In this New York Times interview with Ginia Bellafante, Jeanne Gang discusses the importance and challenges of designing work that isn't simply aesthetically pleasing, but that influences positive changes in social behavior and policy. In addition to her work on waterways, she discusses her idea behind designing a fire rescue station in one of New York City's poorest and most violent neighborhoods:
You feel like you trust a firefighter, a rescue worker. And those doors on the building are often open. And we even put a bench in the front of the building so people can actually sit there instead of taking this approach of creating a fortress, which I think is a contrast to what we see in the design of police stations.
And so really designing this Fire Rescue 2 started me thinking about, are there ways that design could help improve the relationship between community members and police if we looked at the architecture? Not that it can solve everything. But I think, you know, maybe it can be part of that dialogue in creating — relationships between police and community members which are not just the confrontational relationships.
For more on Jeanne Gang:
6 Comments
No
Great counterpoint.
Kind of a strange article, really not much to glean from it as it seems the interview was cut short... Frankly I think it's a stretch to think that you can design the social issue outcomes they're talking about, especially with the fire station project. Of course you can make a move that may assist in causing a positive effect, but it's far from a sure thing and extremely naive to believe otherwise.
Architecture needs a narrative... How about just making good buildings?
Social justice: creating police stations to clear out the black community for whites
How about building something like this BEFORE the neighborhood gentrifies ? Otherwise it's really hard to tell.
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