By Brynn Day & Vic Mantha-Blythe

Renderings and drawings act as simulacrums of the future. While optimistic in nature, they often inaccurately or uncreatively represent “ideals” of how and by whom a space will be used.

Architecture drawings are a representational tool for both public and industry consumption that powerfully communicates for whom a space is intended. In an industry that is predominantly wealthy, white, male, heteronormative, and able-bodied, it is unsurprising that most architecture drawings lack the diverse representation that would accurately reflect future users. These messages about who is welcome in the space may be conveyed unconsciously on the part of the designer but can be received as a deliberate message of exclusion to those who do not see themselves represented. This exclusion of Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, 2SLQBTQ+, disabled, and fat users from the early stages of the design process has real-world implications for these communities. The lack of consideration for these users creates inaccessible spaces that contribute to the ongoing discrimination of bodies that do not conform with the current, oppressive architectural design norms.

Vectors are one small tool that designers can utilize to mobilize change in this seemingly insurmountable status quo. Computer-aided design software relies on vector graphics, which are scalable line drawings. Architectural drawings also conventionally use simple illustrations of people to convey the proportions of a space and how it will be used. These two-dimensional, scaled figures are called vectors. Not unlike vectors in physics or biology, the vectors that populate architectural drawings can act as a force or agent of change.

The inclusion of a diversity of bodies in architecture drawings has the power to challenge unconscious biases that contribute to structural and spatial discrimination. Who we see—or do not see—in a rendered space is the most visible indicator of whose cultural, socio-economic, religious, and mobility needs were considered in the design of that space. For example, drawing elderly folks brings to the forefront the need for accessible design, while their absence in renderings implies that a space has not been designed with their needs in mind. Ensuring underrepresented or marginalized populations are visible in a drawing challenges the assumption of who has the right to public space. Actively engaging with ideas of representation, accessibility, and inclusion creates a culture that has the potential to produce more equitable architecture.

The following drawings show public spaces that have been populated by representations of fat (used here as a value-neutral descriptor of bodies that experience systemic exclusion or oppression based on size) bodies; Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour; queer folx; disabled people; and other visibly underrepresented populations. Illustrating a diversity of bodies can serve to impact the design of both physical and social space, for real and speculative projects alike.

PUBLIC POOL CHANGING ROOM

This changing room design shows how vectors of families, elderly people, and genderqueer folx can challenge designers to account for aspects of physical and social accessibility. The result is the design of a universal changing room. Large private stalls accommodate the needs of a variety of people including gender divergent and trans folx, those with mobility devices or care assistants, and families. Smaller interventions such as shower handrails and benches as well as larger space planning, such as providing sight lines to the pool deck, create a safer and more accessible changing room. Leveraging a diversity of vectors to reinforce and uphold these decisions allows designers to challenge harmful design norms that reinforce the gender binary, traditional familial gender roles, and existing racialized notions of who has access to public pools.

FARMER’S MARKET

The drawing of a farmer’s market includes representation of a queer family, a person using a motorized wheelchair, a pregnant person, someone with a fat body, and people with head coverings. These vectors directly inform the accessibility of a space, giving rise to design decisions including a wheelchair-accessible picnic table with different bench distances for different sized bodies; movable seating with and without back rests to allow for flexibility of use; and smooth transitions between hardscaping, which remove barriers for mobility devices, wagons, and strollers and provides cues for those navigating with white canes. The presence of these vectors, while precipitating a more accessible design, also questions assumptions of which communities these spaces serve. They ask designers to think critically about what decisions can be made in the design process to limit gentrification and foster existing community vibrancy and culture.

URBAN PUBLIC PARK

A public park is a site where people, the built environment, and the natural ecology are entangled in a network of interdependent relationships. Designers of these public spaces must consider these dynamic factors and understand that users will adapt the intended uses of a space for their own needs. Including a diversity of vectors can help designers explore and understand these needs and attempt to meet them, not deter them. Here, a skateboarder launches off a bench with no armrests, a site where someone might later find refuge. The choice of planting fruit trees encourages a passerby to “loiter” for a snack. The fat bodies doing yoga on the grass and the person breastfeeding on the bench unapologetically take up social space, exercising their right to visibility. Together these vectors remind designers that parks are a valuable resource for all members of the community and the importance of considering a variety of needs when designing these spaces. While these case studies explore only three examples of public space, there are infinite possibilities for diversifying design through representation. We hope that these drawings encourage designers to explore each scene and contemplate how these spaces might change when populated with a different set of vectors. Populating architectural drawings with bodies that accurately represent the diversity of our communities has the power to challenge social norms, reimagine “ideals,” and empower designers to think—and design—differently. Drawings with a wide range of representation provide a platform for creating a dialectic within the design community—a conversation about how to intentionally design with diverse vectors to spark change.

The vectors that made their debut in these case study drawings are part of an ever-growing library available at www.vector-vault.org. Anyone interested in this mission is encouraged to visit the website to get involved!

Bio

Vic Mantha-Blythe is a Master of Architecture candidate at the University of Waterloo. Brynn Day is a recent Master of Public Health graduate from the University of Alberta. They are the queer partnership behind Vector__Vault, a project that aims to increase the representation of diversity in architectural visualization. They are interested in the social, equity, and health impacts of space and design.