Lares – An Association for Gender and Everyday Life Building and Planning

09.11.2017

The association Lares  was founded in 2013 in Switzerland. It aims to promote gender and everyday planning and building as a social dimension of sustainability and serves as a networking platform for members. The name comes from Roman mythology: the Lares were the spirits of the places and villages that mounted guard over house, yard and families.

The association was founded to pursue the concerns of the preceding project Lares (2006 – 2012) and to implement them in the long run as natural components in planning and construction processes. The club has set itself the following long-term goals:

  • Gender aspects have been integrated into planning and construction processes from the start and at all levels of scale.
  • The wide range of needs of all users is respected and is a natural part of all plans and projects.
  • The social aspects of sustainability are considered equally alongside economic and environmental aspects.
  • Women and men have equal representation in planning and decision-making processes.

Lares is committed to planning and building in participatory processes that enable the exchange of perspectives and experiences, involve users and professionals on an equal footing and reinforce gender competencies among all stakeholders. To this end, Lares experts are involved in assessment and decision-making bodies at an early stage so that the concerns can be incorporated directly into the projects.

Read more here.