Recently I learned about “discotecture” at a panel discussion for the ongoing Chicago Architecture Biennial. The term names the invisible structures of queer nightclubs; built by the bodies, movement, and norms which determine who feels safe, desired, and cared for. A type of architecture stronger than the brick or beams of the building itself, holding communities together and carrying its culture forward… even when physical spaces come and go. (RIP Danny’s).
Since then I’ve seen this in different and inspiring ways. Like this platform helping people buy multi-unit homes with friends, extended, or chosen family, cuz all types of relationships are load-bearing walls in our lives. How a residency in Marrakech or an art commune in Korea can be blueprints for other ways to build + live together.
It helps me think about what architecture I am already building, and what, exactly, am I ready to redesign.
