The recent mass shooting at an L.G.B.T. nightclub in Orlando, Fla., once again raises emotional questions about gun ownership, the government’s antiterrorism policies, and how to thwart an ideologically motivated, if deranged, individual from wreaking havoc in the future.
In an opinion piece published in the Chicago Tribune on Monday, the newspaper’s architecture critic Blair Kamin notes that terrorist targets are no longer confined to high-profile buildings such as the World Trade Center in New York. They are occurring with greater frequency in places where large numbers of people gather, like the concert hall in Paris where, last November, gunmen killed nearly 90 people.
The Orlando attack killed 49 people in the club Pulse, which Kamin points out would have seemed the most unlikely of targets, even knowing the profile of its Muslim-American assailant, Omar Mateen, who (according to law enforcement sources) may have been gay.
But can “soft targets” like these be made safer? Kamin wonders if a building’s design provides a viable solution.
He notes that One World Trade Center (now better known as the Freedom Tower) and Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City have been rebuilt with massively thick walls. The Oklahoma building is now three stories, instead than nine like its predecessor.
The 1,792-foot-tall Freedom Tower may not be aesthetically elegant, but it is engineered with fortification, and assuaging its occupants’ anxieties, as a prime objective.
Back in 2003, the Federal Emergency Management Agency published a primer for designing buildings to mitigate terrorist attacks. “Designing security into a building requires a complex series of tradeoffs,” FEMA stated. “Security concerns need to be balanced with many other design constraints such as accessibility, initial and life-cycle costs, natural hazard mitigation, fire protection, energy efficiency, and aesthetics.”
A dozen years later, the world is now a more dangerous place, and terrorism is more random and unpredictable. Kamin acknowledges that, in their desire to feel safer, people will sacrifice a certain amount of freedom and convenience, such as metal detectors and patdowns at airports and ballparks.
But FEMA’s advisory isn’t entirely irrelevant, either. Kamin rejects the presumption that every single venue where people congregate—a restaurant, a shopping center, etc.—needs to be made into a fortress.
His column further asserts that it is both unrealistic and impractical to ask designers and building owners to install protective measures that would limit freedom of movement and assembly beyond what most Americans are willing to tolerate.
Such measures “seek solutions in the wrong place,” he says. “And grant a victory to the terrorists.”
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Pella introduces BIM models for windows and doors
Pella Corporation now offers three-dimensional (3D) window and door models for use in Building Information Modeling (BIM) projects by architects, designers, and others looking for aesthetically correct, easy-to-use, data-rich 3D drawings.
| Aug 11, 2010
AAMA developing product-based green certification program for fenestration
The American Architectural Manufacturers Association is working on a product-based green certification program for residential and commercial fenestration, the organization announced today. AAMA will use the results of a recent green building survey to help shape the program. Among the survey's findings: 77% of respondents reported a green certification program for fenestration would benefit the product selection process for their company.
| Aug 11, 2010
Draft NIST report on Cowboys practice facility collapse released for public comment
A fabric-covered, steel frame practice facility owned by the National Football League’s Dallas Cowboys collapsed under wind loads significantly less than those required under applicable design standards, according to a report released today for public comment by the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
| Aug 11, 2010
An Innovative Energy-Absorbing Anti-Terrorism Crash Barrier for Homeland Security
Anti-terrorism physical barrier techniques and applications have become highly desired to protect critical facilities and human lives in recent years. Based on in-depth review and practices, the systemic criteria are proposed here for selection of security barriers specifically against terrorist attacks with truck-borne explosives.
| Aug 11, 2010
NoricF4 custom metal ICF frames receive fire ratings, comply with antiterrorism standards for buildings
Reward Wall Systems' NoricF4 Custom Metal ICF Frames have received fire ratings of 1.5 hours to 3 hours and they have been evaluated to be in compliance with the prescriptive requirements of the Department of Defense Minimum Antiterrorism Standards for Buildings for blast/force protection.
| Aug 11, 2010
Embassy's dual façades add security and beauty
The British government's new 46,285-sf embassy building in Warsaw, Poland's diplomatic quarter houses the ambassador's offices, the consulate, and visa services on three floors. The $20 million Modernist design by London-based Tony Fretton Architects features a double façade—an inner concrete super structure and an outer curtain wall.
| Aug 11, 2010
Robotic storage facility protects exotic automobiles, fine wines, artwork
Miller Construction Company, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has completed construction on a high-tech robotic storage facility designed to store and protect valued possessions such as exotic automobiles, fine wines, artwork, and jewelry. Designed and built to resist Category 5 hurricanes, the RoboVault facility features automated storage retrieval, biometric recognition, private access with 24/7 securi...
| Aug 11, 2010
AIA Course: Historic Masonry — Restoration and Renovation
Historic restoration and preservation efforts are accelerating throughout the U.S., thanks in part to available tax credits, awards programs, and green building trends. While these projects entail many different building components and systems, façade restoration—as the public face of these older structures—is a key focus. Earn 1.0 AIA learning unit by taking this free course from Building Design+Construction.
| Aug 11, 2010
AIA course: MEP Technologies For Eco-Effective Buildings
Sustainable building trends are gaining steam, even in the current economic downturn. More than five billion square feet of commercial space has either been certified by the U.S. Green Building Council under its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program or is registered with LEED. It is projected that the green building market's dollar value could more than double by 2013, to as muc...
