Welcome to the Inclusive Design Lab
August 31, 2023 | Voices.001
This semester at Kennesaw State University’s College of Architecture and Construction Management, 5th Year B.Arch students are exploring queerness in architecture through research and documentation of LGBTQ+ spaces in Atlanta, GA. Partnering with Shamrock+, an architectural imaging company, students are taking 3D scans of queer spaces to document their history and analyze the architectural features that make them queer. The students are then partnering with the City of Atlanta’s Division of LGBTQ+ Affairs to develop concepts and programs for an LGBTQ+ Center in Atlanta. In a special series for Pride By Design, we will be following the studio’s progress and telling their stories.
Gerard Tompkins from Shamrock+ joins the Inclusive Design Lab to show us how to make 3D digital twins of spaces using Matterport scanners
Welcome to the Inclusive Design Lab, a specialized research-based architecture studio at Kennesaw State University whose purpose is to document and design LGBTQ+ spaces in Atlanta, GA. I am Jon Gould, AIA, a part-time assistant professor at KSU, and I am leading fourteen 5th year B.Arch students on a journey to understand and design queer spaces. This is an endeavor to explore the concepts of queerness in our built environments to help us understand how our architecture starts to influence our identities. I have titled this studio “Inclusive Design Lab” to showcase the importance of different identities in our designs. While this semester and this studio is focused on LGBTQ+ design and identity, I hope future studios can expand on this research to help architects design more inclusive spaces for all communities.
This semester consists of two main parts: research and design. We are beginning our dive into queerness by researching queer spaces, surveying queer-focused organizations, and using seminar discussion to analyze queer architecture theories and methodologies. This research will help us devise concepts and understandings of queer spaces beyond typical architectural theories, and help us implement new ideas as we design an LGBTQ+ Center.
But before all of that, we started with mapping our identities and understanding the connections that make us who we are. This exercise helped us introduce ourselves to each other beyond our perceived identities and started a conversation about space that was more than a program. By asking the question “how can we incorporate our layers of identity into a single space?” the class started engaging with the very definitions of space, and what it really means to create inclusive, welcoming, and queer space.
In addition to challenging our notions of space, the IDL will be documenting and analyzing existing queer spaces using Matterport Scanners provided by Shamrock+ and Cooper Carry. Gerard Tompkins from Shamrock+ stopped by the studio to train our students on the use of this technology and helped students navigate creating digital twins of spaces. Over the next month, students will go out to five different queer landmarks around Atlanta, GA to create 3D scans of the spaces. By creating these digital twins, the studio will be able to analyze the spaces in greater detail and provide the community a rich, detailed history of the spaces as they exist now.
As we develop our research base, the studio will work with the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Division of LGBTQ+ Affairs to continue their research and development of an LGBTQ+ Center for the City of Atlanta. Our studio’s aim is to provide concrete programmatic research in addition to aspirational and conceptual designs for an LGBTQ+ center. The designs will be showcased at the Mayor’s LGBTQ+ Art Exhibition in December 2023.
Thank you for joining us on this journey of discovery, inclusion, and queerness. We are just beginning our research and understanding of this topic, and we look forward to sharing more about our process and designs in the upcoming months! This studio would not be possible without the support of Kennesaw State University and the full support of the College of Architecture and Construction Management. We also want to thank our generous sponsor, Shamrock+, for providing us the technology and access to Matterport’s services. And thank you to our technology sponsor, Cooper Carry for lending us equipment to do this research.
Thank you to the contributions of our 5th B.Arch Students: Abby Akridge, Tiffany Belmonte, Hai Domino, Lucas Fernandez, Isabel Hunt, Kayla Langston, Nia Lankford, Ty Lawrence, Cason Lott, Ashley Maloney, Yevguenni Marseille, An Nguyen, Jacob Powell, and Ian Willis.
Follow our journey on Instagram @jg_designlab
Thank you to our Studio Sponsor Shamrock+
