Carving through Rigid Space: Filipina Domestic Workers at Statue Square, Hong Kong

Zhuofan Chen — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 18:30:42 +0000

Figure 1: Filipina domestic workers’ gathering, view from Chater Road towards Statue Square – Visual China Group.

Abstract

Demolishing Barriers: Canada’s Native Community Actively Un-Making Racist Architecture, by

Sarah Delnour — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 17:15:26 +0000

Figure 1: Polson, Erica. Paul Dixon and his Newly Acquired Sledgehammer, in Steve Bonspiel, “La Tuque Residential School Razed- Demolition Is Closure for Hundreds of Abducted Cree Children Held at the School.” The Nation Archives 13, no. 7 (February 2006): 5.

From the Statue of the Bench: Four Centuries of Abuse

Sameer Riaz — Thu, 09 Sep 2021 20:35:56 +0000

Figure 1: New bench in Cabot Square, Étienne Brière, 2021.1

The Face of a Nation Divided: Discrimination Immortalized Through the Monticello on the Jefferson Nickel

Sara Cipolla — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 21:09:22 +0000

Figure 1: The “Jefferson Nickel” (obverse), 1970.

Indifference, Injustice, and Identity: Multiculturalism and the Model Minority Myth in Koreatown

Lauren Kim — Fri, 20 Aug 2021 23:33:37 +0000

Figure 1: Torched Buildings on S. Vermont Avenue in Koreatown, Los Angeles. (Leonard, Gary. Torched buildings, Los Angeles Riots. 1992. Photography. Los Angeles Photographers Collection, Los Angeles. TESSA Digital Collections of the Los Angeles Public Library.)

Strike a Pose: The Importance of Black Queer Spaces in the Late 20th Century, by John Vaccaro

laura.difiore@mail.mcgill.ca — Fri, 20 Aug 2021 06:00:40 +0000

Harlem’s Imperial Lodge of Elks, commonly known as Elks Lodge, is located on 129th West Street in Central Harlem, New York City. It was constructed from 1922-24 and designed by African American architect Vertner Woodson Talley (1885-1949).

Speculations on Race and Space: Targeting a Race through their Architecture, by Gloria Wang

race-space.arch@mcgill.ca — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 19:11:21 +0000

In the very first lecture of Architectural History 2, I distinctly remember Professor Annmarie Adams showing our class a photo of the capitol riots, which occurred only a few days prior. Rioters clambered up the stairs of the Capitol building, waving various flags and signs expressing hateful extremist views. Professor Adams expressed that whenever people want to attack or overthrow a regime, they attack the associated architecture through vandalizing, looting, and forcibly occupying the building.

Toys build Empires. Or How Toys Act as Tools of Architectural Colonialism

Hermine Demaël — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 19:11:18 +0000

Note Throughout this reflection, I use the umbrella term “Indigenous Peoples” to refer to Native people and communities living in North America. This reflection addresses the erasure of Indigenous individuality and traditions by European toy manufacturers. While this reflection does not refer specifically to one Indigenous group, North America is home to many people with rich and diverse traditions, histories and languages.

Now… using racism to advertise exotic products

Dominique Dubé — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 21:38:09 +0000

Advertisements often use subliminal messages for sales. The 1956 advertisement for Mengel Doors posted in the shelter magazine House and Home goes further by blatantly capitalizing on racism for sales. The company, located in Louisville, Kentucky, promotes their doors and matching plywood panels made from Gold Coast Cherry wood. Emphasis is put on this particular type of wood, the words ‘Gold Coast Cherry’ appear in large and a considerable proportion of the poster is occupied by an illustration of the wood’s detail.

Race and Gentrification: Investigating the Racialized History of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Boyles Heights

Ella Fortney — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 20:08:21 +0000

Figure 1: Orozco, Ernesto, Members of Defend Boyle Heights Protest in Front of Weird Wave Coffee Brewers, photograph, July 17, 2017, (Boyle Heights Beat).1

Disney’s “It’s a Small World” ride: An Incursion into the Racial Implications of the African Display

Audrey Boutot — Fri, 23 Jul 2021 14:00:22 +0000

The famously idealized Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida is an attraction park large enough to be considered a city. Founded on tourism, the park promises a world of magic and endless possibilities. It is branded as a place of escape, capable of perpetually reaching new heights of imagination to fuel the maintenance of the fabricated dream world it sells. Disney World is home to four theme parks: Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot Center, and Hollywood Studios. Within Magic Kingdom, visitors can discover a place called Fantasyland, home of the famous ride called “It’s a Small World”.

City Planning or Dismantling of Black Communities: Gentrification in Southwest, Washington D.C.

Alara Dileklen — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 17:04:07 +0000

Architecture, especially regarding race and gender, is not limited to the creation of physical space but includes the destruction of these spaces as well. When discussing race and architecture, it is particularly important to emphasize the architectural decisions made in the United States around the time of the Civil Rights Movement in which the racial inequalities and discrimination against Black citizens were protested, and people demanded change from social and political platforms. However, while the Civil Rights Movement under the leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Savoy Ballroom: Rejecting Black Exoticism Through Community-Driven Design

Clay Moon — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 17:02:49 +0000

In the 1930s, New York City’s Harlem neighbourhood found itself at the center of many political, cultural, and economic issues. During this post-war period known as the Depression-era, over three hundred thousand African Americans from the south known as “the Great Migration” flooded Harlem searching for employment.

From the Records of Loss: The Cities of the Dead Project

Ayanna Dozier — Tue, 18 May 2021 22:19:06 +0000

Loss is an integral affect for decolonization. Loss reminds us of alternative records that exceed what an institution can name and claim of a people, culture, and community. Loss scrambles the singularity of history proper as we come to know it by.

Reflections on Indigeneity in Architectural Education

David Fortin — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 19:32:34 +0000

When the McEwen School of Architecture (MSoA) opened its doors in 2013, I recall a respected Indigenous architect wondering out loud if it was appropriate to share sacred teachings with mostly non-Indigenous architecture students. It was a good question. At the time, the curriculum of the MSoA was being developed in response to Laurentian University’s “tri-cultural mandate,” itself focusing on the three largest cultural groups in northeastern Ontario (English, French and Indigenous).