We have come to accept that architecture sustains matrices of patriarchy and heteronormativity. This thesis frames the subject around those who have been excluded from the canonical discourse, in the wider scene termed ‘Queer’. It asks how we might begin to think of architecture beyond accepted structures – beyond binarization and oppositional logic. By tracing the historical context of specific events, sites, and urban zones, that have come to define LGBTQI2+ movements and culture, this study remains grounded in queer identities while uncovering an attitude of resistance and transformation. Born often out of necessity and survival, and existing outside heteronormative boundaries, these moments of appropriation begin to define an active queering of space. Taking a turn towards architecture and the potential for queering, the emerging project analyzes the bounds of inside/outside rhetoric and questions how to create new significations with a charge of multiplicity, openness, contradiction and contention.

The project was developed at the Carleton University Research Virtual Environment.

KOOZ What prompted the project?

MVM Very simply, a curiosity. The year prior to my thesis a few of my courses had investigated some themes related to gender and sexuality in architecture, and very adjacent to queer space but never fully intersecting the topic. I felt represented in the work that I had been exposed to, and felt compelled to explore these topics further.

Aside from an enthusiasm for the topic of queer space itself, there was a level of connection and personal importance as well. There were times when I was inevitably exposing parts of my own identity, but I think that bit of vulnerability made the work feel more necessary and important to me. These feelings also became a motivation; there was a certain responsibility I felt in representing queer space and queerness in general. I wanted to be conscious and respectful of the history and experiences that built the foundation for my work and research, while at the same time offering my own voice and experience to the topic.

KOOZ What questions does the project raise and which does it address?

MVM In some ways, the whole thesis is a question, and I raise many more questions than I give answers to. I think in part that is the nature of the topic itself – it’s hard to define queerness in architecture, or give any kind of definitive answer to what queer space is. I think for this reason, queering as it was defined in this body of work was a strategy or attitude of questioning, a more active participant rather than something fixed. It became a questioning of conventions and the binaries that exist within architecture. It primarily raises the question of how to imagine spaces outside of constructed boundaries and beyond opposition. Queering becomes a strategy or method of questioning what exists, but also what potentials exist.

KOOZ How is the project a reaction and critique to our contemporary understanding of gender and space?

MVM In some ways, the critique inherent to this thesis is two-fold, touching on both the academic and practical realms of architecture. The project reacts to a lack of representation of queerness, and other diverse experiences in general, within architectural discourse. I think in order to create inclusive spaces we need to learn from and expose ourselves to more varied resources.

In terms of architectural practice, the work begins to critique how inclusivity is represented within codes and building requirements. These guidelines often still represent very fixed ideas of gender and identity, resulting in binary spaces that aren’t accessible to everyone. It’s important that this aspect of architecture, and our built environment begins to reflect more and more this diversity.

KOOZ How does the project define notions of 'queer' and 'space'?

MVM In studying the history of queer spaces, I noticed a pattern, not necessarily in what these spaces looked like or the physical materials they were composed of, but one of resilience, reinvention and transformation. Queerness is never one thing to one person or to one space, and therefore I felt it was important to frame the work in terms of a queering, reflecting this nature of transformation and in-betweeness. This led me to understand and define queerness, relative to architecture, as something unfixed, extending beyond established boundaries to establish new connections and meanings.

The definition of space was taken beyond a physical understanding, as it also became an exploration of social, cultural and psychological boundaries. Our physical reality does not always represent the set of rules for who can occupy the space – not all doors are as easily traversed by all people. So space, like queerness, in some ways also became defined as something non-fixed, and regarded with a shifting perspective.

KOOZ What drew you to the work of Henry Urbach, how and to what extent did his thesis inform the project?

MVM I came across Henry Urbach’s text Closet, Clothes, Disclosure early on in my research, and it was quite formative of the direction I took with my own thesis. Particularly his metaphor of the Ante-Closet: the space preceding the closet – bridging, dividing, and intersecting the boundary of the closet-room pair. ‘Ante’: proceeding, rather than ‘anti’: against. That differentiation, and his text was critical in defining my understanding and perspective of queer space, as something not necessarily oppositional, and rooted only in a binary relationship, but as something existing in-between, and constantly in transformation.

In a very direct way, the metaphor also helped me relate themes from queer theory back to architecture and drawing conventions. The gestural lines, like the swing of a closet, can begin to represent these ephemeral traces of in-between or queer spaces in a drawing. Of course, on a whole it isn’t as simple as a door swing, but this was a jumping off point for the drawings I produced further into my thesis.

KOOZ What role do the drawing and montage hold within the exploration of the thesis?

MVM Both drawing and montage became a critical element in the exploration of this thesis. Initially it was a tool for understanding the work I was reading, and provided a way to connect aspects of the theory and texts to architecture. The drawing itself then turned into a site, where the layered presentation invited the viewer to interact with and alter its composition, inciting new relations or meanings as it was ‘inhabited’. Like queer spaces, the drawings became informed by the bodies which occupied them.
The materiality and composition of the montage or layered drawing also evoked an element of visibility/invisibility. This was meant to frame the vulnerability of queer spaces, and queerness to a degree, as something constantly revealing or hiding itself, for safety and survival. The proximity to the drawings and the more one engaged with the layers, the more was revealed to them – something true to queer spaces as well.

KOOZ How did the project inform and influence the way you operate as an architect?

MVM On a personal level, the project influenced my willingness to offer and represent my own experience and identity. It has also influenced the way I want to operate as an architect in terms of practice, in that I want to stay informed and engaged, and listen to perspectives and considerations outside of my own experience and education. I’ve been fortunate so far to work with people whose values align with this sentiment, and are open to pushing beyond the boundaries of what is required to something that is more inclusive.

KOOZ What is for you the architect's most important tool?

MVM Perhaps more an attitude than a tool, but I think a conscious engagement is important for all architects. The ability to listen, and understand perspectives outside of our own is increasingly important for creating a world that is more diverse and inclusive. This type of engagement can lead to a questioning, and shift in the status quo, and I think that is crucial for any kind of progress, within the discipline and within our communities.