Thirteenth International Conference on The Constructed Environment

Abstract

In an ever-changing world building type has increasingly become a calculated performance. Through the process of appropriation, form, and use, existing buildings have been adapted to meet the needs of racialized people groups across both time and space. This history is important. Combating narratives about civility, belonging, and boundaries, the practice of architecture is responsible for the way place is read and space is codified. This begs the question of how architects serve the public good. I examine the enslaved African cabin in the U.S. South, the Chinese shophouses of New York City, and the fenced residences of East Los Angeles in an effort to illustrate the connection between racialization and counter narratives in the United States.