George Xing

In the Closet

Can closets choreograph a new form of domesticity? Since the 18th century, various closet typologies have served as retreats from domesticity’s demands and social circumstances, securing fulfillment of psychological needs. The physical occupation of closets activated a spectrum of social conditions, including self-exploration, intimate relations, community building, and social awareness. The postwar home and its emphasis on functional storage severed the closet’s relation to human occupation. After decades of closets blending into daily life’s interstices, this thesis posits a variety of closet typologies adapted to, and expanded within, a multi-family housing development in a suburban Toronto housing complex.

Advisor: Laura Miller