Rethinking Current Domesticities: Methodology Tools for an Intersectional Feminist Approach

Abstract

In the context of converging crises and emerging alternatives regarding the design possibilities and architectural tools, the design of a domestic environment requires a critical approach based on feminism and intersectionality. This paper introduces a design methodology that challenges the current architectural conventions surrounding domestic design. It explores and experiments with alternative approaches centered on inclusivity, equality, and collectivism. The projects featured in this paper —Her Practice: Biases, Glitches, and Oppressive Values or a Happy Domesticity, Moments of Familiarity, and How to Create Anew?— form the core of our research and design endeavors. The first project delves into the examination of gender roles within domestic environments, while the second emphasizes the creation of temporary home environments within Asylum Seeker centers in the Netherlands. The third project is a community-driven initiative focused on establishing alternative ways of thinking and communicating the design of current intimate infrastructures. The central objective of the paper is to present an ongoing research practice that fosters the cultivation of a revised pedagogical setup where architecture and design discipline acknowledges domesticity in a multidisciplinary approach according to feminism and intersectionality.