SHAME-LESS GENOA
This project is strongly political and personal. Italy’s current institutionalised homophobia inspired my thesis, in which a different future for the historic centre of Genoa, Italy was conceptualised.
Guided by the feminist tactic ‘exclude to include’, ad-hoc policies for the LGBTQ+ community would activate a specific regeneration process called Gaytrification. This method would help to expose the embedded homophobia which is still so prominent within Italian society.
Queer businesses play an essential role in sustaining a thriving LGBTQ+ community. For this reason, my vision for Genoa started with a business-orientated masterplan.
By designing the vacant commercial premises, a newly established Gaybourhood would arise within the historic centre. These architectural interventions would slow down the urban and economic decay which burdens this historic neighbourhood. Furthermore, these businesses would inevitably signify; visibility, a sense of community, and a feeling of safety for the queer community.
One particular site shows tangible evidence of the successful re-purpose of these otherwise derelict premises. The ruins of Santa Maria in Passione Church have been subverted into a queer nightclub not scared to be bold and explicit within its spatial forms. The proudly queer environment represents a celebration of self-expression.
Designed as a visual and conceptual statement, this unapologetic piece of queer architecture amplifies the ‘safe environment’ created by the Genoa Gaybourhood.
This explicitly queer project questions the principles and the structure of the Italian homophobic society, and it proposes an alternate path for Genoa.
This subversive scenario would lead to a feeling of acceptance that will benefit all, regardless of sex, gender or sexual expression.
A wider selection of my work can be viewed on my ISSUU.
