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Security Design and Architecture: Hidden Strengths

Does security have to be as ugly as a jersey barrier? Or can it be both effective and attractive? Planners in the nation's capital are putting well-designed security to the test.

Dennis Carmichael, a landscape architect with Edaw in nearby Alexandria, Va., used a similar strategy in several spots including Capital One's new headquarters in Richmond, Va. At that site, an 18-inch-deep depression surrounds an outdoor dining terrace where it enhances security without obstructing the landscape. "Security does not have to be ugly, and it doesn't have to look heavy or dense and fortress-like," says Carmichael. "It can look lightweight and reasonably transparent. I believe [tank traps] are going to become quite standard." Coordinating The FabricIn parks and at monuments, architects may be able to disguise security within the natural landscapes, but along Washington's busy streets, the challenge is greater. Many federal buildings sit just feet away from the curb, where they have very little setback to cushion the impact of a truck bomb. And any blast consultant will confirm that every single foot of distance that a building can put between its facade and a bomb blast makes a huge difference in terms of structural damage and lives lost. As a result, streetscape furnishingsplanters and benchesthat would normally be found next to doors have been placed instead in long monotonous rows along curbs. Each building has taken a different approach to hardening the perimetersome sidewalks are bordered by a thick wall of planters, and others have mixed bollards and metal fencing. The effect of this individualized approach to security is quite jarring for the average pedestrian. "Imagine if the Champs Elysee were designed by every cafÃ© owner," says Friedman. "It's one thing to have subtle differences, but the basic urban fabric has to be coordinated."

In an effort to ensure that the streets make sense again, the NCPC is proposing that improvements be undertaken in a centralized fashion. Instead of everyone creating his own perimeter security solution, Friedman is tackling the political challenge of getting the White House to move the security budgeting for all the different buildingsfrom the Treasury and Justice departments to the IRSinto a central budget that will pay for and implement street site security. The NCPC is looking into hardening common items like streetlights, low walls, planters, fencing and seating that can then be applied to the street in a more natural fashion. Like a dental implant, these street fixtures would be rooted in heavy steel moorings underneath the surface and could be reinforced to a greater or lesser degree depending on the security requirements that the General Services Administration has set for each federal building. "Ordinary street furniturewater fountains, newspaper stands, telephone boothscan be used as effectively as a blob of concrete," says Friedman. "Even a properly selected tree can be a fabulous defensive mechanism."