AJ 22.05.25: Out
Our special edition explores, spotlights and celebrates the LGBTQ+ community’s rich contribution to architecture, providing much affirmation and inspiration: the AJ is going Out.
We present thought-provoking discussions about queer culture, about whose voices are heard, who gets to occupy space – and where. Space is political, and that feels especially so at present. The RCA’s Gem Barton, who leads the Architecture LGBT+ Academic Champions Network, has a striking take: ‘To queer is to disrupt. To queer is to stretch, bend, reimagine and reject inherited structures that no longer serve us — if they ever did.’
Also within the issue are profiles of the community’s champions and leaders, a feature on why we need LGBTQ+ housing, and a deep dive into nightclub design. With Pride month imminent, be sure to fill your calendar using our detailed diary of upcoming events.
In Opinion, Kirsty Watt and Bek Ziola argue that architects have a duty of care to design spaces for all people, regardless of the recent Supreme Court hearing, and David Grandorge undertakes a queer pilgrimage.
The issue also contains two building studies – Feix&Merlin’s restrained refurb of Walworth Town Hall, and John Puttick Associates’ youth centre in a former power station in Blackburn. Plus we revisit a pioneering senior co-housing scheme co-designed by Pollard Thomas Edwards to see what we can learn from this rare and radical way of living.
In Culture, Daniel Ovalle Coastal writes about how his research into LGBTQ+ housing has led him to create dollhouses, and Derin Fadina reviews the queer-focused pavilions at this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale. While in Sketchbook, four architectural professionals share their work made at life drawing sessions.
Elsewhere in the issue you can find our monthly competitions roundup, the full shortlists for this year’s AJ100 awards, and Aga Szedzianis’s column on why interior designers are paid more than architects.
£16.00
