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Profile

HerCollective was created in 2021 to facilitate the exploration of architecture, urban planning and design with a gender lens. This has included physical design, but also research and teaching to encourage a more critical analysis of how urban space does not support women. 

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We are currently a team of two, with the ambition of having a multi-disciplinary approach to gender in the built environment grounded in both tangible design and supportive policy and theory.

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Millie Powell, MA (she/her)

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I graduated in 2021 from the University of Dundee in the MA Urban Planning course. After working at a Local Authority in Suffolk, then remote working and travelling Latin America, I have recently started the role of a Planner at Savills. 

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While undertaking my dissertation on the extent to which planning considers women when placemaking, I was inspired after graduating to continue research into gender inclusivity through in the build environment. With the United Nations announcing that tackling climate change and achieving sustainability is not possible without gender equality, this subject is crucial.

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With Kirsty, I hope to inspire both women and men, old and young, regardless of ethnicity or sexual orientation, to make inclusive and safer spaces that work better for the entire population and promote gender equality. I hope you feel inspired to promote change with us. 

Kirsty Watt, MArch (she/her)

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I graduated in May 2020 from an interdisciplinary Masters course in Architecture with Urban Planning, focusing on community networks in historic cities. I now work for GRAS, a progressive design studio in Edinburgh, alongside  HerCollective. 

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My main interests revolve around the integration of women's services and safe space within historic urban fabrics through the translation of feminist ideals in design interventions, and the effective use of community engagement. Community engagement is key to the inclusion of marginalised communities, and I believe that women need to be at the front of this movement.

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My skills lie in the design of small-scale and temporary spaces, and I am interested in developing design principles to make the inclusion of women more accessible to built environment professionals. I hope that the resources we share can help bring change within the UK, and continue the work of the feminist collectives of the 1980s.

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COLLECTIVE AWARDS AND EVENTS

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2022 | Academy of Urbanism Introduction to Inclusive Design workshop

2022 | Girlguiding Scotland workshop

2022 | Academy of Urbanism Young Urbanist Small Grant Scheme award

2022 | Academy of Urbanism Feminist Urbanism Expo event chair

2022 | Healthy City Design International poster presentation

2021 | Academy of Urbanism What does a feminist city look like? event

2021 | RTPI Scotland best dissertation award

2021 | Building Design Re:Design Stratford Shortlister 

2020 | RIBAJ Rising Star Longlister

Our main services include;

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  • Involvement in intersectional community engagement

  • Design of considerate spaces for women and queer people

  • Exhibition, publication and event curation on gender, queerness and equity

  • Public speaking and workshop development

  • Consultancy on equality, diversity and inclusion within design proposals

  • Article writing

  • Collaborations with women and queer people on a variety of project

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We currently operate primarily in the UK, but would be open to opportunities elsewhere as long as they are in line with our values and are a positive response to creating better spaces for women, queer people and marginalised communities.

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Keep up to date with our work on our blog. 

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