There Is Refuge in Geometry

“Uncomfortable,” the theme of the 2023 Architectural League Prize, is a seemingly inapposite frame for discussing new architectural investigations in housing. For Daisy Ames and Sean Canty, two of six winners of this year’s prize, discomfort is the disparity between worlds within and outside of “home.” The work of their respective studios questions the boundaries of traditional architectural paradigms, housing and construction policies, social and environmental values, race, and identity. Both noted that their approach is informed by traditional architectural tools of Euclidean geometry and personal narratives, and the way those are set in tension. “What is more uncomfortable than leaning into the space of one’s own identity and history,” Canty asked at one point, before adding, “Perhaps ‘uncomfortable’ is a space to reframe our own practice and narratives.”