Joyce Lin & Ailed Torres Espinosa
2026
Citation for Excellence in Design Research
Housework, or domestic labor, is the most important form of labor because it produces the workers. Without this labor, there can be no production, no culture, no economy, and no political action. During the Industrial Revolution, American housing adopted the era’s obsession with efficiency and optimization, setting the stage for how domestic spaces would be designed and experienced. As a result, friction was removed from the home. Functions were separated, and workspaces were divided into productive and reproductive spheres. With no intersections or interactions, domestic labor became hidden and invisible.In response to this rigidity and the resulting 'housewifization' of the female body, contemporary architects have developed alternative approaches.
For example, Susana Torre explores flexibility through her concept of 'space as matrix,' while MAIO addresses the fluidity of everyday activities within an endless field. Similarly, our project “There is Room” rejects the frictionless home that renders domestic labor invisible and devalued. It instead embraces the value of friction. Spatial overlap, indeterminacy, and moments of interaction become architectural strategies that make domestic labor visible and shared. Through the spatial, visual, and circulatory strategies of this framework, friction is reintroduced into the domestic sphere, transforming the home from a machine that once concealed domestic labor into one that reveals it and values the people who perform it.