Unique lifestyles and gender dialogue have been significant in the ongoing evolution of the residential architectural project. Consider the single, professional Edith Farnsworth and her weekend retreat by Mies van der Rohe or Truus Schroder's house for her and three children designed by Gerrit Rietveld. Both projects are recognized architectural masterpieces, and in both cases, the unique lifestyles of their female patrons impacted the design of the architecture. As with most published case studies of modern architecture the architect was male. In both, and many other modern projects the relationship between the female patron and the male architect led to significant outcomes; because of the success of the architecture or its infamous relationships. There are few, if any, instances in my architectural education where I was exposed to the successes or challenges of the female architect. The idea of a female architect-female patron collaboration wasn't considered at all. The question as to whether lifestyle and gender issues within a female collaboration may be different from the more characteristic male architect-female patron is the focus of this study. By reflecting on the design process and its decisions along the way, I hope to reveal aspects that made the project unique and begin to communicate the extrinsic social conditions of American culture and its impact on the intrinsic architect - client relationship.

Why is a pursuit of considering the all female architectural project relevant to understanding the design process? As our society is changing and the profile of the family is no longer singular, our understanding and sympathies towards other lifestyles is important to the evolving design of the residential project. In the case of this project, this non-traditional family seems to be without place. There are few typologies of the residence for a single mom. There are few places for her in society as well. As important as the study of gender, so is the understanding of unique lifestyles and needs. The female architect as role model was not accessible to me in my educational experience. Reflecting and disseminating this perspective is also an important contribution to the growth of the profession.

To begin to consider how gender and lifestyle impact the design of the contemporary residential project this case study reflects on the collaboration of two emerging career moms in the pursuit of architecture. The author, was the architect and was responsible for the execution and design of the client's vision and programmatic needs. The client, Ms. Murphy was a thirty something, recently divorced mom, with one small child. As an artist she had an acute aesthetic and from the moment we began discussing the project she had a clear vision of her future home in terms the feel, size and site. Her clear insight combined with aesthetic interests compatible with my own, and a familiar relationship seemed like the perfect combination of elements to create an outstanding project. These intrinsic factors were all agreeable and moving through the conceptual and schematic design phases was enjoyable for both of us. Many evenings we sat by the fire, our three kids watching the latest release of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, while we speculated the design of her new home. As a sole practitioner, the two of us were the primary strategists in the design of her new home until the beginning of contract documents.

The design process began with typical discussions of programmatic needs, which led to more intimate discussions of how we really lived. The primary focus for the design development centered around issues relevant to the business of managing a household. This characteristic is one of the most notable aspects in the design between two female contemporaries. Women in contemporary society are expected to balance home and work while maintaining the outward appearance of simplicity, organization and Martha Stewart like panache. The chaos and rituals of daily life are never to be revealed in the outward expression of the home. Messiness and clutter suggest failure in the ability to maintain this delicate balance. For both of us in the same stages of our lives, emerging careers, young children, and responsibilities beyond the home, the conversations regarding these aspects of household management became an inherent characteristic in the design. In the design of every space we conceived another subdivided space. Take for instance the bedroom, where a small office is hidden behind a closet door. Or the main hall bath where shelves allow the storage of linens as comfortably as books, candles and/or serving bowls. This approach to active storage emerged as we walked through the daily rituals of our lives and compared and sympathized with each other's busy lives.

The second characteristic that I felt was unique to the female-female collaboration was an equal balance between the household program with the aesthetics. This balance may not seem unique to gender, especially for the architect that practices the balance between aesthetics and function through the art of architecture. For the female, however, I would suggest that their is different aesthetic understanding. I believe this aesthetic interest was connected to the innate grooming characteristics that females are expected to maintain. Perfectly manicured nails, the latest haircut and color, clothes that look as if they have just left the runway and perfect bodily proportions are all extrinsic expectations of the female's counterparts. A women is judged as much for her personal grooming as the way she keeps her house. Dust, streaks on the window, unmade beds, clothes on the floor, are all details women see, recognize and understand due to these external pressures. Small details became an important characteristic in the look of the space as well as the function of the space. An important example in the design of the home was the relationship between art and space. Regardless of the function of each room there is a place for art or the aesthetic. The process of female grooming also became highlighted by distinct areas for dressing, vanity and cleansing. Also the focus on the connection to the exterior was not as significant as the interior attributes. The apertures were designed to be functional to allow controlled light; they were not considered for the distant gaze over the land. The immediate gaze of the female over her home, is an attention to objects and order and therefore the aesthetics of the exterior were left to the architect to propose to the client. Our discussions rarely focused on architectural composition but rather on the sequencing and staging of events in the daily routine balanced by a concern for that experience to be beautiful.

The third characteristic that distinguished the female collaboration was the reductive evolution of the design. In contradiction to the advisement of extrinsic male counterparts (contractor, client's father), the project progressively became smaller in size. The project began with many common elements that make a home "marketable for resale." Inexpensive basement space, a garage and separate laundry room where all included from the outset. They were simply viewed as providing value to the home. However, upon review the cost of the project at the end of design development, these elements where the first to go from the project. This reductive characteristic may not be a stereotypical female trait, however for the simple practicality of creating a living space that would be comfortable for her and her child, the client removed spaces that would not contribute to the life of the family, but would however compromise the overall budget of the project. In this non-traditional family, the characteristics that often sell a new home; the two-car attached garage, the unfinished basement and the mudroom/laundry room, where not critical to the maintenance of her family.

So how is this female-female collaboration unique from other collaborations? The first characteristic that I would emphasize is the difference in opportunities. The single mother has limitations that the traditional family doesn't have. The collaboration with another adult financially and physically to develop a home and raise a family is an aspect I personally took for granted. The daily ritual of the single mother demands order, restraint and use of space unlike the traditional American family. Also the female-female collaboration in this endeavor made issues that are not often accepted table talk in mixed parties, part of the relevance of the design process. We could freely discuss and debate how to best manage the intrinsic messy parts of our lives and while still presenting an extrinsic face for society. Previous clients that I have had, with a more traditional family profile, often discuss how they live and entertain, however the messiness of living has never been revealed. This may be speculative, but I would suggest that the female in these situations may not want to reveal her methods for navigating daily life (especially to her husband), may not consider them important to the design of space or has never been exposed to a home that wasn't speculative as to how a family should live. In the case of this project, there was no external bias, conditions, hierarchical structures or societal-cultural expectations that would restrict the open exchange of "dirty laundry," particularly in the early phases of design.

The architectural product that is the outcome of this collaboration may or may not reflect the unique characteristics of the collaboration. That may be an aspect of the study that the audience may help me to consider. The true value of the collaboration lies in the fact that like Mies and Rietveld, it changed the way I understand or think about future client's lifestyles and genders and the role these lives play in the transformation of space and creating place. My strategies for residential design can no longer be simply aesthetic and reflect the extrinsic political and social values of a community. Rather the work must focus on the intrinsic dynamic of my clients and the resolution of their particular situations through built form.