Layers of Care

The queer family of Maggie Nelson’s novel, The Argonauts, is imagined living in Altstetten. The existing social housing building Farbhof has been refurbished to welcome their and other non-conforming family structures.

The The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson describes a queer family, living in an isolated house in suburban Los Angeles. Their house lacks the space needed to take care of Harry’s mother, who is sick with cancer. While taking care of their stepson, Harry is undergoing gender transition and Maggie is pregnant with Iggy. The couple is confronted with heteronormative family-making, and the lack of connections with the dispersed queer community of Los Angeles makes their life even more difficult.

Imagining an apartment of the Wohnkolonie Farbhof as Maggie and Harry’s domicile was the entry point for a refurbishment project. The social housing complex Wohnkolonie Farbhof at the edge of Zurich was built in the 1950s by the city of Zurich, offering 160 minimal sized apartments.

An extension along the façade forming a wintergarden is added to provide a common space of care. Additional independent bedrooms and bathrooms provide space to care for elderly relatives or other next of kin in need. A bar below a daycare centre can become an underground club providing a social space for community binding. The normative structures and isolated living at Wohnkolonie Farbhof start to be dismantled. The Farbhof ensemble of housing blocks is turned into a space where care for the elderly and childcare are carried out communally. At the same time the complex hosts a new space for the queer community.