Out in Architecture: Revisiting Abundance
Hello! Andrew Grant Houston here.
In the spirit of June being pride month and with the recent release of Vol. II of “Out in Architecture”, a collection of stories by LGBTQIA+ Architects and designers, I’ve decided (with permission) to share my story from Vol. I of the book series.
For me a huge part of House Cosmopolitan stems from radical acceptance of myself, and through that, empowering myself to be able to design places that welcome people and create the space that allows them to celebrate and honor themselves. I share this story both as a reminder for myself of my values but also as an invitation to learn about more of others stories alongside sharing your own.
You can purchase a copy of Vol. I with this story or the latest collection, Vol. II, at https://www.blurb.com/user/PridexDesign.
Beau Frail and Sarah Nelson-Woynicz sat down virtually with Andrew Grant Houston to discuss his journey into architecture, the impetus of House Cosmopolitan, and how intentionality in authenticity and celebrating identity has impacted and intersected with his community and architecture work. The following transcript has been edited for clarity and length.
BF: Thank you for being a part of this conversation. This is intended to be a platform for sharing stories and the stories can be whatever is on your heart and that you're wanting to share. And we're hoping it leads to more stories being shared in the future.
AGH: Yes, I think that’s fantastic and I’m really excited to be a part of the first one.
BF: The first question is pretty boilerplate, but can you share about your journey into the architecture profession? Feel free to go as far back as you’d like.
AGH: My interest in architecture began as a kid in Texas, going to beaches. I did not have much interest in going into the warm Gulf Coast water, but had a huge desire to build sandcastles—to put things together, to find things along the beach like seashells and seaweed, to just start decorating. Being of the era of:
‘you will be successful if: you get the highest grade on your SATs;
take all AP classes; and do every single extracurricular activity,’
that definition of ‘success’ introduced me to a lot of other interests and ideas as to what I could pursue in college; but I kept coming back to Architecture as this idea of being able to create the places for all of those things to happen.
BF: So the next question I have is: ‘how have you carved or made space for the things that are important to you in Architecture,’ but actually let me get to another question first, because I think it's more of a foundational question. It’s also something that you mentioned when first responding to the call for ‘Out in Architecture.’ How have your identities—the layers of who you are and their intersections—grown over time? And how have they perhaps merged or maybe even butted up against Architecture?
AGH: I would say that—especially going to a school like the University of Texas—being mixed race, both Black and Hispanic, as well as someone who was recently out when I started school really informed my notion of perspective: of designing for different types of people and for different types of experiences, but having that all live within the same space.
I would say that over time my identity has definitely grown and changed, and that has to do with both an increasing knowledge of intersectionality and what that means to be and carry all of these things as well as my evolution through my queer identity—of being more comfortable and unlearning ideas and aspects of what I'm ‘supposed to be.’
I think in some ways it almost helped being bisexual but now identifying as queer to not have these expectations around what it means to be a man who loves men; but all that is to say is that it is ever-changing and growing, and similar to how I try to design and to create space, in that I aim to be more thoughtful and aware of creating and designing places where anyone can feel themselves welcome.
BF: Yeah, I think that's our great challenge as Architects and designers, that is: how do we shape the design prompt to be more inclusive to be more equitable—not just the prompt but the entire process—and who's at the table. Who's basically given the ability to shape their spaces and communities.
AGH: I agree with that, and I would say that it's that interplay between what the prompt is and what the actual question is that is being asked. For us, particularly as LGBTQ architects and designers, it is really trying to ask the right questions and to think of questions that may not be being asked. I would say particularly due to still working in such a usually straight-White-male dominated field, working for clients who are even more so straight-White-men—
with a lot of power just built into the structures over time—
that can be intimidating! It can be really challenging to, in essence, have to stick yourself out [there] in order to make sure that those questions are being asked, to make sure that we're being inclusive of other people. But in some ways, if we are not the vanguard of that…then it doesn't happen.
BF: We talked with another Architect this week and similar to what we're talking about, She said that when she goes into spaces, she assumes— especially in these architecture spaces because of who has been directing things and who has created largely unwelcome spaces for so long, and who practices— that she just assumes that she needs to take up space—
AGH: —Mmm, mhmm!—
BF: —because that space isn't going to be given to her or she's not going to be innately welcome, so she has to make sure that the way she approaches the space is with that in mind, because otherwise She could easily be taken for granted or spoken over. That's what gets to be intimidating or formidable and, you know, stepping into your own power; and this actually touches on one of the questions I wanted to ask, but we don't have to jump there yet because I do want to start talking about House Cosmopolitan because I think it will inform some of the later questions.
AGH: —Well, I was going to say that this actually touches really well on the concept of not just design, but really running a business: because at the end of the day particularly for myself as an entrepreneur—and really, for anyone who's within leadership—it's important to understand that design is just one aspect of making sure that we are still able to practice; and to your point of She, I think it's…it's so relevant, particularly as someone who naturally can be fairly introverted, of knowing that I need to take up space in order to even get projects. That I need to be selling myself. I need to be marketing. I need to be putting myself out there. All the time. Because no one is just going to come up to me and say:
“Oh, yes, I would love to give you this project”
especially as a newer practice, a startup, especially as a person of color and a queer person, there are just those barriers that you have to recognize if you’re going to have the kind of practice you want, If you’re going to have the kind of…we'll just say ‘nice things’ that we would like to just have in our own life, then you have to step out there and you have to take your power.
SN-W: I think what you just said around having to make that choice and having to almost, kind of…have this introspection to be very visible and outward facing as you go through getting any of the day-to-day done for your business really gets into some of the original ideas of the survey as it relates to intentionality around visibility. So I'm wondering, could you talk about that intentionality around the visibility and how that works into how you've created your practice and how you are as an entrepreneur and as a business owner? Because to me it sounds like they're very interrelated and that there's a lot of intentionality behind it. And so, I think that'd be really wonderful to hear somebody who has their own business and also has such an emphasis on these interrelations and how your core values are so tied to the business you are creating.
AGH: Yes. I would say that, in many ways, it's similar to the queer experience; and what I mean by that is: particularly as professionals; as individuals who don't have the typical nine-to-five; as people that have brains that do not turn ‘off’ whenever we close our laptops; that you're always thinking about how you are presenting yourself and how you are inhabiting a place—a space. And when you are an entrepreneur—
especially for myself, that I am my business, I am just one individual—
I definitely keep in mind how I'm operating in my neighborhood and how I am engaging with other people. And what I would note about that experience is that there is a lot of self-policing that goes into that, and so it can be very taxing. It’s similar to the queer experience in that even when growing up, that you recognize:
“Oh! if I move my hands a certain way,” or
“Oh! If I talk about certain things or use certain words,”
then I'm giving an indication as to who I am or could be, and that's very vulnerable and scary when you have not fully embraced or even figured out your identity. But all that is to say that what I have found helpful and refreshing as part of my work is being honest and open about who I am.
I think I benefit from being from Texas because that is something that is very inherent to who we are—that you give it to somebody straight and they can tell if you're not coming at them the right kind of way. But by being direct, it makes it less challenging for me to align with the right kind of clients and more clear as to: the kind of Architect I am; the kind of design that I want to do; and what I am able to do for a client. And for many people I believe that they find it really refreshing. It also means in many, many instances that a lot of the clients that I do have for my own practice are not straight-White-men. They're people to whom, I say,
“I'm meeting you where you are; I can recognize that you are from
a group or have an experience or have a culture that is unique to you;
So let's celebrate that because that is who you are.”
SN-W: It is refreshing. It is refreshing to hear that allowance and that intention, and that this is who you are and who your business is and what it represents. And it also recognizes who other people are and I think that that is in great need for a lot of practices and in a lot of places.
BF: And that's a really beautiful intention about going in, celebrating who we are and who we are as a team or who we are as a community, and I feel like that really holds space for joy. That it’s validating past or shared experiences. Like a collaboration for just futures that we want to bring into existence.
AGH: Absolutely.
BF: But I think that intention—and I'd love for you to talk even more about House Cosmopolitan and what was the spark because I know we've had kind of similar journeys of,
“oh, I guess I'm starting a firm now.—”
AGH: (laughter) yes!
BF: —and getting to be real intentional about what we work on while also living in a capitalist society of:
“Well, I know I have to take on these projects, but I also want to be really intentional and say, ‘this is the path I want to go in, and this is the path of what I want to do—’”
AGH: Yes—
BF: Which I feel like it gets to the power of ‘yes and/or no,’ right? That we need to say ‘yes’ to certain things, but we can't say ‘yes’ to everything because then it might limit a project we want to take on…anyways, I won't get too deep into that thought, because I'm not sure if it applies to you —
AGH: No, I think that's extremely relevant because: I started my own practice in the middle of 2019; and then the pandemic started less than a year later; and as a high-risk individual I did not leave my apartment for 14 months; which also meant that I wasn’t practicing in the same way I had been before and it was difficult to find clients. So that concept of choice still resonates. Right now we're in the middle of 2023 and I feel like I'm just getting on my legs; of really working on my own projects.
We don't talk about it a lot within the practice, but it is fairly common for smaller practices to do contract work for larger firms, and so in that way I have done collaborations and I've worked on larger projects, but it can be limiting—to your point related to the capitalist system and needing to do this kind of work in order to carry on—and you have to recognize that you may not be recognized for that work or for that experience; that it may not be exactly the types of projects that you want to work on. You give up a certain sense of power in order to just maintain that sense of stability. And in some ways, that goes counter to the idea of running your own practice; of:
“okay, I'm taking this power and bringing it in,”
but then at the end of the day, we are still individuals who are working for clients, so there is that tacit change.
BF: [nods in agreement]
AGH: But before I go into how I'm trying to take back more power in that way, Let me go over the impetus of starting House Cosmopolitan.
It was a combination of two factors. I was working for an architecture firm here in Seattle doing multifamily work. It was really progressive, particularly coming from Texas and even Austin. I would say, as much as it is an urban playground and there are spaces for everybody, that Austin definitely sees itself as a
“we are all equal”
type of town that doesn't really celebrate, bring forward, or lift up unique identities. It’s something that has improved over time, but particularly in 2016 when I was there, I just felt like I needed a new experience that was outside of Texas.
I also wanted to work on larger—and specifically housing—projects. I've always been passionate about housing as I was raised in rental housing my entire life being brought up by just my mother since I was two, so that was something that was really important to me. So I needed to move to a place like Seattle in order to do that.
Unfortunately towards the end of 2018, there was a blip in the market here; as such, architecture firms started shedding people. I was shed from my company; I was laid off. [factor one]
And so I was looking for a new opportunity and happened to be connected to individuals who worked at WeWork, so I applied thinking,
“Okay, well I'm going to go from traditional practice to go work for a startup,”
to make more money and to be in a place where I would actually travel for projects. So I was based in San Francisco, but I worked on locations in Seattle (where I was from at the time), Portland, and Denver.
Going into WeWork—which can be its own interview in itself—
BF + SN-W: (knowing smiles)
AGH: felt like…such a reversal from being in traditional practice. And why I say that is, even though I was in a more progressive company in Seattle, there were multiple instances where I raised issues related to…what I would call ‘old boy politics.’ There was a colleague of mine at that firm for example, who was a man and made a snide [read: misogynistic] remark to a younger female colleague. I called it out in that instance and said that it wasn’t okay. This instance was later brought up during my yearly review as an issue, because I directly addressed it as opposed to going to HR.
So going from that, to a company that says,
“We love you for exactly who you are. We want you to be
your authentic self. We want you to get involved in these
Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)—”
and there was a Pride one; there was a Black one; there was Latinx one; there was one for people who were really into the outdoors; there was a Slack channel for pretty much anything you wanted to do; and there was funding for all of this. So if you wanted to go do activities and to do team bonding outings, then you could. And even within being an Architect in WeWork, what was really impressive was that you were, in essence, part of a department that was fully integrated—that was vertical integration. You were working alongside interior designers, construction managers, development managers (who were effectively your project managers), and that felt…amazing.
Something that was also really empowering in some ways, was the fact that everyone was fairly young. They were within their 20s, 30s, and 40s. There were some people who were older, but I would say that the general energy and interest in being devoted to the mission was shared by all. Plus, you got to work on cool-looking things that looked really sleek, and nice, and pretty.
And the overall mission of the company—in theory—was good. It was:
We're providing space for these smaller businesses to be able to
build community with each other and then help build each other up.
The other side of that was that the intensity—at an 11 for being who you are meant that you also were at an 11 for the work you put in. And so, as someone who had spent a lot of time and very intentionally worked for practices that: did not push me to work more than 40 hours; that really respected work life balance; all of that went out the window.
And…everything was good, outside of and being tired all the time and feeling that in some ways I was starting to lose my own sense of self simply because I just…didn't have time to either rest or even just do the things that I would normally want to do as just a human being. That, as much as Architecture is such an inherent part of our identity and that being a professional means that you go into places and you just never turn ‘off;’ that truly not having an ‘off’ switch because: you're still working; you're still trying to get designs done by the deadlines set; you’re working almost every if not every day of the week, including the weekends; took a toll on myself and on so many other people I worked with.
And so, when I was laid off from there… [factor two]
…to be honest, it was devastating in some ways.
It was this—for better or worse—sense of,
“okay, well I've been kind of chewed up and spit out and
if I can't find a way to do the kind of work that I love,”
—which is like, why we do Architecture, we don't—
BF + SN-W: (laughter)
AGH: —there are very few people in this profession who don't like their job, because if they truly didn’t they would be working in something else making significantly more money!
Anyways, I thought to myself,
“If I can't do traditional practice and find success;
if I can't do non-traditional practice and find success,—”
—knowing that there is such a huge need for housing; that there always has been; that we have been in affordability crisis since the recession in 2008—
“—then I need to carve my own path in order to be successful, as an entrepreneur.”
BF: That's really great, thank you for sharing that with us. I know I resonate with your story because I had a very similar arc to starting Activate, but I also feel how we define success is really important too, right? And like you said, sometimes our careers—especially in the way that trajectory has gone over the last 50 plus years in the United States—is that your career has become so much more tethered and interwoven into who you are, instead of all these community spaces supporting you.
That's one of the things I love about the Out in Architecture group and the groups like the Build Out Alliance and the LGBTQIA+ Alliances at AIA is that they are starting to create new community spaces that haven't existed before besides smaller, one-off connections at other organizations’ events. But the whole concept of redefining success and getting to choose how we bring ourselves into our days rather than letting work choose how we bring ourselves into our days is such a powerful paradigm shift.
AGH: It is, and it definitely is something where—I don't know about for yourself, but—I believe many of us within the LGBTQ community came into architecture with this sense of ‘we're going into a creative field so there are going to be more people like us,’ and then when you actually get into practice and see how people are or are not allowed to express that identity for fear of impacting the business...that can definitely be eye opening.
SN-W: Yes, even for me, almost in the last eight months to a year, the number of people to just look up and say,
“We have an opportunity here and are visible with one another and alongside one another,”
It's one of those instances where, just in conversations I look back six years ago and think that if you had told me that I would be where I am now six years later, I would have said,
“Absolutely not! There's no way that that is possible.”
But I think in finding that safety and networking community and acknowledging that: it's a little bit uncertain; and it's mostly virtual because we are all literally all over the place; but that there's at least the opportunity to start and look up and see something different—than what I think I've ever historically expected would be even present—has been this amazing breath of fresh air. It’s a little bit uncertain, but it’s also one of those moments where it's a wow moment; that this could be different and it can be different because of the spaces that we are all in right in this moment.
So it's been the most challenging but also the most liberating at the same time, to—just in a few short months—realize that is happening as it starts to form in real time. I come from a very traditional, more corporate architecture background—the whole nine yards, I kind of fit in that box. But to realize that box doesn't always have to have that lid on it has just continued to fuel me.
AGH: And that is something where it is the balance of: how much power do you have and how much can you take; of recognizing that we can challenge these notions even within our own field; that we don't have to conform to preconceived notions of how to go about practicing.
BF: Bringing it back to visibility a little bit I remember seeing this quote on how visibility, when it's not coupled with safety, is very dangerous. So when we start talking about how we create and preserve queer physical spaces in our communities, how do we design that more equitable future? Whether it's in our physical spaces; in our firms; in our culture, that's inclusive of the grand diversity of the LGBTQIA+ community. A community which intersects with every race, gender, nationality, religion, you name it— like a beautiful diversity of stars in the universe.
AGH: You are a poet.
BF: (laughter)
AGH: (thinking for a minute)
Because being queer is such an inherently political thing that never truly has a neutral center, you either…are being inclusive and pro-queer or exclusive and anti-queer.
Similar to how racism operates and infiltrates everything that we do and experience, queerness needs to be viewed in a similar lens—especially given that it is so intersectional to so many other identities. It takes a mindfulness that becomes a practice—that becomes inherent to who you are and what you do—to be further expansive.
I would say that so much of what is going on, especially in this moment and in this decade, is tied to a pretty simple question in my opinion, which is:
Are we in a space of scarcity?
Or are we in a space of abundance?
and when you embrace the idea of being in: a space of abundance; a place of abundance; that is pro-inclusivity. That is pro-queer. And when you start to view the world in that way, you then—almost inherently—just start bringing these people in and you start bringing in these identities and you start really identifying and naming these unique aspects to people.
Part of House Cosmopolitan and my mantra, which is this idea of celebrating culture, is of course, clearly race, and gender, and based in heritage. But also part of that is simply everyday culture: of really celebrating simple moments; of really saying things like,
“You really love coffee! Let's create a really great coffee place where you can go and you have that great relationship with the barista,”
which, for as much as we have so many bars and nightclubs as LGBTQ spaces and the places where we were allowed to be—and still have because of that— I would say that another big one is the queer coffee shop, that most major cities have at least one. So in preserving and expanding LGBTQ spaces, there should be a push to create different types of spaces that really identify or celebrate all aspects of our identities. Because being queer isn't merely tied to going out dancing or our sexuality, and being sexual in a dark space away from everyone else. In other words: that our spaces are only valid because there's shame attached to it—that it has to be hidden.
Our identity is more than that, and as we move into more abundance we should be pushing for more types of spaces that recognize that.
BF: 100% agreed; that's beautiful. Yes, and not always alcohol, too. For example, going to a pride event and even being intentional about the drinks available. Are the drinks you have beer, wine, and cocktails, and nothing else besides water in a plastic cup? You want to be celebrated for all the important parts of you that you bring into spaces, so those kinds of choices are a super important thing to be mindful of.
And also bookstores, I love queer bookstores.
AGH: Yes!
BF: If I even go into a regular bookstore, I ask,
“Hey, where's your LGBTQ section?”
And I hate it when they say,
“oh! you know, it's just kind of scattered around everywhere.”
AGH: (laughter) which can kind of go one of two ways, because sometimes that means: oh yes, there is like at least one LGBTQ book in every single different section, and that's awesome too.
I was just thinking this as I just started reading a book, ‘What If It’s Us,’ [authors here] which is about a meet-cute between these two boys, and even thinking,
“Wow! 20 years ago I could not imagine this book or having as many options in terms of novels that really talk about this experience,”
and not in that way of,
“Oh! Everything is so hard for us!”
or that classic trope of “Bury Your Gays” from the 90s; that queer experiences only end in tragedy. These newer books cover just…silly things that were never talked about before. Like this story in particular, one of the characters has ADHD, which really resonates with me. I had no idea that this experience [as it intersects with being queer] was something that was just talked about normally, casually in a novel, because growing up nothing like this ever existed.
And so…bringing it back to architecture, it’s about bringing to light realities that we could not have imagined before. That as we start to move forward and take more power, that it's both working within the system— for example, doing what you can with the projects that you have—,but also working outside of the system: getting more political; identify or even pushing people within our [LGBTQ] community that have power and have access to capital to be involved in development and to work on these types of projects. I would say that's definitely one of my own challenges being in Seattle, is really identifying either developers or property owners that are within the community and saying,
“Hey, you can actually work with someone who shares your
identity, who shares the ability to get you on that level,”
who will then end up supporting yourself. It is that sense of lifting each other up that is so important and has been such a huge part of our history within the community in so many other ways; this can—for better or worse—also translate to business, and in many ways to help ensure that we are all living in a place of abundance.
SN-W: I love that. That reminds me of June this year when I got to meet with the director of LGBTQ Affairs from the Mayor[of Atlanta]'s office. I live in Atlanta, which has a rich history when it comes to both really advocating for equity and embracing that also in the LGBTQ community. We had a panel conversation with him about equitable cities, from a policy but also from a programming and a space standpoint, and what that looks like for the office of LGBTQ Affairs. And then in the midst of planning and in the midst of random conversations it came up that Atlanta doesn't have an LGBTQ Resource Center. We're one of the few major and incredibly queer cities in the country that doesn't.
AGH: Mmm!
BF: Yeah, and neither does Austin.
S N-W: Yeah! It’s ridiculous. Other less inclusive cities in Georgia have them, which is mind blowing. There’s one in Macon, [in Savannah], but not one in Atlanta? How does that happen?
AGH: (laughter)
SN-W: But in this conversation he was mentioning that the City [of Atlanta] was starting to evaluate internally, and starting community engagement to figure out: what is the need; what does this look like; what could a space look like; and I said to him on the phone,
“I wouldn’t be doing my job as an Architect if I didn't also say to you that if you're looking for queer architects to be a part of this process, you now know two of them; and there are more of us, and any of us would love to be a part of this with you.”
and now he's plugged in with a studio up at a local university here and a queer professor who’s teaching a queer studio.
AGH: Amazing.
S N-W: It was one of these amazing conversations, just to be able to say to somebody who's in that position of power; who's in policy at the city; who's really driving programming and even the creation of space; that we are also here in design and this is something that any number of designers would love to just be a part of and walk with you in it.
And it gives me chills even just thinking about that moment in time; and having that conversation; and having having that access to somebody who's in that seat; to be able to say to them,
“If you're looking for Architects and especially queer architects, there is an
abundance and we would love to be in this process with you.”
It was one of the highlights of my year; one of the top five of 2023.
AGH: Awesome, yeah, that's amazing. And Beau, I know that you have been involved with the process of trying to establish something similar in Austin, which I felt like while I lived there was frustrating in its own lens.
And I think to your point, Sarah, that it is so important to recognize that yes, there is this aspect of Architecture where people are bringing problems and questions to us. But then we also should inherently, as ourselves, be out there asking questions of other people and to really start to develop those potential projects and those potential instances that we can then give back.
BF: I think this folds very well into our last question, about what being a ‘Citizen Architect’ means to you, if you align with that phrase, or maybe you have a different one? What does ‘Citizen Architect’ mean to you, and why is it important for Architects, and really everyone, to become more active in their communities through civic engagement?
AGH: Well…an aside. I feel the term ‘Citizen Architect’ is a bit forced and is a bit of consultant jargon given to us in the profession. In other words, it’s a bit within the system.
SN-W: Well, I have been reminding people that the intent is to throw the system off. We are working within and breaking out of the system simultaneously. We're asking both for the profession to change, but we're also recognizing that it's refused to change and that this book and collection of stories has to go beyond what's in place right now. Because it has really—until this moment in time—not been willing to change. And so this book is a part of encouraging that but also moving beyond it. So it does not have to be under that term.
BF: Yeah, the question was really meant to talk about your run for mayor [of Seattle in 2021], so we can rephrase the question and interview however we want.
AGH: (laughter)
BF: I know ‘Citizen Architect’ is a term used in a lot of marketing of the profession lately, but it's really about being civically engaged in our communities to shape the policies and programs.
AGH: Though, I still want to push back on the concept of ‘Citizen Architect’ and say that it's not simply enough to be another voice in the room given our understanding of systems. And not just systems from a literal, physical, construction standpoint; but as individuals that operate within systems of capital and power, that Architects should be political.
That Architecture is political.
Buildings are not neutral.
They play a role in either enforcing the existing systems or breaking out of those systems.
And so there are instances and moments where Architects should be stepping into their power, their knowledge, and their capacity to not simply work within the existing system, but to challenge and change the system for the better.
BF + SN-W: (nod in agreement)
BF: I don't know why, but for some reason the thing that's popping into my head now is the idea of Architects as decorators of boxes versus planners who are in charge of what the box looks like, and I know you've worked in planning too—
AGH: —(I’ve had so many hats)—
BF: —and what it gets me to is what you said about looking at systems and power and how we can leverage those, whether it’s from the top down or the ground up through grassroots organizing. Could you imagine a collective of queer people coming together to basically be our own developers, and really lead the design process? Because typically, it's the developers and policymakers who dictate what and where we can mostly build, and then it's people with access to capital who direct the funds that flow through that vessel.
So how do we hack this? Other than dissolving the entire system, how do we hack into the system to create spaces where we can celebrate all of our identities and create spaces that are safe, celebratory, and make space for joy?
AGH: I think you are getting towards a great question and making a great point which is: how do we work within the existing system because there is so much inherent power in that system?
I would say that because of your queer identity, or that you belong to another and marginalized community, there's always this inherent desire to destroy the existing system and to build something new. As much as I agree with that concept, I would say given the kind of change that we need to see in order for all of us to continue existing in a relatively nice way on Earth, that we do have to both work within the existing system while building a new one.
You touched on two really great points, which is: a lot of power and what really dictates both system of Architecture and how it operates are within these two frames that are
politics; policymaking; in effect, writing the rules of the game to how we practice and
development and real estate providing the capital to be able to actually play the game
Within the first frame, I’ve been involved previously in policy making both through working at a form-based code consultancy on my path towards getting my license and more recently running for office to become Mayor of Seattle [in 2021]. Part of the impetus of doing the latter was the climate crisis—of experiencing eight days in a row while isolated where the sky was red and the temperatures outside were within the mid-80s to high-90s; of having 5000 unhoused people be outside in these conditions, with the City [of Seattle] providing effectively no response or solution to address what was a humanitarian crisis.
But also, recognizing that the city had been in a housing crisis for a long time before this. That as an Architect with an understanding the things I needed to change within just the basic rules of zoning and the permitting process; that if I was successful—if I was able to just take some time to go in, fix this, and come back out—that it would be able to help all of us [within the industry] immensely so much more. That I would be using my knowledge and experience as an Architect to inform that conversation.
Within the second frame, the real estate and development piece, is actually what I'm working on right now. I am partnering with another individual to hopefully start a housing development; and I’m focused on that effort in the hopes that by moving into development and taking more power that I will be able to have more control over the design of projects—of the physical representation of what a city could look like. Or, if I'm fortunate enough, that within Capitol Hill (our local gayborhood in Seattle) I’ll have the opportunity to create a place that I feel could truly represent what it means to be queer in a physical space. That is something I'm really excited to be working on because, in effect, what it is doing is getting closer and closer to being unapologetically myself and unapologetically within my identity.
BF: That’s beautiful, thank you.
SN-W: And congrats! That's exciting. To be continuing to step in and innovate and create and find the path to where you want to be; that's amazing.
AGH: Thank you, and it’s not to say that it’s not exhausting.
SN-W: No! Yeah.
AGH: And I think that's an important thing to really highlight that—particularly being an entrepreneur and even within our supportive community—it can be really tiring. And it is not an easy road, so many people will just stop and say,
“I can't do this anymore,”
and that's okay sometimes. But if we are going to get to a place where: more of us truly feel represented; more of us feel more inclusive; then it is on those of us who are in a practice now to put in that effort. And similar to organizing politically, that we just all lean on each other. That we can provide that support when we're able to, knowing that we will need that support back.
BF + SN-W: (nods in agreement)
BF: Yes, the power of being in community.
AGH: Yes! Exactly. So, ‘COMMUNITY Architect.’ Not ‘Citizen Architect.’