In the interest of elevating the voices of different marginalized groups in every corner of the design field, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), in partnership with Emergent Grounds for Design Education (EGDE), has announced the next edition of their groundbreaking research series Where Are My People? dedicated to exploring the LGBTQIA+ community’s impact on architecture.

The newly announced Where Are My People? Queer in Architecture is organized into two sections. Part I looks at the intersectionality of queer identities while unpacking data findings both quantitative and qualitative to reach a "comprehensive understanding" of the significance of representation. After that, Part II centers on contemporary theory on gender and sexuality to encourage a critical dialogue about the ways in which architecture can establish more inclusive spaces apart from the binary. 

EDGE's Michelle Barrett says they will combine to help "recontextualize how and why we need a queering of architecture."

Population statistics derived from the survey help augment a picture of contemporary representation, working towards a "benchmark for comparison" in the near future.

Collaborative Design Workshop facilitator Chris Daemmrich adds: “All architectural educators and practitioners have a duty to challenge design that disempowers, excludes and harms. Queer designers, design educators and students, especially those who are racialized as Black, Indigenous or people of color, rise to this challenge daily. Where Are My People? Queer in Architecture gives voice to some of these courageous designers, affirming our proud existence in the face of those who would prefer we disappear."

The expansion follows previous documentation of the interactions of architecture with systems that perpetuate racial inequality, highlighting the experiences of Black, AAPI, MENA (or Middle East and North Africa), and Indigenous groups including Native Americans and First Nations people.

An open survey will remain ongoing to allow the ACSA to continue to cull data and provide for additional voices to be heard. The ACSA invites LGBTQIA+ readers to participate at the following link. The results will be published in an update at a later time.