ARVHA created in 1993 by architects, is an association under the law 1901, which target’s is to do reasearch, studies and training in the field of housing and living environment. Since 1995, it organizes training courses for architects in various domain such as handicapped access, sustainable development, architecture, urban’s renewal of quarters – with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Communication, the Ministry of Women’s Rights, the European Social funds, the region Ile-de-France and the Pavillon de l’Arsenal. For more than 10 years, ARVHA carries out actions and leads researchs in three domains, accessibility for everyone, and sustainable development and professionnal equality in the field of Architecture.
It realized three international exhibitions and three website dedicated to women’s architects in Europe and contributes to meetings. In correlation with the work on equality women/men, ARVHA organizes the Prize of women architects since 2013. For its fifth edition in 2017, the prize will be open to architects around the world with the add of a category the « foreign woman architect ». To do so, ARVHA has created an european network with “Donne Architetto” in Italia, “Women Architects” created by Andrea Klimko in Slovakia, and the AJ Journal in United Kingdom, and the network of 35 000 architects based in Austria, Spain, Switzerland and Germany. The Prize aims to highlight the works and careers of women architects, so that young architects women have models to inspire them, and to encourage the equality in a profession of a masculine dominance.