BEA Atlantic Opens New Chapters, Helping Highlight Diversity In Architecture
SAINT JOHN – Since opening its first chapter in New Brunswick in 2018, members of Building Equality in Architecture Atlantic (BEA Atlantic) say they have helped increased visibility of women in architecture through more chapters and events throughout the region.
The group was inspired by Building Equality in Architecture Toronto (BEAT), which was formed in October 2015 as an independent organization dedicated to supporting equality and diversity in the profession of architecture through advocacy, community engagement, and professional development. BEA Atlantic launched its first New Brunswick chapter in June 2018 in Saint John.
“In January we launched the Nova Scotia chapter and we had over 100 people attend and it was a real success,” says Monica Adair, partner at Acre Architects in Saint John and one of the founders of BEA Atlantic. “That happened during Professional Practice Week at Dalhousie University, so that was a nice pairing.”
This was soon followed by the launch of the Prince Edward Island chapter. The New Foundland and Labrador chapter will be launched this month, which will mean BEA Atlantic will have a chapter in all the Atlantic Canadian provinces.
With chapters throughout the region, BEA Atlantic also launched some regular programming. They introduced BEAA Talks, where a woman architect in the region opens up her office to have one-on-one sessions and conversations with people about the industry. The talks are free and have so far attracted mostly architect students, but are open to anyone.
Melissa Wakefield, lead design architect at EXP Architects in Saint John, opened her office for the first talk back in February.
“It was really well attended. We had around 15 to 18 people who came to the office. We showed them around the office, which was great because it was the first time we’ve really done that,” says Wakefield.
“I just talked about how I got from point A to point B and being a student. I also talked about the first few years of my career since becoming a licensed architect and some of the learning and risk-taking that you have to learn to become comfortable within the job.”
The goal of the BEAA Talks to expose people to a more diverse senior leadership in the architecture field, the talks won’t just be limited to women, but other minorities too.
“It was amazing to have visible senior leadership talking about that practice,” says Adair. “A different face you’re not used to necessarily seeing in these practices.”
BEA Atlantic also held its first retreat at the end of September in St. Andrews that brought together 30 women from across Atlantic Canada, Quebec and Ontario. The event was a way for women architects in Atlantic Canada to come together and form meaningful connections they may not otherwise be able to make.
“There aren’t many of us, but the geography is so far. We needed time to connect so we came up with the retreat model. I think my take away is that it would take years to form connections with 30 women in Atlantic Canada and beyond,” says Adair. “It would take a lot of time in your career and that’s too late to gain those connections.”
BEAA Atlantic has also launched film screenings. The first one took place in May in Halifax to much success, but this month they plan to take it to four Atlantic Canadia cities in celebration of World Architecture Day October 7.
“Film is just a really powerful medium,” says Wakefield. “It touches everyone and there are so many great design films out there that speak to so many of the messages that are BEA’s mandate.”
The film they will be screening is City Dreamers, which investigates the extensive accomplishments of Phyllis Lambert, Blanche Lemco van Ginkel, Cornelia Hahn Oberlander & Denise Scott Brown – four trailblazers of architecture, urban planning and landscape architecture. There will be screenings in Halifax, Wolfville, N.S, Saint John and St. John’s.
“The film is just an example of some of the things we want to extend not just to architects, but the entire public,” says Adair. “We want to give architecture back, but we also want BEA to be leading quality programming that is not only about building diversity but diversity leading how we engage with the public. How do we make architecture more relevant in our communities?”
Thought BEA Atlantic has only been around for about a year-and-a-half, both Wakefield and Adair say they’ve already seen the impact the organization is having.
“Already within one year, we’re seeing a strengthened profession in Atlantic Canada thanks to an organization of volunteers that just cares,” says Adair.
“Outside if Halifax, there’s not a lot of critical mass in our industry, so having the opportunity to have programing that engages and demystifies architecture and what architects do has been really good,” adds Wakefield. “I think it’s also revealing how many talented people are practicing in this region that people don’t know about. They don’t know about the talent base that’s here.”
With more BEA groups popping up in other provinces across Canada, Adair says BEA Atlantic part of a national movement of changing how architecture is viewed.
“That’s what one of our biggest messages is, we have to reinvent what architecture looks like if we want more people to enter the profession and stay in the profession,” she says. “And I think we’re doing that just by living it.”