Women in Architecture Festival 2025" (WIA) in Germany, which takes place from June 19 to 29. It is the first nationwide festival that puts the achievements of women in architecture and building culture in the foreground. There are exhibitions and events on the program that should cover all aspects of architecture and also to initiate dialogue through diversity. "We want to make role models visible," said Kriegel, while preparing for the planned events, including "Building women!-Architects in Schleswig-Holstein". Your goal is clear: the industry is diverse, but access for women is often blocked.

statistical discrepancy

The numbers prove it: Over 50% of architectural students are women, but only around 6% of the architectural offices are managed by women. This illustrates a mismatch that Kriegel wants to address together with her colleagues. The majority of the architects, almost 80%, are forced to work in administrative positions in better reconciling family life. "There are many talented women who cannot gain a foothold in the industry for a variety of reasons," says Kriegel. Although the challenges are great, she managed to reconcile family and work. Together with her husband, she has an architecture office that takes part in competitions internationally and has already won prizes.

Kriegel lives between Kiel and Chicago, which opens up a variety of perspectives. She also draws personal inspiration from the drawings and paintings by her grandfather. Her doctorate is about Neveling and his works, which she discovered during her architectural studies in Berlin, especially the auditorium maximum that she has lived in lively memory.

a strong festival for strong women

With the Wia Festival, which starts in Bremen on June 19, not only the prelude is set to a special event, but also created a platform on which women can present themselves from various facets of architecture. The opening event will welcome prominent guests such as the senator for construction, mobility and urban development in the state of Bremen, Özlem Ünsal, and Maja Fischer-Benzenberg from the Bremen Chamber of Architects. The evening is shaped by panel discussions, including on the subject of "Role Models - female executives for building culture".

and also at an international level a lot is happening: The book "Women in Architecture. Reviews, positions, positions, views" deals with the female pioneers and addresses challenges such as sexism and prejudices in the architectural industry. The editor Ursula Schwitalla has been committed to equality in architecture for many years, and not without reason - history shows that women were hardly visible in architecture for a long time.

The WIA Festival will therefore not only be a highlight for architecture, but also an important step towards more visibility and recognition of women in this exciting industry. Further information on the festival and the entire program can be found on the website Wia Festival.