This project seeks to create a sanctuary for Puerto Rico’s cuir community, drawing inspiration from the resilience and protective qualities of mangrove ecosystems. Recognizing the mangrove’s historical role as a refuge for both the natural world and marginalized people, the project aims to mirror this duality by providing a safe, empowering space amidst societal adversity. By remembering Alexa Negrón Luciano and others, the center prioritizes safety and celebrates the lives and identities diminished by violence and misgendering.
Cuir Grove
Under the instruction of Nathalie Frankowski & Cruz Garcia
Inspired by artists like Luis Gabriel Sanabria, whose work reclaims cultural symbols like vejigante masks, the design envisions an architecture of layered transparency with spaces that offer both concealment and revelation. These spaces will foster artistic expression, collective care, and chosen kinship, nurturing liberation through unity. Incorporating open areas for movement and celebration, the center acknowledges dancing as a language of freedom. Like mangroves, which purify water and protect coastlines, this center for queer artists, makers, and writers aims to offer rooted resistance and transformation, ensuring everyone has the chance to thrive in a supportive environment.
