With the United States Senate opening up the debate on legislation for increased gun control, we felt it was time to revisit a question we’ve asked ourselves in the past: what can design do to prevent gun violence?
Read more about the recent debate about the potential of design for gun violence, after the break…
In our last Editorial, “Post-Traumatic Design: How to Design Schools that Heal Past Wounds and Prevent Future Violence,” we discussed how architects must conceptualize school design in the wake of the tragic shootings that have affected our nation. Rather than leaning towards overly secure, prison-like structures, the Editorial suggested a different model, one better suited to dealing with student needs (particularly for those who have experienced trauma): domestic violence shelters.
While the comparison may seem bizarre at first, shelter design is all about implementing un-invasive security measures that could easily make schools safer, healthier spaces for students. To further elaborate this unlikely connection, we spoke with an Associate at Mahlum Architecture, Corrie Rosen, who has worked with the The Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence [WSCADV] on the Building Dignity project, which provides Domestic Violence Shelters advice to design shelters that empower and heal.
Find out Mahlum’s 8 strategies for designing schools that can improve security and student well-being, after the break…
Over a month has passed since the Sandy Hook tragedy. Its surviving students have gone back to school, albeit at another facility (decorated with old posters to make it feel familiar), and are working on putting this tragic event behind them. The nation is similarly moving on – but this time, with an eye to action.
The goal is obvious: to prevent a tragedy like this from ever happening again. The means, less so. While President Obama’s recent gun control policy offers some solutions, it’s by no means the only way. Indeed, opinions vary – from clamping down on gun control, to better addressing the root cause of mental illness, to even arming teachers in the classroom.
The design world has similarly contributed to the debate. A recent article in ArchRecord questioned how, in the wake of Sandy Hook, we should design our schools: “While fortress-like buildings with thick concrete walls, windows with bars, and special security vestibules may be more defensible than what is currently in vogue, they are hardly the kind of places that are optimal for learning.”Indeed, turning a school into a prison would be the design equivalent of giving a teacher a rifle. You would, of course, have a more “secure” environment – but at what cost?
As America and the world considers how we can move on after these traumas, I’d like to take a moment to consider what role design could play. If the answer is not to turn our schools into prisons, then what is? Can design help address the root causes of violence and make our schools less vulnerable to tragedy? If so, how?