Dwelling in conflict: Redesigning the home to rethink family and society
Abstract
This article critically re-examines the domestic space through the lens of feminist, decolonial, and affect theory, centering on Cini Boeri’s Domestic Project as a case study for rethinking architectural, relational, and political dimensions of the home. Far from being a neutral or private refuge, the home is presented as a deeply ideological and contested site where gendered norms, labour relations, and social reproduction converge. Drawing from Italian feminist activism—particularly the movement for wages for housework—the analysis underscores the role of domestic architecture in naturalising women’s labour while systematically excluding them from spatial decision-making. Through engagements with theorists such as Silvia Federici, bell hooks, Lauren Berlant, and Leslie Kern, the text explores how care, intimacy, and subjectivity are produced and governed within domestic infrastructures. The essay argues for a radical reconfiguration of domestic space as a political act, capable of disrupting heteronormative, capitalist, and patriarchal systems. It highlights the importance of feminist design practices in imagining homes that foster autonomy, relational plurality, and collective care. Ultimately, the home emerges not only as a site of structural domination but as a space of potential transformation—where new modes of living, relating, and resisting can be cultivated