Quan Thai

We’re over the moon to share that “TO·BE·LONGING: Portraits of Queer Living” — @qthai ’s installation at @acehoteltoronto during @designtofestival 2026 — received the Founders’ Award. The festival’s highest honor, the award recognizes Quan’s work as being most aligned with festival’s purpose: to bring people together to design a better future. We couldn’t agree more, and we’re sharing an intimate look at the installation. On Ace Reader, Quan breaks down five common themes surrounding queer living as expressed through a selection of the show’s collected artifacts — nuanced depictions of how queerness manifests in domestic space. Find the whole thing up now. Exhibition photos by Albert Hoang (@callmealbs ).

TO·BE·LONGING: Portraits of Queer Living | Ace Hotel Toronto, DesignTO 2026 • In late January, we had the exciting opportunity to bring TO·BE·LONGING: Portraits of Queer Living to Canada’s largest design festival, @designtofestival , hosted by the incredible team at @acehoteltoronto . Situated in Suite 1104, the exhibition negotiated the boundaries and functions of an existing interior that captures the essence of a one-bedroom residential unit. The social histories of the Queer artifacts manifest a living archive that is now in direct dialogue with the tension between the rigidity of normative spatial foundations and the potentials for fluidity in the domestic sphere. Utilizing a contrast of textures, fluid partitions introduce new (non)spaces that navigate the spatial hierarchies established by concrete walls and metal stud partitions—peeling away the layers of normative constructs to reveal spaces for discovery. This iteration reflects on the standards of contemporary living, exploring how heteronormative space can continue to be reclaimed and reimagined as a queer subversive act. Photos by: Christine Lim @chrissylim , courtesy of DesignTO The project would not have been possible with the support and sponsorship from: @waterloo_architecture @ltu_coad @jeffreydouglasdesign @safersixtoronto @acehoteltoronto @acehotel

TO·BE·LONGING: Portraits of Queer Living | Design at Riverside, Waterloo Architecture • TO·BE·LONGING: Portraits of Queer Living originated as a provocation asking “What makes your home queer?” We sought to explore the existing dynamics of how the universality of what we typically see in the domestic sphere responds to the identities that inhabit it. At Design at Riverside, we investigated opportunities to rethink the normative framework of the home, exploring how concretized walls can be subverted by the social and fluid narratives of the queer objects housed within them. The exhibition stemmed from the inaugural Emerging Practitioner Teaching Fellowship @waterloo_architecture . Through this research, we continue to build upon the narrative that home is not a static coordinate, but a fluid and adaptable living archive of identity. Photos by: @kurtischen_ The project would not have been possible with the support and sponsorship from: @waterloo_architecture @ltu_coad @jeffreydouglasdesign @safersixtoronto

A Living Archive, TO·BE·LONGING: Portraits of Queer Living | Ace Hotel Toronto, DesignTO 2026 • The heart of TO·BE·LONGING resides in its artifacts—everyday objects submitted by queer community members across North America. These artifacts function as spatial portraits, objects that embody the lived realities that shape comfort, vulnerability, and belonging in the homes of our community. By integrating these social biographies into the framework of an adaptable home, narratives of identity reshape the concrete nature of the home within the suite. These artifacts represent crucial themes that resonate with the community: Chosen Family, Queer Joy, Coming-of-Age, Queer Rituals, and ultimately Queer Resilience. Thank you to all the contributors for sharing your story and welcoming us into your home. Photo 1: Ceramic Rosebuds, @chadburton.studio Photo 2: Friendship Altar, @david.joshua4 Photo 3: Neither/Nor, @xaj.jax Photo 4: Ancestral Altar for Queer Vietnamese Kin, @thompy.cc_nguyen Photo 5: Once Upon a Time in the Village, Queer Arrival Photo 6: Red Lip Telephone @loving_the_low_life Photo 7: Rolodex of Recipes, jade guthrie & Em Dial • Chez Olive, @gerldz @leahpar85 Photo 8 Hockey Stick, @jlmirabelli Photo 9: Untitled, @aurora.xzc Photos by: Christine Lim @chrissylim The project would not have been possible without the support and sponsorship from: @waterloo_architecture @ltu_coad @jeffreydouglasdesign @safersixtoronto @neveronly_arch

TO·BE·LONGING: Queeries & Cocktails, Opening Weekend | Ace Hotel Toronto, DesignTO 2026 • As the sun went down, Suite 1104 at @acehoteltoronto descended into a site of profound intimacy, vulnerability, and dialogue. As light and sound permeated the fluid partitions, it prolonged an exposure of movement, conversation, and discovery—a discovery of the multiplicities of a queer home that intersect the fringes of normative living. This atmosphere provided the backdrop for “Queeries & Cocktails”—an interdisciplinary dialogue bridging the scales of the object, the body, and the space. Joined by @baharghaemi , @sean_santiago , and @chadburton.studio , we explored how our identities shape our daily rituals and the profound impact of our work within the design industry. Through this dialogue, it became clear that the shaping of our homes was negotiated through the queer biographies of the everyday objects that anchor our sense of belonging within our spaces of comfort. Photos 1, 3, 5 by Ness Devos @nessdevos Photos 2, 4, 6, 7 by Albert Hoang @callmealbs The project would not have been possible without the support and sponsorship from: @waterloo_architecture @ltu_coad @jeffreydouglasdesign @safersixtoronto @neveronly_arch

Last Monday, post-snow day. As an extension of @qthai ’s DesignTO exhibition, TO·BE·LONGING: Portraits of Queer Living, we hosted Bahar Ghaemi, @sean_santiago , @chadburton.studio and Quan in conversation about how queer identity shapes the spaces we inhabit and call home. Thank you to all who braved the cold and joined us for the evening.  📸: @nessdevos

Last Friday, we gathered for the opening reception of TO·BE·LONGING: Portraits of Queer Living by @qthai . The exhibition, on display at @acehoteltoronto for @designtofestival , explores how the places we live can better accommodate who we are — fitting our full selves to better our sense of belonging.  On view now through February 1. Viewing hours: January 26–30, 3–9pm and January 31–February 1, 11am–5pm. (Please note hours are subject to change.)  📸 @callmealbs

@acehoteltoronto all dressed up for @qthai ’s exhibition To Be Longing: Portraits of Queer Living. Big joy in working with the team to bring it to the Ace for @designtofestival ❤️ On until February 1st!

We caught up with architect and educator Quan Thai @qthai ahead of his installation “TO·BE·LONGING: Portraits of Queer Living” opening as a part of @designtofestival . Housed in an @acehoteltoronto Suite, TO·BE·LONGING seeks to introduce fluidity to domesticity, subverting historically defined heteronormative ideals of the home. The work imagines how architecture could function for those who do not conform, rethinking the rigidity of home with new spatial parameters that shelter new relationships and honor collective resiliency. On display: nearly 40 artifacts received in response to the query, “What makes your home queer?” On view from January 23–February 1 in Suite 1104. Link in bio for more info and visiting hours.

Meet the guests of “Queeries & Cocktails” We invite you to an intimate evening of Queeries and Cocktails with three incredible voices to hear how they shape their homes and spaces around their identity. From visual storytelling to architectural theory, we’re diving deep into the intimacies between the body, the object, and the space. Featuring: @baharghaemi (she/her) | Creative Director of Product, @yabupushelberg @sean_santiago (he/him) | Design Editor-at-Large, Creative Director, Former Deputy Editor of ELLE Decor @chadburton.studio (he/him) | Fashion Editor, Interiors & Product Stylist Hosted by yours truly @qthai (he/him) | Architect @neveronly_arch Educator @ltu_coad & Curator of TO·BE·LONGING: Portraits of Queer Living Monday, Jan 26 | 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM FORM at @acehoteltoronto Tickets are free but space is limited! Hit the link in bio to grab your spot before they’re gone! 🏳️‍🌈🏙️ #DesignTO26 #QueeriesAndCocktails #QueerArchitecture #AceHotelToronto #torontoevent

One more week left to view TO BE LONGING: PORTRAITS OF QUEER LIVING, an exhibits by @qthai that I helped to curate at @waterloo_architecture . Please also come by the second iteration which will be one of the highlighted installations of the @designtofestival in suite 1104 at the @acehoteltoronto with opening night January 23rd and a panel talk on January 26th. photos by @kurtischen_

We’re Checking into the Ace Hotel Toronto! We’re thrilled to announce that TO·BE·LONGING: Portraits of Queer Living is moving to Toronto as part of DesignTO 2026, hosted at the Ace Hotel Toronto. Hosted in an intimate suite at the @acehoteltoronto and functioning as a living archive set within a fluid interpretation of home, you’re invited to engage, reshape, and rethink what “home” means to you. Come up to our suite (1104). Exhibit: Jan 23, 2026 - Feb 1, 2026 — Suite 1104, Ace Hotel Toronto [Link in Bio] Opening Reception: Jan 23, 5-7 PM — The Lobby, Suite 1104, Ace Hotel Toronto [Link in Bio] Panel Talk: Queeries & Cocktails: An intimate panel exploring the relationship between the body, the object, and the space Jan 26, 6-8 PM — FORM, Ace Hotel Toronto [RSVP in Bio] TO·BE·LONGING: Portraits of Queer Living, an exhibition and installation by architect Quan Thai @qthai explores how the places we live should truly reflect who we are. The exhibition focuses on the resilience and belonging found in queer living, celebrating the fluidity and nuances of queer domesticity to meet the ever-changing needs and desires for self-determination. Featured in the show are intimate artifacts from the home: everyday objects collected from queer community members across North America. These portraits share powerful stories about queer identity, memory, and chosen family, defining the multiplicity of what ‘queer living’ looks like today. See you at The Ace Hotel! Photos: @kurtischen_ #designto2026 #designto #acehotel #acehoteltoronto #queerdesign