Negroni Talks #S13 Queer Eye for the RESI

The Negroni Talks – hosted by architects Fourthspace and sponsored by Campari – were set up to capture the lively and provocative debates that took place in the European café culture of the early twentieth century - www.fourthspace.co.uk/events. This talk is a collaboration with Corner, an LGBTQ+ coffee shop, art gallery and cocktail bar in New Cross, co-owned by partners Mark Osman-Barter (he/they) and Tarek Merlin (he/him) who is also Director and Co-Founder Feix&Merlin Architects.

The different typologies of building and space in which we live are broad and disparate, as housing models have evolved over the centuries to suit different needs. From cellular abodes to open-plan spaces, from the detached residence to mixed-use developments, we have sought to formulate ways to accommodate the changing needs of individuals, families and communities within different environments. But is this long tradition of flexibility and adaptation being adhered to today and what happens when we look at it through a queer lens?

Current housing standards and regulations have become prescriptive in an attempt to prevent the worst tendencies of house builders, who are led by profit rather than quality. This has led to a situation where everyone meets the absolute minimum in terms of layouts and spatial planning. The 1-bed, 2-bed or 3-bed apartment and to a certain degree the detached, semi-detached and terraced house have in turn become increasingly standardized as a set of propositions, that seem unresponsive to the specifics of demographic or location that they address.

We need the spaces we live in to meet basic universal criteria and to do so with a level of decency. However, should factors such as age, race, class and variations in cohabitation and what constitutes ‘the family’, not further challenge the standards and range of residential design when it is predicated on heteronormative expectations of how we live? Has ‘the home’ become a space that breeds similarities and isolation rather than differences and communality? Do our homes fundamentally address and reflect our needs as inhabitants?

The LGBTQ+ community is questioning these standards through investigations into potential alternatives within design and architecture. But as we struggle to deal with the very basics of quality in the creation of new homes, can we possibly stretch further to think about the needs of communities that don’t ascribe to ‘traditional’ occupation? It feels like we have lost the ability to build homes that are fit for purpose, which is a relatively modern condition. What can and should be done to ditch the one-size-fits-all approach and instead consider the needs of more diverse residents?

Speakers include:

Tarek Merlin, Feix&Merlin Architect (Chair)

Tom Copley, Deputy Mayor of London for Housing and Residential Development

Ashita Roongta, London School of Architecture and Feix&Merlin

Paul Clark, Stories

Prof Pippa Catterall, University of Westminster