The Women in Architecture dinner series, presented by This by That is a platform for gathering female-identifying practitioners, thought leaders, educators, and activists in the field of architecture and adjacent. The dinners provide a platform for making new connections and creative idea generation around issues including public space, housing, environment, and equity in design. 

In March 2022, This by That partnered with Madame Architect to present Dinner Cozy in Brooklyn, New York. Boston-based architecture studio French 2D explored architecture at the scale of the body to address comfort and climate, a theme sparked by the pandemic-necessitated need to think creatively about outdoor dining and public space. Their design took form as a playful immersive tablecloth, composed of silver survival blankets backed with quilting technique, for a dinner of 28 people seated at a long table. Extending beyond the table’s edges, the blankets draped over and around diners like shawls, providing warmth and creating a large, interconnected form. Conversation prompts printed on menu-style cards were scattered across this landscape, encouraging discussion around how to expand comfort and care, and soft or low-tech approaches to our collective climate and public health future. 

The dinner took place at 77 Washington, an adaptive reuse project in Brooklyn designed by Worrell Yeung.