What is Queeries?
Why Queeries?
Why now?
Identities are political. How one identifies and how one is perceived by others can affect design philosophies, processes, and outcomes. Quantifying and qualifying the multifaceted experiences, stories, and feelings of queer designers confronts discourses of diversity, equity, and inclusion within design professions. As LGBTQIA+ issues and queer spaces become increasingly important, engagement with and community-building among queer architects and designers is vital to ensure the inclusion of our voices.
Communities of queer architects and designers exist in isolated pockets around the U.S. The responses collected through Queeries serves as documentation of our existence—a living history, of sorts—despite the lack of queer representation in current surveys and demographic studies.
Communities of queer architects and designers exist in isolated pockets around the U.S. The responses collected through Queeries serves as documentation of our existence—a living history, of sorts—despite the lack of queer representation in current surveys and demographic studies.
How does Queeries work?
The format of an ongoing series of surveys is designed to be flexible for participants. Each series will include a preview of the questions so that participants know what they will be asked. As an evolving project, surveys may build upon or dive deeper into topics covered in a previous series. Discussions of the responses may lead to surveys on topics selected by collective input.
Queeries recognizes that the use of surveys to study a group of people comes with its own set of inherent biases and limitations. Online surveys without a known participant list may not reach as many people, and resulting conclusions may not represent the entire community. Thus, Queeries rejects universal generalizations of queer architects and designers based on responses. The project succeeds when as many perspectives as possible are recorded, not when general trends or projections of future activities can be made.
Queeries recognizes that the use of surveys to study a group of people comes with its own set of inherent biases and limitations. Online surveys without a known participant list may not reach as many people, and resulting conclusions may not represent the entire community. Thus, Queeries rejects universal generalizations of queer architects and designers based on responses. The project succeeds when as many perspectives as possible are recorded, not when general trends or projections of future activities can be made.
Who is Queeries / Queer Agenda?
Queer Agenda is a biweekly-ish newsletter on queerness + architecture. Read more and subscribe on Substack. New Queeries surveys will be announced in the newsletter.
Queeries exists because the queer architect and designer community exists! Lovingly developed and created in fits and starts by A.L. Hu.
Queeries exists because the queer architect and designer community exists! Lovingly developed and created in fits and starts by A.L. Hu.