Hilde Heynen is a Belgian architectural theorist whose work bridges neo-Marxist critical theory and current feminist discourse, applying these perspectives to architectural culture. This volume collects her most significant texts from three decades of intellectual work, centred on three feature concepts: mimesis, dwelling, and displacement. It offers readers incisive reflections on architects’ roles in shaping societies and the alliance between ideology, societal structures of injustice, political economy, housing and the built environment.

Within a fierce post-critical debate among scholars who have begun to question the relevance of architectural theory to the discipline in the early twenty-first century, Heynen’s position remains constant throughout her writings in defence of architectural theory as a social and transformative practice. This collection is essential reading for new generations of architects and cultural theorists interested in modernity, gender and criticality.

Hilde Heynen is a Belgian architectural theorist whose work bridges neo-Marxist critical theory and current feminist discourse, applying these perspectives to architectural culture. This volume collects her most significant texts from three decades of intellectual work, centred on three feature concepts: mimesis, dwelling, and displacement. It offers readers incisive reflections on architects’ roles in shaping societies and the alliance between ideology, societal structures of injustice, political economy, housing and the built environment.

Within a fierce post-critical debate among scholars who have begun to question the relevance of architectural theory to the discipline in the early twenty-first century, Heynen’s position remains constant throughout her writings in defence of architectural theory as a social and transformative practice. This collection is essential reading for new generations of architects and cultural theorists interested in modernity, gender and criticality.

Lucía C. Pérez-Moreno is a professor of architectural history focusing on women, gender studies and feminist theory at the University of Zaragoza. She served as a visiting professor at KU Leuven from 2022 to 2024.

Three decades of intellectual work on architectural theory and feminist discourse

Hilde Heynen is a Belgian architectural theorist whose work bridges neo-Marxist critical theory and current feminist discourse, applying these perspectives to architectural culture. This volume collects her most significant texts from three decades of intellectual work, centred on three feature concepts: mimesis, dwelling, and displacement. It offers readers incisive reflections on architects’ roles in shaping societies and the alliance between ideology, societal structures of injustice, political economy, housing and the built environment.

Within a fierce post-critical debate among scholars who have begun to question the relevance of architectural theory to the discipline in the early twenty-first century, Heynen’s position remains constant throughout her writings in defence of architectural theory as a social and transformative practice. This collection is essential reading for new generations of architects and cultural theorists interested in modernity, gender and criticality.

Lucía C. Pérez-Moreno is a professor of architectural history focusing on women, gender studies and feminist theory at the University of Zaragoza. She served as a visiting professor at KU Leuven from 2022 to 2024.