A groundbreaking new book is set to rewrite the narrative of modern architecture and design by shining a spotlight on the powerful, global impact of women entrepreneurs.

Minding Her Business: Women, Architecture, and Design (Leuven University Press) was launched today at the Irish Architectural Archive, Dublin.

Edited by Prof Kathleen James-Chakraborty and Dr Alborz Dianat, both in UCD School of Art History and Cultural Policy, this important publication moves beyond the traditional focus on the solo male architect to explore how women have long influenced the built environment through diverse entrepreneurial avenues.

From spearheading real estate developments and construction projects to driving editorial production, cultivating vital social spaces, and leading philanthropic interventions, Minding Her Business offers a global perspective on women's agency in design history.

The book arises from the ‘Expanding Agency’ project, funded by the European Research Council (ERC) and led by Prof Kathleen James-Chakraborty, which is an initiative dedicated to reassessing and expanding our understanding of historical agency in the built environment.

Prof James-Chakraborty said: “For too long, the history of architecture has been told through a remarkably narrow lens; Minding Her Business fundamentally shifts that perspective. By looking at the built environment through the lens of entrepreneurship, whether that meant funding a project, editing an influential journal, or managing real estate, we uncover a rich, global history of women actively shaping the world around us. We are excited to share these essential stories and to spark a broader conversation about agency and representation in design."

The launch included a dynamic panel discussion on the themes and provocations raised by the book, joined by special guest Prof Lucía Pérez-Moreno, Professor of History and Theory of Architecture at the University of Zaragoza, whose work has been central to advancing feminist architectural historiography.

The book is available open access here.

More about the Research

Kathleen James-Chakraborty has been a Professor of Art History and historian of modern architecture at UCD School of Art History and Cultural Policy since 2007. She is a leading expert in inclusive histories of world architecture, a recipient of the prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant and an Ailsa Mellon Bruce Senior Fellow of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Expanding Agency: Women, Race and the Global Dissemination of Modern Architecture explores four ways in which women and ethnic minorities had an impact on the global dissemination of modern architecture and design: journalism, patronage, entrepreneurship, and institution building. The project addressed the role of design businesses, real estate developers, and philanthropists alongside the role played by the shelter press in order to demonstrate the impact, largely unacknowledged, that women, African Americans, and other overlooked groups had – and to explore their motivation which often included, but was seldom limited to, the necessity to earn a living. This ERC research project is hosted by the UCD School of Art History and Cultural Policy in collaboration with the UCD Humanities Institute and led by Prof Kathleen James-Chakraborty.