The centering of LGBTQIA+ architects at AIA24

On Thursday afternoon, AIA24 attendees spilled out of room 152B in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center for the hotly anticipated session “Out in Architecture: Elevating LGBTQIA+ Stories to Build Equitable Futures.” 

The 90-minute workshop, led by six LGBTQIA+ architects from around the country, sought to explain the importance of LGBTQIA+ visibility and representation in the profession. The session came on the heels of a well-attended LGBTQIA+ happy hour the evening before, signaling an immense desire for the amplification of queer architects and their stories across the profession. 

The centerpiece of the session was Out In Architecture, a “collection of reflections by 24 LGBTQIA+ individuals within and adjacent to the field of architecture.” The book, published last year, features essays that “form a cache of struggle, celebration, hope, and wisdom—while aiming to propel conversation into action and institutional change.” 

Four of the book’s five editors—Beau Frail, AIA, NCARB; Sarah Woynicz, AIA, NOMA; Yiselle Santos Rivera, AIA; and A.L. Hu, AIA— sat on the panel. The workshop was rounded out with two Out in Architecture contributors: Andrew Houston, AIA, NCARB, CPHD and Julia Oderda, AIA.

Clear objectives were laid out at the beginning of the workshop, with distinct goals of participants being “able to describe intersectionality and identity as these apply to the practice of architecture,” and being “able to identify and develop successful strategies for advancing equitable and inclusive culture within firms for LGBTQIA+ people and other underrepresented groups.”

The workshop featured personal anecdotes of the unique challenges and opportunities in building equitable cultures that are inclusive to the LGBTQIA+ community—who represent 7% of architects and 20% of new architecture school graduates. The session featured an emphasis on robust discussion about increasing visibility and community-building for a more equitable future.

LGBTQIA+ visibility was a central focus of the session. Oderda specifically discussed the importance of being an openly transgender woman in the profession. 

“I wanted to be out as myself and still be an architect. When I went to Google and started searching for transgender architects, there were no results. I didn’t know if I could keep going in the profession as a trans woman and I was ready to leave the field,” she said. “But I made the decision to myself to be as visible as I could be. I didn’t want someone else to not be able to find someone.” 

Houston said that focusing on visibility is paramount in being true to himself, but also in establishing professional connections for people who share similar worldviews and face similar challenges. “Many of my clients are women, other queer people, and trans people. Being visible shows that I am there for them, I understand where they’re coming from.” 

Santos Rivera, who grew up in Puerto Rico, wasn’t surrounded by a culture of LGBTQIA+ acceptance initially, but upon moving to Washington D.C., she knew she found a place to be herself. “When I was first looking for jobs I was driving through Washington D.C. and saw two men holding hands. I immediately thought that ‘this is my village.’” 

The panel mentioned that they plan to keep publishing new iterations of the book as long as there are stories to share. You can buy a copy of the first iteration of Out in Architecture here. 

Additional information is available at the Out in Architecture Instagram page.