diller scofidio + renfro’s Brasserie restaurant sets the scene for this article’s overarching question: what are the stakes of absorbing “the washroom” into our affective habits as trans people? This article uses architectural theory to show that some hygienic models of transgender—such as “original plumbing”—are less about explaining our genders to ourselves and more about (1) communicating our “fuckability” to (presumably non-trans) others and (2) codifying subtle and often problematic beliefs about the relationship between architecture and the body.

What is our expectation of architecture when our cities, buildings - their programs, connections and interfaces - reinforce essentialist and cisnormative notions of gender? For some, that is not an architecture of safety, nor of belonging or identity; rather of hostility, othering and privilege.
Relationships between form, space, program and function have unique political and spatial meanings for gender-nonconforming people. When program is the enemy of function, one adapts as they disconnect to seek belonging, safety and find identity. What can be learnt about architectural
emotion, space and practice through the lens of trans and gender diverse experiences?