A Facade: A liberating Approach of Expressing Sexual Identities

The Facade: A Liberating Approach of Expressing Sexual Identities

Author: Anne-Claire

The project is to create a lit house facade from which we can contemplate the landscape or if it is in town, watch the street life. The main purposes of it would be to rest, draw or read a book. The facade is a place which can separate the domestic place from the public space, but it can also make a link between them. And I think that is why it is interesting to work on that, in this place you can see people who are on the street, but they can see you too. You have the choice of what can be seen from the outside and you have the opportunity to contemplate the public space while having the intimate feeling of being inside and in your own space. So more importantly, we must think about the person who is going to use it: What is their background?

I am mainly going to focus on their sexual identities and their comfort, and safety. The facade could symbolize the importance of the queer community inside the society, it is a place where they can expose themselves and be who they are and have the freedom they don’t necessarily always experienced. I wanted to make a place where we could escape from the domestic obligations and a private and normative existence. I wanted it to be a private but also a public space which privileges the communication between these two spaces, shapes our relations to ourselves and one another. Who is here the outsiders ? How do we encourage the possibility of behaving as we want to while being in safety ?

The Glass House by Philip Johnson

The facade would be comprised of glass so we can have a clear and open space. The transparent glass allows people to gaze at the goings-on inside. The point is a space where the public gaze would be part of the whole facade which is a main purpose of it. Indeed, in a Queer Space, Architecture and Same-Sex Desire, Aaron Betsky refersthe closet as the origin of queer space, it is a space where we can create a world for ourselves and define who we are. It symbolizes interiority, a secure environment which is free from outside constraints. But it is also a dark place where you go to hide from the world and your sexual identity. To me, the purpose of the facade is a step forward in the process of ‘coming out of the closet’ which refers to process accepting and showing to society your sexual identity which for some might have been kept a secret. The facade is mainly exposed to society and visible to the public this is a place where you can see but also be seen, nevertheless, you can choose what you want to show.

This makes the façade potentially an exercise in voyeurism; a visitor from outside can see into the house And ‘violates’ its privacy. The facade is a wall which separates the inside from the outside, but here it symbolizes a theatrical fourth wall just like watching a play from the outside. I was inspired by the Glass House of Philip Johnson. For Johnson “the voyeurism penetrates a much deeper psycho-sexual level than mere pedestrian voyeurism” . This facade would also encourage the communication between the inside and outside, it would not just be a place made for people’s curiosity. In front of the facade, there would be a stoop where you can discuss with others and which is accentuated by the armrest at the left side of the door. With this installation the visitor can feel welcome and interact with this facade while not completely entering the intimate space of the house. The armrest is a place of sharing; people can lean on it but also share personal discussion with others while being exposed and outside.

The façade can accommodate different types of furniture, in the center, for example, there is a bench but it is movable, so the type of furniture is the user’s choice. They can decide on whatever they want to put in this empty space so they can rest out side the house and appreciate the public space, landscape while being on their property.

And as we can see, the window at the right side of the bench can open, it enables discussion between a person who is sitting on the bench and someone who is in the house, this idea is accentuated by the armrest which can also be used as a table. In fact, all this area reflects the exchanges between the inside and the outside.

e d a c a F e h t f o l e d o M

It also reflects the position taken from the people living inside the house in our institution and in the space. It shows first the separation between them and the society but also the fact that they do not need its acceptance, but they can also engage more actively politically by showing themselves to society. This place is designed as a place for socialization and contemplation but at the same time a ‘safe place’ , a home where they can discover themselves freely. The purpose of this facade is to create a liberating approach that renders visible to society new sexual identities.