Document Type
Thesis Prep
Degree
B. ARCH
Date
Fall 2018
Keywords
public spaces, gender segregation, changing rooms, society, bathrooms, clothing stores, malls, schools
Language
English
Disciplines
Architecture
Description/Abstract
A Utopia is an idea of an ideal form of society that rethinks current power structures and dynamics at play in the world and subverts them. In proposing a new perfect society, one is critiquing the current society and questioning what can and should be done to improve the status quo. To start creating a Utopia, designers must first consider what faults exist in the world that they wish to remove or improve.
In this Utopia, the focus will be on equality for all gender identities, through spatial design. The specific elements being studied are those spaces clearly delineated on the basis of gender, including examples like bathrooms and locker rooms. The project seeks to redesign spaces to subvert current gender role stereotypes, through spatial construction, and to think of ways to break down traditionally female spaces such as the home and domestic realm and other spaces typically inhabited by males.
Using a master plan, this project creates new forms of co-housing to allow people from all different genders, ages, and backgrounds to grow together and to work to break down gendered spaces. The cohousing structures provide communal eating, cooking, cleaning, childcare and living spaces. This setup allows domestic work to be distributed among all members of the community. The master plan fundamentally changes the structure of society by changing the typical family structure, workloads and ways of making decisions as a community.
This project is located in the Navajo Nation to work with a community that for centuries has had five accepted genders- female, male, transgender female, transgender male, and a gender in-between male and female. Using some practices from Navajo culture and society, this project seeks to act as a social experiment to teach the greater community about gender equality and how designers can be instrumental in changing these current inequalities.
Recommended Citation
Starr, Mikayla Hope, "Gender Segregation: What does dividing space across gender mean?" (2018). Architecture Thesis Prep. 423.
https://surface.syr.edu/architecture_tpreps/423
Source
Local Input
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Additional Information
Thesis Prep Advisor:
Lori Brown
Thesis Advisory Group:
Lori Brown
Matthew Celmer
Abingo Wu