Spatializing Reproductive Justice: Panzi Hospital by White Arkitekter

Join us for a presentation from White Arkitekter on the Panzi Hospital project. This program is presented as part of the Spatializing Reproductive Justice exhibition at the Center for Architecture, on view through September 3, 2024.

Founded in 1999 by Dr. Denis Mukwege, world-renowned gynecologist and co-recipient of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, Panzi Hospital specializes in compassionate, holistic care for survivors of sexual violence as well as maternal care and family planning. Unfortunately, insufficient resources and inadequate infrastructure prevents Panzi from meeting the needs of its patients. This talk will focus on the first phase of the project, the mother and baby unit. This new unit at Panzi Hospital aims to become a modern maternity and neonatal care facility in Central Africa. The proposal is based on a person-centered, holistic care model and the principles of healing architecture. The architectural proposal is characterized by adapting the construction to the local context and climate, using natural resources efficiently and having a long-term perspective.

Speakers:
Cristiana Caira, Architect and Board Member, White Arkitekter
Agnes Orstadius, Architect, White Arkitekter

Moderator:
Lori Brown, FAIA, Curator, Spatializing Reproductive Justice; Co-founder, ARCHITEXX; Professor, Syracuse University

About the Speakers:
Lori Brown’s research focuses on architecture and social justice issues with particular emphasis on gender and its impact upon spatial relationships. Her work seeks to broaden the discourse and involvement of architecture in our world. Her two books include Feminist Practices:  Interdisciplinary Approaches to Women in Architecture and Contested Spaces: Abortion Clinics, Women’s Shelters and Hospitals. She is the co-founder and leads ArchiteXX, www.architexx.org, a women and architecture group bridging the academy and practice in New York City. Her current projects include Birthing Centers, Borders and Bodies and The Bloomsbury Global Encyclopedia of Women in Architecture, 1960-2015 with Dr. Karen Burns. She is a 2021 Architectural League of New York Emerging Voices recipient and a registered architect in the state of New York.

Cristiana Caira has 25 years of extensive international experience in leading complex and large public projects with outstanding sustainability profiles and special focus on healthcare, research, and the public realm. Her latest award-winning projects are Queen Silvia Children’s Hospital in Sweden, the New University Hospital in Tubingen, Germany, Cambridge Children’s Hospital in the UK and the extension of Panzi Hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in collaboration with the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Dr Denis Mukwege.
Cristiana leads post graduate design studios and research projects in her capacity as Professor of Healthcare Architecture at Chalmers University, with a particular interest in increasing collaboration between practice and academia. She is an esteemed guest Lecturer at Politecnico di Milano and the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL London, and engaged as board member, programme committee, key-note speaker and jury member in several global networks such as the European Health Property Network, the EHD Congress, the UIA World Congress of Architects and the Epidemic Urbanism Initiative.

Agnes Orstadius is an architect and head of design methodology at White Arkitekter, Scandinavia’s largest architecture practice. With a background including a double master’s degree in Architecture and Structural Engineering, she has been involved in a number of award-winning projects in the healthcare, infrastructure and civic sectors. She has specialist knowledge of computational design and extensive international experience from working on projects in Sweden, China, the United States, Norway, the UK and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

About Spatializing Reproductive Justice:
Spatializing Reproductive Justice is a traveling exhibition and programming series that aims to spread awareness of the inequities of reproductive care in the United States and the agency of design fields to expand access. Learning from past and present reproductive and sexual health justice movements, the project addresses the spatial, legal, and social logistics of reproductive healthcare access in the United States after the repeal of Roe v. Wade.

If you register for a virtual ticket, you will receive an email with a Zoom link to access the program.