Morphosis - Bergren House - Venice, California, rear elevation - 1985

Nov 4, 2026

Modern architectural history examines how the women’s movement since the 1970s altered American and European women’s lives, affecting work, education, health and sexuality, and changing patterns of marriage, divorce, and independent living. It links these social shifts to economic constraints that limit home ownership and new construction, especially for women heads of households. In response, the text highlights collective, low-cost, and self-designed housing projects and evolving home adaptations, including uses of existing rooms as offices or studios, leading to examples such as the Bergren House.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Conclusion: The 1980s and 1990s

Economic pressures on women and housing

Collective and low-cost feminist housing alternatives

Changes in contemporary households and home adaptation

The Bergren and Drager Houses

______ A一 0 aof 十he ～A-,1-98теп апдйпе Мжош> Modern Ноиве: A SooieArchitectural HistoryAlicriedmanНаггуN.Abrams, lnc. Pubishers PLATE 1 Morphosis.Bergren House, Venice,California,rear elevation. 1985 Much has changed in the lives of American and Europeanwomen in the wake ofthe women's movement of the1970s.Thanks to the“second wave”of feminism,morewomen work outside the home,attaining higher levelsofeconomic,professional,and educational achievementthan their mothers or grandmothers could have imag-ined possible.'Moreover,through the sustained effortsof activists,researchers,and educators at both the grass-roots and professional levels,women have gained greatercontrol over their health and sexuality:issues such asbirth control,abortion,mental health,lesbian rights,andthe needs of older women are more openly discussedand access to services-as well as information and com-munity supports-relating toall these topics has increaseddramatically?Patterns of marriage and divorce havealso changed since the 1960s:there has been a significantdecline in the number of marriages and,more impor-tant,a greater acceptance of alternative choices-latermarriage,divorce,remaining single,and living alone orwith other women.³Overall,women are now in a farbetter position than ever before to make independentchoices about how and where they want to live Given these changes,one might well expect to finda greater number of women heads of households hiringarchitects to design or renovate their houses to suit avariety of new program requirements.Yet this is not thecase,and the reasons are primarily economic.In theUnited States real wages decreasedby 19percent for bothmen and women between 1973 and 1989;this declinecombined with a steep rise in the cost of education andhousing,has made it far more difficult for most people-men and women-to even consider home ownership, # Conclusion: The 1980s and 1990s cunrneru let alone new construction.According to a national sur-vey conducted by the Chicago Title and Trust Company,the proportion of single-income families owning housesdropped from 47 percent in 1976 to 21 percent in 1989.5Although over 50 percent of women now work outsidethe home,the situation is not much better for double-income households:the high cost of living,particularly incities and suburbs,has substantially decreased the abilityof most couples to save the capital needed to buy a home.Women heads of households face even greater obstacles. Changes in the American family have put additionalpressures on women.Women may have greater freedomto make choices about work and family than they hada generation ago,but they also bear heavier financialburdens.The combination of the decline in the marriagerate and the astronomical rise in the rate of divorce hasmeant that there are more women supporting themselvesand their families than ever before:at present,one in fivewomen is raising children alone.'Many of these womenare poor:fully 40 percent of households headed by whitewomen and 60 percent of those headed by black womenfall below the poverty line(defined as roughly$10,000 ayear for a family of three).⁸Middle-class and profes-sional women also face a significant gap in earnings com-pared with men:although they are paid higher salariesthan other working women,their wages and benefitshave not kept pace with those of men performing similarjobs.Moreover,despite far-reaching changes in attitudestoward women and family life in Europe and America,women of all classes still have more responsibility thanmen for child care and housework;the cost of providingthese services-a cost paid in both time and money-hashad a significant impact on women's ability to provideshelter for themselves and their families,much less toafford architect-designed homes." In the face of these economic and demographicpressures,some women have turned to collective housing,focusing their attention on formulating creative design

FAQs

How did the women’s movement after the 1970s change women’s roles in Europe and America?

It increased women’s control over health and sexuality and shifted social patterns such as later marriage, higher divorce acceptance, and greater prevalence of living alone or with other women.

Why did fewer women become homeowners or hire architects to build or renovate houses despite these social changes?

The text attributes it mainly to economics, including decreased real wages and steep rises in the costs of education and housing, making home ownership difficult for most people.

What housing strategies do some women adopt in response to economic and demographic pressures?

Some turn to collective housing and creative design and financing alternatives, rediscovering feminist housing history, building co-housing communities and group homes, and in some cases designing and building their own low-cost houses.

Nov 4, 2026

Uploaded by Danger Angel