Abstract:
The story of architecture in Western society has predominantly been
phallocentric. Men have designed, built and criticized constructions
since the time of Vitruvius, perhaps the first architect to promote
himself as being better than other members of society. In doing so he
established the process of exclusion that has kept women from
becoming prominent in architecture until recent times.
Architecture has also been centered around the perception of sight
since the time of the Enlightenment, marginalising the other senses.
Like women, smell is seen as a threat to masculine order as it
transgresses boundaries. This paper discusses architecture both in
relation to women, and to smell. In this paper I argue that
architecture is most evocative when related to sensory perception;
something that is more subconscious that pure aesthetics and vision.