What does it mean to belong? How do the spaces we inhabit reflect who we are? These questions lie at the heart of TO·BE·LONGING: Portraits of Queer Living, an ambitious new exhibition opening at Design at Riverside on November 27, 2025.
Curated by architect and educator Quan Thai, the project challenges entrenched notions of domesticity and invites visitors to imagine home as a fluid, adaptive space that embraces identity, vulnerability, and resilience.
A Radical Reimagining of Domestic Space
Historically, the concept of home has been shaped by rigid heteronormative ideals, reinforcing narrow definitions of family and belonging. TO·BE·LONGING dismantles these conventions through an immersive spatial experiment that blurs boundaries and rethinks the architecture of intimacy. At its core, the exhibition is a living archive—a collection of nearly 40 artifacts contributed by queer community members across North America. These everyday objects, from cherished keepsakes to functional items, tell stories of memory, identity, and chosen family, offering a glimpse into the multiplicity of queer domestic life.
Visitors are invited not only to observe but to engage: to reshape and reimagine what home can be. Through adaptive installations and interactive elements, the exhibition prompts reflection on unconscious biases and asks how design can foster inclusivity and joy.
TO·BE·LONGING is the culmination of Thai’s work as the inaugural Emerging Practitioner Teaching Fellow (2023–2025) at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture. The fellowship serves as a platform for exploring intersections between teaching and practice, enabling Thai to weave together housing research, architectural design, and lived experience. His approach challenges normative methodologies, advocating for spaces defined by safety, accessibility, and community.
The exhibition was realized with the support of a multidisciplinary team, Georgia Barrington, Chad Burton, Bailey Dougherty, Julia Mroz, and Ala Zuchniak, and contributions from dozens of individuals and organizations, this collective effort underscores the exhibition’s ethos: that design is not a solitary act, but a dialogue rooted in lived experience.
TO·BE·LONGING is more than an exhibition, but it’s also a call to action. By interrogating the norms that shape our domestic environments it opens space for alternative narratives and inclusive futures. In doing so, it reminds us that architecture is not just about buildings; it’s about belonging.
Team
- Georgia Barrington, Multidisciplinary Designer
- Chad Burton, Fashion Editor, Products and Interior Stylist
- Bailey Dougherty, Architectural Designer and Researcher
- Julia Mroz, Architectural Designer and Researcher
- Ala Zuchniak, Designer
Contributors
Azure · Jackson Bailey · Chad Burton · Roel Calosa · Jackson Carey · Kurtis Chen · Aurora · Paul Dowsett · David Dumais · Gerald Fantone & Raphaël Loll-Krippleber · Grand River Pride · William Guinane · jade guthrie & Em Dial · Chris Hardy · Jack Havel · dylan jozkow · David Kinitz · Joudy Kusaibati · Phat Le · Stephen Low · Gillian Marsh · Charlie Michaels · Julian Mirabelli · Thompson Cong Nguyen · Rumel Noche · Benny Or · Alexandre Rondeau & Syna Phann · Jad & Tim · Avery Thorne · Paul Twa · Queer Arrival (Simon Liao & Tristan Coolman) · Steven (Yidong) Wang · Lawrence Wilson · William Guinane · Anonymous 1 · Anonymous 2 · Anonymous 3
Sponsors and Supporters
- Waterloo Architecture
- LTU CoAD (Lawrence Tech College of Architecture and Design)
- Douglas Design Studio
- Safer Six
- Never Only Architecture