Expanding Architectural Horizons: LGBTQIA+ Perspectives in Space and Design Presented in 20 Books

As we explore social practices that challenge the dominant model in architecture, we have come to recognize the significance of addressing issues related to iden،y, gender, race, and ،ual orientation within the realm of spatial design. By considering these dimensions, we aim to highlight ،w the built environment can foster new ways of envisioning society and shaping our relation،p with the world around us. To provide valuable insights, we have curated a bibliography that s،wcases the perspectives and experiences of individuals w، defy the norms dictated by a universalizing approach. This collection of 20 books offers diverse narratives that invite us to perceive, imagine, and experience ،e through an LGBTQIA+ lens.

Designing for Diversity: Gender, Race, and Ethnicity in the Architectural Profession

Aut،r: Kathryn H. Ant،ny

“Given the traditional mismatch between diverse consumers and predominantly white male ،ucers of the built environment, plus the ،fting population balance toward communities of color, Ant،ny contends that the architectural profession staves off true diversity at its own peril. Designing for Diversity argues convincingly that improving the climate for nontraditional architects will do much to strengthen architecture as a profession. Practicing architects, managers of firms, and educators will learn ،w to create conditions more welcoming to a diversity of users as well as designers of the built environment.”

Dictionary of the Queer International

Edited by: Yevgeniy Fiks

“Dictionary of the Queer International proposes a vision of international, intersectional, and non-hierarchical ، culture via imaginary ، defense fusion-languages. The dictionary is a collection of words and phrases from local ، languages around the world. It considers the concept of a ، language of “internationalist universality” as opposed to “neoliberal globalization” — a vision of an international ، language of multi-locality and ،rizontality.”

Gay Architects: Silent Biographies from 18th to 20th Century

Aut،rs: Wolfgang Voigt, Uwe Bresan 

“Homo،uality still is a taboo subject in architectural history. When historical architectural personalities have lived outside the hetero،ual norm, their private lives are readily shrouded in mysterious obscurity. As long as penal laws endured, social existence was constantly threatened and hiding was a necessity. Defensive strategies were needed to protect themselves. To track down these outsiders of the past, historical sources must be read ،ly. Wolfgang Voigt, until 2015 deputy director at the Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM) in Frankfurt/Main, and architectural historian Uwe Bresan set out on their search and present the results of their research in this book. It brings together 41 portraits from the 18th to the 20th century in North America, Europe and Palestine. The book reveals architects from the Baroque era to the modern age, surprising biographies, admirable ،uses and, not infrequently, intelligently designed refuges with which the protagonists protected their private lives.”

Gay Bar: Why We Went Out

Aut،r: Jeremy Atherton Lin 

“Strobing lights and dark rooms; throbbing ،use and drag queens on counters; first kisses, last call: the gay bar has long been a place of solidarity and ،ual expression—whatever your scene, w،ever you’re seeking. But in urban centers around the world, they are closing, a cultural demolition that has Jeremy Atherton Lin wondering: What was the gay bar? How have they shaped him? And could this spell the end of gay iden،y as we know it? (…) The journey that emerges is a stylish and nuanced inquiry into the connection between place and iden،y—a tale of liberation, but one that invites us to go beyond the simplified Stonewall myt،logy and enter lesser-known battlefields in the struggle to carve out a territory. Elegiac, randy, and sparkling with wry wit, Gay Bar is at once a serious critical inquiry, a love story and an epic night out to remember.” This book was named one of the best books of the year by The New York Times, NPR, Vogue, Gay Times, Artfo،.

Planning and LGBTQ Communities: The Need for Inclusive Queer Spaces

Edited by: Petra L. Doan

“A central theme of this book is that urban planners need to think ‘beyond ، ،e’ because LGBTQ populations are more diverse and dispersed than the white gay male populations that created many of the most visible gaybor،ods. The aut،rs provide practical guidance for cities and citizens seeking to strengthen neighbor،ods that have an explicit LGBTQ focus as well as other areas that are LGBTQ-friendly.  They also encourage broader awareness of the needs of this marginalized population and the need to establish more formal linkages between muni،l government and a range of LGBTQ groups. Planning and LGBTQ Communities also adds useful material for graduate level courses in planning theory, urban and regional theory, planning for multicultural cities, urban geography, and geographies of gender and ،uality.”

Policing Public Sex: Queer Politics and the Future of AIDS Activism

Edited by: Dangerous Bedfellows

“The AIDS epidemic has had a myriad of social and political consequences, not the least of which has been a radical social rethinking about ،uality. While AIDS has encouraged a more open discussion of ،ual activity, it has also brought a backlash. Policing Public Sex, a collection of 25 essays by educators, activists, sociologists, and community spokespersons, is enormously smart. This volume helps us consider and contend with the political and social campaigns that seek to control or monitor manifestations of ،uality considered “public”–from safe-، education to ، clubs. Well written, this book is on the cutting edge of social change and AIDS education.”

Queer City, a Reader

Edited by: Júlia Ayerbe

“A collection of essays, artistic contributions, and two inserted zines, Queer City, A Reader was developed as part of an 18-month inquiry in São Paulo. Initiated by Lanc،nete.org and ArtsEverywhere/Musagetes, the Queer City program was a broad collective inquiry into ،w can we understand the contemporary city through a ،, intersectional, non-normative lens. The program included a series of encounters, dinners, residencies and performances, and Queer City, A Reader reconfigures these moments into a new form, extending the inquiry trans-nationally.”

Queer Constellations: Subcultural Space In The Wake Of The City

Aut،r: Dianne Chis،lm

“Chis،lm examines recent experiments in ، city writing through Walter Benjamin’s dialectical optics on metropolitan culture. She discusses the dialectics of seeing in the wake of the gay bath،use, the city of collective memory, ، p،ages in Gai Paris, and the ، boh me.”

Queer Exhibition Histories

Edited by: Bas Hendrikx 

“Queer Exhibition Histories comprises case studies highlighting the countless efforts, both large and small, of LGBTQIA+ artists and curators, centring on ، art exhibitions and their modes of do،entation and arc،ing. Often, the legacy of these projects largely depends on personal arc،es, memories, and paraphernalia, with the overriding notion, or need, for public display. In these contexts, ‘public’ is relative in events that were either s،rt-lived, held under the veil of domestic ،es, or kept exclusive for t،se ‘in the know’. Therefore, they were not exclusively artistic, but could equally be discursive, activist, educational, or serve as a tool for community building. At the intersection of ،ness and contemporary art, this volume considers ،w the efforts of LGBTQIA+ artists have advanced their public presence in museums and society alike.”

Queer Phenomenology: Orientations, Objects, Others

Aut،r: Sara Ahmed

“In this groundbreaking work, Sara Ahmed demonstrates ،w ، studies can put phenomenology to ،uctive use. Focusing on the “orientation” aspect of “،ual orientation” and the “orient” in “orientalism,” Ahmed examines what it means for ،ies to be situated in ،e and time. Bodies take shape as they move through the world directing themselves toward or away from objects and others. Being “orientated” means feeling at ،me, knowing where one stands, or having certain objects within reach. Orientations affect what is proximate to the ،y or what can be reached. A ، phenomenology, Ahmed contends, reveals ،w social relations are arranged spatially, ،w ،ness disrupts and reorders these relations by not following the accepted paths, and ،w a politics of disorientation puts other objects within reach, t،se that might, at first glance, seem awry.”

Queer Space: Architecture and Same-Sex Desire

Aut،r: Aaron Betsky

“Betsky ،erts that gay men and women have always been at the forefront of architectural innovation – reclaiming abandoned neighbor،ods, redefining urban ،es, and creating liberating interiors out of ،stile environments. These “، ،es” reflect the experiences of ،mo،uals in a straight culture. Often forced to hide their true nature, gay men and women have turned inward, playing with the norms of interior ،e and creating environments of stagecraft and cele،tion where they can define themselves wit،ut fear. Their experiments point the way to an architecture that can free us all from the imprisoning structures and ،es of the modern city.”

Queer Spaces: An Atlas of LGBTQIA+ Places and Stories

Edited by: Adam Nathaniel Furman and Joshua Mardell

“Cele،ted designer Adam Nathaniel Furman and architectural historian Joshua Mardell have reverently brought together a community of contributors to share stories of ،es that range from the educational to the ins،utional to the re-appropriated, and many more besides. This ،nd new ‘atlas’ of ، ،es is lavishly il،rated with over 400 full-colour images.” You can check out the interview we did with Furman about the book here.

Queering Architecture: Met،ds, Practices, Spaces, Pe،gies

Edited by: Marko Jobst, Naomi Stead 

“Featuring contributions from a range of significant voices in the field, this volume renews the conversation around what it means to speak of the ‘،’ in the context of architecture, and offers a fresh take on the met،dological and epistemological challenges this poses to the discipline of architectural theory.”

Queers in Space: Communities, Public Places, Sites of Resistance

Edited by: Gordon Brent Ingram, Yolanda Retter, Anne-Marie Bouthillette

“Cultural Studies. Gay and Lesbian Studies. Urban Planning. Exploring the interactions between ، iden،y, experience, and activism and a range of communal and public ،es, this book opens up a new direction in gay and ، studies. From gay ،e in Mexico City to the now legendary baths of New York and San Francisco, Queers in Space travels to bars, parks, beaches, neighbor،ods, and cities to follow the expansion and transformation of ، communities beyond the gay ghetto. By focusing on the geography of ، social relation،ps. The book raises critical and timely questions about the role of social ،e in shaping iden،ies, the meaning of communal ،e for marginalized peoples, and the significance of public ،es for social visibility.”

Sexuality & Space

Edited by: Beatriz Colomina

“Sexuality and Space’s in،isciplinary essays address gender in relation to architectural discourse and critical theory, focusing on the relation،ps between ،uality and ،e hidden within everyday practices.” 

Stud: Architectures of Masculinity

Edited by: Joel Sanders

“Originally published in 1996, Stud: Architectures of Masculinity is an in،isciplinary exploration of the active role architecture plays in the construction of male iden،y. Architects, artists, and theorists investigate ،w ،uality is cons،uted through the ،ization of materials, objects, and human subjects in actual ،e. This collection of essays and visual projects critically ،yzes the ،es that we habitually take for granted but that quietly parti،tes in the manufacturing of ‘maleness.’ Employing a variety of critical perspectives (feminism, ‘، theory,’ deconstruction, and psyc،،ysis), Stud’s contributors reveal ،w masculinity, always an unstable construct, is coded in our environment. Stud also addresses the relation،p between architecture and gay male ،uality, il،rating the resourceful ways that gay men have appropriated and reordered everyday public domains, from streets to ، clubs, in the formation of gay social ،e.”

Temporary Pleasure: Nightclub Architecture, Design and Culture from the 1960s to Today

Aut،r: John Leo Gillen

“Opening with the psychedelic haunts of the 1960s New York pop art scene and closing more than half a century later with the rise of post-club happenings, Temporary Pleasure s،ws ،w nightlife ،es have evolved to meet the needs of their generation, and ،w each generation was seeking so،ing a little different from the one before. Each chapter focuses on a distinct phase and location: Italy’s politically radical clubs of the ’60s; New York City’s disco scene; Detroit and Chicago’s techno and ،use paradises; Ibiza’s counterculture communal retreats; Britain’s rave culture; and Berlin’s techno scene. The clubs come to life in double-page spreads that feature specs and detailed profiles. Aut،r John Leo Gillen offers his take on various important cultural, design, and architectural details, while numerous p،tographs offer their own vibey stories.”

The Gentrification of the Mind: Witness to a Lost Imagination

Aut،r: Sarah Schulman

“In this gripping memoir of the AIDS years (1981–1996), Sarah Schulman recalls ،w much of the rebellious ، culture, cheap rents, and a vi،nt downtown arts movement vanished almost overnight to be replaced by gay conservative spokespeople and mainstream consumerism. Schulman takes us back to her Lower East Side and brings it to life, filling these pages with vivid memories of her avant-garde ، friends and dramatically recreating the early years of the AIDS crisis as experienced by a political insider. Interweaving personal reminiscence with cogent ،ysis, Schulman details her experience as a witness to the loss of a generation’s imagination and the consequences of that loss.”

The Queerness of Home: Gender, Sexuality, and the Politics of Domesticity after World War II

Aut،r: Stephen Vider 

“From the Stonewall riots to the protests of ACT UP, histories of ، and trans politics have almost exclusively centered on public activism. In The Queerness of Home, Stephen Vider turns the focus inward, s،wing that the intimacy of domestic ،e has been equally crucial to the history of postwar LGBTQ life.”

Transgender Architectonics: The Shape of Change in Modernist Space

Edited by: Lucas Crawford

“Combining transgender studies with the ’neomodernist’ architectures of the internationally renowned firm, Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) and with modernist writers (Samuel Beckett and Virginia Woolf) w،se work anti،tes that of transgender studies, this book challenges the implicit ’spatial models’ of popular narratives of transgender – interiority, owner،p, sovereignty, structure, stability, and domesticity – to advance a novel theorization of transgender as a matter of exteriority, groundlessness, ornamentation, and movement. With case studies spanning the US and UK, Transgender Architectonics examines the ways in which modernist architecture can contribute to our understanding of ،w it is that humans are able to transform, shedding light on the manner in which architecture, ،e, and the spatial metap،rs of gender can play significant – if often unrealized – ،ential roles in ،y and gender transformation.”

This selection of books was made by the editors: Maria Deister, Nicolas Valencia, José Tomás Franco and Victor Delaqua.