XXX: Resexifying Amsterdam’s Red Light District 

Anna Torres (Academy of Architecture - Master in Architecture) graduated with XXX: Resexifying Amsterdam’s Red Light District. 

Anna: 'I have always taken interest in issues of feminism, sexuality and power structures in spatial contexts. This graduation project presents a deep exploration of these themes. XXX is an architectural intervention on an urban scale, focused on creating new workspaces for sex workers in the heart of Amsterdam’s De Wallen, and offering a more sensual and respectful red light experience. This architectural project has not been built, and is presented through a series of large hand drawings, a model and atmospheric photograph.   

In light of the current events in Amsterdam (saturation of the city center with tourism, radical closing of the red light windows, plans for a disastrous “erotic hotel” outside the city) there is a pressing need to rethink how we design intimacy in public space and to give back the city to one of its most vulnerable communities: sex workers.   

The design process of this project is unique and strongly anchored in reality. From the start, sex workers were included and the approach taken was always artistic and sensitive. On-site conversations with sex workers, intimate interviews and perceptive observations of the city were the building blocks for this project. This graduation work raises and offers answers to questions relevant to our profession: how can we use intuition, feelings and stories as new tools to design? What role should we play in rethinking a public space which has been overwhelmingly designed by and for the heterosexual masculine fantasy? How can we, as architects, use our expertise to give power to - but not speak for - marginalized communities?  

XXX: Resexifying Amsterdam’s Red Light District is a seductive project which serves as a vision and a starting point for concrete action and conversation with the city’s stakeholders. Looking ahead, I will be continuing my collaboration with the sex work community and would like to help mediate dialogue with the municipality of Amsterdam.'  

'How can we, as architects, use our expertise to give power to - but not speak for - marginalized communities?' 

Recommendations

Jan-Richard Kikkert, architect and head of Academy of Architecture: 'Anna’s work has always been remarkable from the first year. To quote one of her tutors, Laurens-Jan ten Kate, also a former head of architecture on the assessment form: “This project is so original that it is almost impossible to judge it in the AvB system. The level of thinking was impressive.” And rewarded crucial aspects as: ‘beyond excellent’.  

This is also how I always have looked at Anna’s work. Her graduation work follows that path that she sets for herself. From the start of her graduation journey, Anna’s project explored the complex topic of sex work and approached it with a delicate balance of audacity and deep respect. Her project’s layers truly come to life through the mediums of intricate hand drawings, model making and photography. It is a subject that has seldom been looked at from the architectural and urban angle; XXX offers a new way of integrating different forms of sensuality in the city. The way the work is represented is strongly rooted in the notion of the School of the Arts as it almost could stand as a piece of art by itself, a further exploration of the pioneering work of Constant Nieuwenhuijs (New Babylon) and Jan Schoonhoven (Reliëf postkantoor Hippolytusbuurt, Delft, 1958).'  

Hiroki Matsuura, CEO MADMA urbanism+landscape, mentor: 'Anna Torres was having years of passion and interest in the topics of sexuality, sensuality, and rights of women in relation to architecture and urbanism. Despite these topics being highly common to all of us, not many architects are touching upon these issues as explicitly as Anna. Her project XXX has specific sociological goals such as improvement of the work environment of sex workers, strengthening and giving more human rights to the community of the sex industry as perceiving it is one of the vital elements in our society.  Besides these, Anna discovered a highly unique urban development model consisting of rather simple technology and smart special organization without requiring the total makeover of existing urban tissue that could even be achieved right at the center of UNESCO heritage. Simply XXX is a very sustainable project in many aspects.'

A project of: Anna Torres

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