Pauli Rikaniemi on the Impact of Architecture on Queer Identity

Pauli Rikaniemi is a Switzerland-based architect from Finland. He has most recently worked within architecture and urban planning in Basel at MET Architects and in Malmö at Kamikaze Arkitekter. Currently he is working at Herzog & de Meuron’s office in Basel. Pauli has an interest in collective working processes and queer practices within architecture. He studied architecture at the University of Oulu and the Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen. Furthermore, he finished a post-master program, Decolonizing Architecture, at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm.

Pauli is spending the month of December in New York focusing on his project ‘Queer Strategies of Togetherness’. It emphasizes the influence of urban space and architecture on LGBTQ+ lives and how New York has significantly impacted the development of queer identities in the past 100 years. The Institute’s Kia Standertskjöld-Nordenstam sat down for a virtual discussion with the artist to learn more about their creative processes and inspirations. Helmi Korhonen met up with Pauli for a stroll through Manhattan’s historic Greenwich Village, which is thoroughly dotted with iconic queer landmarks of NYC.

“What are your reflections on your time in New York? Have these shifted from your initial expectations?”

Normally I do my research in my spare time as I am a full-time practicing architect. This is also an important part of my work as I always aim to bridge practical design work with the more theoretical aspects of my research. That said, I’m excited to be able to concentrate on the research fully during the residency.

“I love the exploration of how urban space and architecture can impact queer identities. What are the most significant developments that you’ve found so far?”

One could argue that urbanization initiated the development of queer identities as it enabled new forms of living arrangements and lifestyles. At the same time, depending where in a city you are, has a huge impact on the way you as a queer person experience the space and can inhabit it.  

New York has possibly one of the most vibrant and extensive queer-populations of any city in the world and still it makes a huge difference if you are walking down Christopher Street, strolling in the Bronx or on the Upper East Side. The way a “public” - and thus acceptable public behavior - is defined is controlled by context. That is why queer and safe spaces are needed.

“Do you feel like every city has a drastically different impact on the blossoming and expansion of the concept of identity and if so, what aspects influence it the most?”

No two cities are alike, and they always contain different cultural and historical contexts. Some cities though, like New York, have influence far beyond its geographical boundaries which is due to it being the birthplace of multiple important civil rights movements, e.g., the Gay Liberation movement.

One of the important factors contributing to this is the sheer size of the city which allows for multiple communities to be established simultaneously creating opportunities for different ways of living. Thus, breaking the hegemony of a singular public.

“How has New York cemented itself as a significant city of queer development in the last 100 years? How is this visible in the architecture of the city?”

The Gay Liberation movement can be seen to have started in New York’s Christopher Street on June 28, 1969, with the Stonewall Riots. The riots didn’t emerge from a vacuum of course and pre-Stonewall there was already a thriving queer-society in New York and many other cities. But the Stonewall Riots have established itself as a landmark historical event in queer history and provide a valuable foundation for queer identities.

One aspect of queer spaces is that they are often ephemeral and often not notable in their appearance. Especially historically speaking, they were often hidden from plain sight even intentionally. This means there is very little documentation about them available. People in New York have made a great effort to preserve important LGBT sites for future generations. For example, the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project is a wonderful source for this. A good example is also Julius´ bar, the oldest gay bar in town, which was just this month accepted as a city landmark.

“What is inspiring you right now? How has your time in NYC and the US scene affected this?”

I am inspired by the feeling of opportunity in New York, it feels like there is space, understanding and real interest in whatever you are thinking. Of course, I realize that I am accessing the city from a place of privilege as I am hosted by the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York and the Cooper Union and have a scholarship from the Bryggman Foundation, but I can’t imagine I would have achieved such great connections and network in a matter of a few weeks in many other places.