The Architecture Museum is commited to show topics discussed at the different architecture and design schools in Sweden. As a part of this, the museum presents two diploma projects on design and gender. The projects were presented at two different institutions, Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design and The Royal Institute of Technology, in 2006. (Image credit: Aftonbladet)
Ab-Norm
The projects aim is to highlight and visualize gender issues with design and architecture. They were done by architect Camilla Andersson and industrial designer Karin Ehrnberger and go under the name Ab-Norm.
The projects share the fact that they present two different interpretations of the ”The Norm”.
Prototypes
Karin Ehrnberger, for instance, let her mixer and drill switch places. The same goes for two chairs, which at first sight look very masculine and feminine, respectively. The user who sits down on the feminine chair gets a masculine pose.
The opposite goes for the ”masculine chair” which gives the user a feminine pose. Gender roles and stereotypes are accentuated in a playfull and effective way.
The building
Camilla Andersson has based her apartment building on family related statistics. The apartmentbuilding contains different kinds of dwellings based on different starting points.
For instance, she lets the differences in income dictate the design of the bachelor and the spinster apartments.