It is a sad state of affairs to think that gun violence has reached a level where we are starting to design architecture, technology, and even furniture to prevent or reduce the chances of getting shot in everyday life situations!
Regardless of where you stand in the debate about guns in our country, the reality is that current events involving gun violence have given rise to a new niche in many industries. Corporations are profiting from consumer fears by designing new products and systems that are able to withstand or better protect people should high impact or explosive events occur in their surroundings. Surviving gun violence rather than preventing it is emerging as the new norm.
It reminds me of when I was attending college at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY in the late 90’s. I was an “ambassador” for the school and one day I gave a campus tour to a family who was considering sending their daughter to Pratt. I lived in one the “newer” dorms at the time and remarked (without thinking) that, “The windows are made of bulletproof glass,” which I quickly followed up with, “I don’t know if that is comforting or scary, but that is the way it is.”
Now close to two decades after college, I live in a country where mass shootings happen with disturbing regularity in suburbia as well as in cities. The simple act of sending children to school, going to work, or shopping at the mall can end in unnecessary and preventable tragedy.
Because of this, furniture companies and architects are thinking of ‘active shooter’ scenarios along with sustainability and ergonomics in the design process. How does an office chair capable of stopping a bullet sound to you? Is it comforting or scary? Either way, it’s now an option made by several commercial furniture companies, in addition to bulletproof cubical walls, doors, and movie theater seating.
The new Sandy Hook Elementary School was designed with many fortified elements seen in castle structures. It has embraced “crime prevention through environmental design” or CPTED, like a moat between the parking lot and the school so the entry points are limited. While the design of the new school is excellent for its added safety features, it is encouraging that planners were sensitive to the needs of children and also incorporated elements of nature for a calming effect.
Designers are starting to be asked to prevent gun violence. Will bulletproof furniture and environments be reassuring or frightening in the future? Perhaps good design can do both: help protect people and provide a sense of comfort, too.
