Date of Award
8-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Interior Architecture, MAIA
School
CAS
Department
Art & Design Department
Faculty Advisor
Elizabeth Ghiseline
Second Advisor
Michael Fior
Third Advisor
Yinette Guzman
Abstract
Third Places, a term coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg, refers to places where one can go to form new connections and stimulate the mind where they are not required to assume a role. In first places, such as the home, there is an associated purpose in being there (ie. rest and recharging) and there is little interaction with new experiences. In second places such as work or school, there is a general requirement to perform to meet a deadline or benchmark. Third places remain as a free, uninhibited space and act as a vessel that nourish the human need for uninhibited connection in situations where a power dynamic is not present.
For queer people of color, physical third places are an irreplaceable solution to dwindling community and widespread loneliness.
In this study, third places act as the container that facilitates the maintenance and development of human connection and physical wellbeing in a technologically-reliant society.
Creative Commons License
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Recommended Citation
Sanchez, Cam, "Gather Home: A Minority Centered Third Place" (2025). Interior Architecture and Design Graduate Theses. 39.
https://dc.suffolk.edu/gradwork_iad/39