The Housing Question is a Feminist Question. Housing Commons for the “New Woman” of the German Werkbund

This book explores the intersection of feminist studies, architectural history, and commons discourse, examining how spatial practices can support non-hierarchical forms of collective living. Focusing on the emergence of the “new woman” during the First Women’s Movement and the early Weimar Republic, it investigates feminist approaches to housing developed in the 1910s. By treating housing as a feminist issue, the research reveals how architecture can challenge traditional domestic roles and enable alternative social structures. Through historical analysis, it considers how spatial organization can become a tool for imagining more inclusive forms of everyday life, community, and collective belonging.

With a response by Sarah Borree.

[publishers’ note]