JSA/MIXdesign, Matilde Cassani, Ignacio G. Galan, and Ivan L. Munuera are proud to present a multi-media installation "YOUR RESTROOM IS A BATTLEGROUND" at the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale, "How Will We Live Together?" on view at the Arsenale May 22 - November 21, 2021.

"YOUR RESTROOM IS A BATTLEGROUND" shows seven dioramas that depict case study bathroom controversies taking place around the world. Viewers are invited to peer into detailed cross-sectional models representing the sites where each battle was waged while they listen to a corresponding four-minute podcast, available for listening here, that describes the social, political and environmental ramifications of each conflict. The sequence of models, arranged in a semi-circular structure, allows visitors to compare and contrast the interconnected political, social, health and environmental issues triggered by bathroom controversies within their broader global context.

The sites featured are:

• Guangzhou, China: Female activist Li Maizi led the famous “Occupy Men’s Room” movement in which some twenty women took over male public restrooms in Guangzhou and Beijing to fight for “potty parity.”
• Starbucks, Philadelphia, United States: Contrary to their pledge to make their restroom accessible to all after community protests caused by the arrest of two Black customers, Starbucks installed blue lighting that prevents veins from being visible to discourage intravenous drug use.
• Residential Housing, Colombia: A disabled individual and his mother protest inaccessible hotel restrooms in a country with a large number of disabled individuals due to its prolonged war.
• Gloucester High School, Virginia, United States: Transgender high school student Gavin Grimm filed a lawsuit against the school board’s discriminatory transgender policy that forced him to use an isolated restroom in a retrofitted janitor’s closet rather than share the communal facility with his male classmates.
• Khayelitsha, South Africa: Black residents in Khayelitsha, one of Cape Town’s townships, staged protests after being denied access to waterborne sanitation and flush toilets that are provided in predominantly white neighborhoods, a situation that reinforces the legacy of apartheid and caused a public health crisis exacerbated by droughts.
• Canterbury Prison, United Kingdom: The installation of footbaths and squat latrines was denounced by different groups who opposed the use of UK government funds to accommodate the religious and cultural practices of Muslim inmates at Canterbury Prison.
• Port-au-Prince, Haiti: After the devastating earthquake of 2010, poor wastewater management at a United Nations peacekeeping camp spewed raw sewage into local waterways, sparking a cholera outbreak that spotlights Haiti’s sewage system, which defines a geopolitical map with an uneven balance of powers.

To learn more visit the project website: https://biennalerestrooms.com/Your-Restroom-is-a-Battleground

Khayelitsha, South Africa

Gloucester High School, Virginia, United States

Starbucks, Philadelphia, United States

Matilde Cassani, Ignacio G. Galán, Iván L. Munuera, Joel Sanders

In collaboration with Seb Choe, Leonardo Gatti, Vanessa Gonzalez, Marco Li, Maria Chiara Pastore

Model Design and Production: Pablo Saiz del Rio

Graphic and Web Design: Paula Vilaplana de Miguel

Multimedia Production Paula Vilaplana de Miguel and Jorge Lopez Conde

Photography ImagenSubliminal (Miguel de Guzman + Rocio Romero)

Podcast voices Maxime Diamond, Paola Pardo Castillo, Jean Im, Matty Cheesbrough, Stuart Sagar, Aimie Hamraie, Gavin Grimm, Jean Evens, Pierre Stanley, Thamara Hela, Barbara Penner, Joshua Block, Masixole Feni, Wang Xiu Ying, Antoine Comets, Malivai Luce

Location Corderie dell’Arsenale

Sponsors Elise Jaffe+Jeffrey Brown, Barnard College (Columbia University), Princeton University School of Architecture, Yale University School of Architecture

Joel Sanders featured on Open House NBC

Watch Joel Sanders walk through the design process of a sensitive renovation and addition to a significant mid-century modernist home designed by John Black Lee in 1957, linked here.

MIXdesign named a Queens Museum "Year of Uncertainty" Co-Thinker

The Queens Museum has embarked on a Year of Uncertainty (YoU), a framework for strengthening connection among the Museum and its surrounding communities and constituents. This year-long program consists of Artists in Residence, Community Partners, and Co-Thinkers working together to reconsider Queens Museum's public facing programs.

Lectures

Upcoming:

• Arts Club of Chicago, "Body Politics: Social Equity and Inclusive Public Space," May 21, 2021. Registration info TBA

Recent:

• Yale School of Architecture, "Allyship in Practice Panel," hosted by Yale Women in Architecture and Equality in Design, April 5, 2021

• Harvard GSD, "Stalled! at the GSD," hosted by Queers in Design and Design.able, March 25, 2021

• Yale Alumni Association, "Body Politics: Social Equity and Inclusive Public Space," March 9, 2021

• The Glass House, "On Pandemic Domesticity," with Victoria Rosner and Cole Akers, February 24, 2021

Selected Press

"Rethinking Architecture and Trans Spaces" Bwog: Columbia Student News, February 26, 2021

"Architects need to stand in vocal opposition to the government's segregated toilet proposals" dezeen, February 24, 2021

"Welcome to the Post-pandemic Dream Home" The Atlantic, February 9, 2021

"How Suicides at a Top New York Attraction May Change What We'll Do For a View" Forbes, January 15, 2021

Magda Mostafa, autism design consultant at Progressive Architects Cairo, and a MIX team member, to create the first Autism-Friendly University design guide with Dublin City University, Dublin City University, December 8, 2020

Reimagine with Eric Schmidt: "How Cities Survive and Thrive”

Hear Joel Sanders in conversation with former Google CEO Eric Schmidt on how different spatial designs can make healthier behavior more intuitive. You can listen to the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. The full transcript and audio is also available HERE.

Queens Museum & MIXdesign receive IMLS Award

The Institute of Museum and Library Services will support a multi-year, community-led reimagining of Queens Museum’s central atrium with MIXdesign and Queens Community House. This inclusive design project will benefit underrepresented museumgoers, and expand upon our Pilot Study conducted last year.

Lectures

Upcoming:

• BUILDEX Alberta, “New Opportunities in Post-Pandemic Spaces: Exploring Social Equity, Health and Well-Being,” December 3, 2020, Register: HERE

Recent:

• Columbia University Center for Buildings, Infrastructure, and Public Spaces, “Social Justice and the AEC Industry,” November 10, 2020

• AIA Virginia, Foresight 2020, “Body Politics: Social Equity and Inclusive Public Spaces,” November 2, 2020

• Pratt Institute, “The Social Responsibility of Architects: Civic Life and the Built Environment,” October 29, 2020

Interior Designers of Canada, “Panel Discussion: Future of Work: Re-defining a human-centered purpose of the workplace,” October 22, 2020

Mills College, “Stalled! Project, A Conversation between Joel Sanders, Seb Choe, and Susan Stryker,” October 21, 2020

Selected Press & Events

“Where Do We Go From Here?” 99 Percent Invisible, September 8, 2020

“The Power of Having a Voice: Empathy and Courage” Health Environments Research and Design Journal, September 14, 2020

“Stalled! With Susan Stryker” Journal of Architectural Education, October ,2020

“Annual Student Program 2020” The Architectural League of New York, October 3, 2020

“Episode 412: Where Do We Go From Here?” by Sandy Allen and Roman Mars

“These people are coming together like The Avengers of inclusive bathroom design.”

Tune in to the latest episode of 99% Invisible to hear MIXdesign team members Joel Sanders, Seb Choe, Susan Stryker, Terry Kogan, and Quemuel Arroyo in conversation with Sandy Allen and Roman Mars. Topics include the origin of the Stalled! initiative, personal stories of restroom exclusion, and the future of inclusive restroom design.

The full podcast and transcript is available for free on the 99% Invisible website. You can also listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Neurodiversity: Building Community and Rethinking the Built Environment

Event Description: This online, 4-day, cross-disciplinary event aims to stimulate dialogue amongst designers, medical field experts and people with Autism Spectrum Disorder in regard to the inclusivity of our current environments and with particular focus on designing for neurodiverse individuals and those with ASD

MIXDESIGN SPEAKERS FEATURED:

Sat, September 12, 2020, 9:10 – 10:00am EST
Magda Mostafa / Enabling Architecture: ASPECTSS and the Built Environment from an Autistic Lens Magda Mostafa is an associate professor of Design at the American University in Cairo, as well as the author of the Autism ASPECTSS Design Index.

Sat, September 12, 2020, 11:30 – 12:20pm EST
Eron Friedlaender / Reflecting on the ADA and Those Left Behind Eron Friedlaender, MD, MPH is a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia with a special research interest in patient advocacy for autistic individuals.

Sat, September 12, 2020, 12:20 – 1:10pm EST
Joel Sanders / Body Politics: Social Equity and Public Space Joel Sanders, FAIA is the Director of MIXdesign, an inclusive design think tank and consultancy that is a branch of his New York based, LGBTBE-certified architecture studio JSA (Joel Sanders Architect).

Sat, September 12, 2020, 2:50 – 3:40pm EST
Hansel Bauman / DEAFSPACE: Insights on the Power of Participatory Design and Community Building Hansel Bauman is the founder of human-centered design consultancy HB/a+p and co-founder of the Gallaudet DeafSpace* Project.

Mon, September 14, 2020, 12:20 – 1:10pm EST
Seb Choe / Round Table Discussion: Future and Conclusions Seb Choe is Associate Director of MIXdesign, an inclusive design think tank and consultancy.

Architectural Review: “Binary Code: Technologies of Gender”

An essay by Pol Esteve examining the evolution and impact of Joel Sanders’ thinking about gender and space from the 1990’s until today.

Lectures

Upcoming:

AIA Conference: Architecture in Turbulent Times: Equity, Environment, Health, & Economy, August 12, 2020, 5:00PM EST

Thomas Jefferson University, Neurodiversity Symposium, September 12, 2020, 9:00AM – 4:00PM EST

Recent:

Architectural League of New York, “Panel Discussion: Social Distance, Health, and Inclusive Public Space,” July 29, 2020. Recording link: HERE

Architectural League of New York, “Body Politics: Social Equity and Inclusive Public Space,” July 28, 2020. Recording link: HERE

AIANY, “The Future of Accessible Design: ADA 30 Years and Beyond,” July 27, 2020

Tel Aviv University, “Architecture and Space: Art, Culture and Society in the (post) Coronavirus Age,” July 15, 2020

AIA Chicago, “Gender Neutral Restrooms and Beyond,” June 16, 2020

Selected Press

“What Will Be Forever Changed As a Result of COVID-19?” WUFT NPR, August 6, 2020

“Building Accessibility Into America, Literally” The New York Times, July 20, 2020

Joel Sanders’ “Architectural History” essay translated and published in Spanish ArchDaily, July 11,2020

“In This Age of Self-Isolation, Architects See Their Homes From a Different Angle” Wall Street Journal, May 14, 2020

“New York Architects on How COVID-19 Is Urging Us to Rethink Home Design” DWELL, March 31, 2020

“17 Architects on How the Pandemic Will Change Our Homes Forever” DWELL, March 26, 2020

“Interview with Joel Sanders” Architectural Review, March 19, 2020

“The Curse of the Phantom Pooer Shows Why Gender Neutral Toilet Designs Aren’t Working” Wired, March 2, 2020

EVENTS WITH THE ARCHITECTURAL LEAGUE OF NEW YORK
Tues, July 28, 2020, 7:00PM EST

Lecture: Body Politics: Social Equity & Inclusive Public Space

Joel Sanders, founder and director of JSA/MIXdesign, and Seb Choe, associate director of MIXdesign, discuss the impact of the pandemic on social equity and public space.

To watch the recording, click HERE

Wed, July 29, 2020, 1:00PM EST

Panel Discussion: Social Distance, Health, and Inclusive Public Space

Joel Sanders and MIXdesign team members Magda Mostafa, Hansel Bauman, and Quemuel Arroyo will take part in a roundtable discussion on public space in the era of COVID-19. The panel will be moderated by Marc Tsurumaki, principal of LTL Architects.

To watch the recording, click HERE

AIANY PANEL DISCUSSION
Mon, July 26, 2020, 6:00PM EST

Future of Accessibility/Inclusive Design: 30 Years and Beyond

To commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act, we look to the future. Join us for presentations and panel discussion with thought-leaders, theorists, and designers to address the question: What is the future of Accessible Design?

A conversation with Joel Sanders, Jenny Lay-Furrie, Elise Roy, and David Serlin moderated by Anita Cooney.

AIA CONFERENCE ON ARCHITECTURE 2020
Wed, August 12, 2020, 12:00PM EST

Architecture in Turbulent Times: Equity, Environment, Health, & Economy: An AIA Learning Event

This one-day virtual learning event is centered around changing the architectural profession for the better. Twenty sessions with a diverse range of experts dive into the important, intersecting issues of equity, the economy, the environment, and public health.

This event offers CE credits: Up to 6.25 HSW & 14.5 LUs /RIBA

“How Architecture Could Help Us Adapt to the Pandemic” By Kim TingleyPhoto illustration by Najeebah Al-Ghadban

MIXdesign is honored to be featured in this profile, which includes conversations with the JSA/MIX team, as well as with collaborators and longstanding supporters. You can find the article in the June 14th print edition of the Sunday New York Times, in the Magazine section.

Gallaudet University Inclusive Changing Rooms

MIXdesign, a branch of JSA, implemented Stalled’s inclusive Changing Room Prototype at the Field House, the sports facility at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. The compact footprint accommodates diverse users and caregivers. Each room includes a seat and hooks for changing clothes, a dry counter for medical procedures and breast feeding, and a hand shower/fold-down seat for Muslim students and visitors to use for performing ablutions. To view the full project, click HERE.

DOT Public Restrooms

MIXdesign is working with the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) to design a freestanding restroom prototype that can be placed on city streets and pedestrian plazas throughout the city’s five boroughs.

Architecture Industry Honor

In April 2019, Sanders was recognized for his work by being named a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA).

Grants

JSA/MIXdesign was recently awarded two grants in support of its MIXmuseum initiative, a project to make spaces in art museums more welcoming and accessible to diverse audiences. The grants are WGSS FLAGS Award from Yale University and a 2019 Independent Projects Grant from the New York State Council of the Arts (NYSCA).

Lectures

Universities and cultural institutions from across the U.S. and in Europe have invited Joel Sanders to deliver lectures presenting his work on Inclusive Design strategies for creating safe and accessible public spaces for “non-compliant bodies,” people who fall out of the cultural mainstream.

He has lectured this year at Woodbury University in Los Angeles, the Van Allan Institute in New York, ETH in Zurich, Aalto University in Helsinki, and as part of the Stockholm Design and Architecture Talks.

His upcoming lectures include:

• Marywood University, Scranton, Pa. (10/2)
• Ryerson University, Toronto (10/21)
• Austin Design Week, Austin, Texas (11/5)

NYSCA

The Stalled! team recently received 2019 NYSCA Independent Projects Award for Stalled! Online. Out of 68 applications, only 6 were funded and we are honored that Stalled! was among the ones chosen.

2018 AIA Film Challenge

We need your support! Stalled! The Video was chosen as a finalist in the AIA Film Challenge. Public Voting is now open until October 7th. To vote for us click here.

2018 AIA Innovation Awards

Stalled! recently received an honorable mention in the AIA Innovation Awards. The award honors projects that have developed new practices and technologies which will drive architecture forward. According to the jury, “What was most impressive was [our] focus on complex cultural issues and how architecture can solve them.”

Articles

This past June, the Stalled! team launched Stalled! Online. Check out the featured articles in Dezeen and Metrosource that discuss the our team, initiatives, and website. MIXdesign, a new inclusive design non-profit spearheaded by the Stalled! team, has been garnering press this summer. Check out the articles by Metropolis Magazine and Curbed.

Podcasts

Susan Stryker, a leading trans scholar and co-founder of Stalled!, discussed inclusive restrooms on several podcasts including Call Your Girlfriend, Lady Science Podcast, Sagittarian Matters, and Sex Out Loud.

Equity x Design: Sketching Equitable Workplaces

Joel Sanders and Seb Choe from JSA (Joel Sanders Architect) will present a talk at the Center for Architecture titled “Equity x Design Mappy Hour: Sketching Equitable Workplaces.” The discussion will explore the design consequences of social justice issues as they pertain to inclusive workplace design.

JSA has been a strong advocate of inclusive design applied to restrooms as well as the design of everyday building types like offices, museums and libraries. More efforts should be dedicated to the creation of interactive places that engage people of different ages, genders, races, religions and disabilities who have historically been left out of the equation.

The event will take place on Monday, June 18 at 6pm at the Center for Architecture.

JSA is proud to announce the launch of Stalled! Online.

Stalled! Online compiles three years of design research into an open-source website now made accessible to a wide audience. The website features design guidelines for inclusive restrooms, case-study prototypes, and essays from the Stalled! Team that situate contemporary debates within a broad historical, cultural and political context

We invite you to explore Stalled! Online and to watch Stalled! The Video – a short overview of the initiative where the Stalled! team takes you through the history of this complex problem and presents our design solutions as well as our various initiatives and activities.

Joel Sanders and Susan Stryker, founding members of Stalled!, will promote the launch today at 4:30pm with a presentation at the 2018 AIA Conference on Architecture at Booth 1739, Level 3 at Javits Center.

Stalled! Online

Stalled! Online, an open-access website that compiles over two years of design-research on inclusive public restrooms, will officially launch on Thursday June 21st at the 2018 AIA Conference on Architecture in New York City.

Joel Sanders and Susan Stryker, founding members of Stalled!, will present the project with the support of the New York Chapter of the AIA’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee. The talk-show style “A+ Session” will be available to watch here – for the complete program, click here.

The event will take place on June 21, 2018 at 4:30 pm at ARCHITECT Booth 1739, Level 3 at Javits Center.

Metropolis

Metropolis Magazine recently featured an interview with Joel Sanders about Stalled! in a video titled, “Why Gender-Neutral Bathrooms Matter“. Watch the video to learn more about the project.

Noncompliant Bodies

Noncompliant Bodies: Social Equity and Public Space, a conference convened by Joel Sanders and Susan Stryker at Yale School of Architecture, assembled a group of designers and scholars to explore architecture and social justice through the lens of race, gender and disability. The Stalled! Team (Joel Sanders, Susan Stryker, Terry Kogan) presented on the session dedicated to Restrooms.

2018 Arnold W. Brunner Grant

Joel Sanders is the recipient of the Center for Architecture’s 2018 Arnold W. Brunner Grant for Architectural Research for Stalled!: Social Equity and Public Restrooms, a project that will finalize two years of research and create an open-access website. Read more HERE.

Footprint Journal

Joel Sanders’ essay “Stalled!: Transforming Public Bathrooms” was published in Footprint 21: Trans-Bodies / Queering Spaces, the latest issue of TU Delft’s Architecture Theory Journal. The full issue can be read online HERE.

Urban Omnibus

“Noncompliant Bodies, Accomodating Space”, an interview with Joel Sanders by Jacob Moore, QSPACE, and QSAPP, is featured in Urban Omnibus’ new LGBT-focused essay series “Intersections”. Read the interview HERE.

Architectural Digest

“Neither His Nor Hers: How Design Could Save the Gendered Bathroom Debate”, an article by Architectural Digest, features an interview with Joel Sanders about Stalled! and discusses gender-inclusive restrooms in New York. Read the article HERE.

Lectures + Workshops

Stalled! offers public lectures that situate restroom debates within a broader cultural, historical, and political context, and conducts campus workshops that assemble key university stakeholders to discuss the practical challenges of implementing inclusive spaces.

• Pratt Institute (4/10)
• University of Utah (4/12-13)
• UC Davis (4/25) – The Sexological Floorplan with Susan Stryker
• Vassar College (5/7)

On Friday-Saturday (April 6-7) at Yale School of Architecture, Joel Sanders and Susan Stryker will convene Noncompliant Bodies: Social Equity and Public Space, a symposium exploring the relationship between architecture and the demands for social justice voiced by people who have been marginalized and oppressed on the basis of race, gender and disability.

Noncompliant Bodies will be followed by RADcon (Radicalizing the Architecture Discipline) on April 7-8, which invites students of marginalized communities in architecture schools to build coalitions, make space for community learning, and promote discourse on the impact of marginalized communities in architecture.

Joel Sanders will host the Stalled! Symposium, a series of talks and workshops developed in collaboration with the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at University of Michigan, which will examine the impact of disability, gender-fluidity, and intersectionality on architecture and design.

Taking place on February 7-8, the symposium will feature a keynote by Joel Sanders as well as presentations from Mel Chen, Dr. Jos Boys, Robert Adams and additional panelists.

Log 41: Working Queer

Joel Sanders’ new essay titled, “From Stud to Stalled!: Architecture in Transition” is featured in Log 41 in a special section called Working Queer, guest edited by Jaffer Kolb. Sanders’ essay traces 20 years of his research, from its roots in queer theory to transgender studies today.

Harvard Design Magazine: Seventeen

Lori Brown’s essay “Fluids and Fluidity”, examines the history of sex-segregated restrooms and acknowledges that “design has a critical role to play in solving these problems.” Brown features Stalled! as an example of “how public restrooms could accommodate all body types–trans, the elderly, parents and children, those with caretakers, and the disabled.”

Architect Magazine

Stalled! is featured as a leading example of “a push for a new logic in multi-user public restroom design” in Architect Magazine. Joel Sanders was interviewed by Ian Spula for his article on changes to the 2018 International Plumbing Code (IPC) – one of the Stalled! initiatives includes the amendment of the IPC to allow for all-gender, multi-user restrooms.