Galvanizing a Community in Architecture

This story is from Prattfolio’s feature “Pivot Points,” on Pratt alumni navigating moments of uncertainty, change, and transformation in their life and work.

Matthew Ferraro grew up in Queens, one of the most culturally diverse places in not only New York City but the world. From street to street, community to community, residents’ connections to place create a unique tapestry that inspired the architect from a young age. “It was always exciting to experience a new neighborhood within the borough and the city to gain both an appreciation for how people came together, as well as how the homes and businesses reflected the individuals that lived there,” Ferraro says. 

The way people, and their backgrounds, experiences, needs, and desires, were reflected in place would weave through his work in more ways than one.

While he began his undergraduate studies in biology, imagining he would pursue a career in ecology, it was in an independent study in architecture suggested by a friend where Ferraro felt truly activated: “I was so excited by how my love for environments could be realized through design.” He completed his graduate studies in architecture at Pratt in 2007, going on to practice at the New York City firm Weiss Manfredi, where last year he was promoted to principal. 

The time around the pandemic would bring a sea change. “I had just been reunited with my birth parents before the world shut down, and shortly thereafter I came out,” Ferraro shares. “It was a very dynamic moment for me, as I was reflecting on the various aspects of my life, some of which were more gradual and others, like coming out, which were more spontaneous.”

This was all against the backdrop of a moment charged with ideas and action around representation and visibility. In Ferraro’s professional world, work was underway among organizations like the American Institute of Architects (AIA) to lift up different communities that were underrepresented in architecture. He saw, though, that there wasn’t much conversation around the LGBTQIA+ community and the unique issues its members face. “Being LGBTQIA+ is not a ‘visible’ identity,” Ferraro says. “We are called to ‘come out’ and identify ourselves to be able to acknowledge unique concerns or experiences that are shaped by the design of the buildings and cities we live in. We unfortunately also face very real concerns regarding safety due to the hyper-politicization of our community.”  

Ferraro got in touch with AIA National and AIA New York. “I took a chance, I wrote some emails, I spoke up, and it turned into such a wonderful experience and opportunity for myself and others,” he says. “AIA NY was very supportive from the onset. Ben Prosky, the former director, Jesse Lazar, the current director, and Matthew Bremer, the first openly gay president of AIA NY, put their heads together with me and other AIA New York members to help formulate the Alliance”— AIA New York’s LGBTQIA+ Alliance, which launched in 2023.

Advice from the field: Finding your people

“Speak up, and do not be afraid. Talk with others that you feel comfortable with, and reach out to peer leaders who you feel you can connect with. And once you establish those connections, you will have colleagues—and most likely friends—that you can share experiences with and discuss particular obstacles or difficulties you are having to help navigate them.”  

On the national level, things were happening too: The LGBTQIA+ Affinity Member Group launched on the AIA website, and in 2024, for the first time, the AIA National Conference included LGBTQIA+ programming.

As architecture professionals come together around LGBTQIA+ experiences, perspectives, and advocacy, it can only benefit the field and the people it serves, Ferraro says: “I firmly believe that the broader the perspectives you bring to the table, the more inviting and accessible architecture becomes to everyone. . . . By now bringing some of the issues that are not immediately apparent to these forums for conversation, it will help to evolve the way we design to be more inclusive not only for LGBTQIA+ individuals, but for all.” 

For Ferraro, the process has been as rewarding as the result, introducing him “to so many people whose stories have helped shape my perspective of both the challenges and the celebrations of being part of the community. I have said to the group since day one, if nothing else, I was just happy to be able to create the visibility for us to have a platform for advocacy. How well received, and how much this was needed, greatly exceeded my expectations.”

The experience has also been healing. ”I was so self-critical since childhood that I hid a very important part of myself from the world for several decades. Personally, I never want someone to feel like they cannot be who they are—or to struggle alone—simply because they are not reflected in the established group,” Ferraro says. “Architecture is a collective, and the more we share with one another, the better the profession and our work will be for all.”