“Queer(ing) Space” is the end result of a new, semester-long fellowship endowed by Despina Stratigakos, supporting research related to gender and sexuality in architecture.

It builds on the premise that queer spaces are not created, but rather that spaces are put to queer use. It understands and activates “queer” as a verb rather than an adjective, prioritizing appropriation, deconstruction, and activism as primary methods of intervention. The Stratigakos Collection is engaged with an intersectional lens to understand how methods of queering can be and have been used in service of creating, reclaiming, and protecting queer gathering spaces.

ABOUT THE COLLECTION:

A writer, historian and educator, Despina Stratigakos gifted more than 150 books from her own shelves to form the Despina Stratigakos Women in Architecture Book Collection in the UB Libraries. A former Vice provost for Inclusive Excellence at the Unviersty at Buffalo, Stratigakos has spent the past 20 years working to diversify the field of architecture through scholarship and public advocacy.

This symposium highlights the work of three authors already included in the Stratigakos Collection, and adds another three to the collection as a part of the Fellowship. The premise of Queer(ing) Space is explored in the context of the work of these six participants: Julie Abraham, Harrison Apple, Aaron Betsky, S.E. Eisterer, Malcolm Rio, and Joel Sanders. Their texts are understood through video interviews with the panelists, in conversation Adam Thibodeaux, the inaugural Stratigakos Fellow, and his Masters of Architecture students at the University at Buffalo.

Photography by Sara Heidinger