Conceived by MacArthur “genius” and architect Jeanne Gang, the simple project is part of her broader proposal to reimagine isolated, fortress-like police precincts as welcoming community centers. In her vision, better police precincts could house a barber shop, a garden, a gym, and lounges with free wi-fi—all designed to draw community members to hang out in stations and eventually build friendlier and more trusting relationships with the cops sworn to protect them. — qz.com
In Gang's project, the West 10th district's police station in North Lawndale, Chicago, includes a basketball half-court right next to it, as an attempt to create shared spaces between police and the community whom they serve. Gang's 'Polis Project' was first exhibited at the 2015 Chicago Architecture Biennial, and was conceived in response to the report on "21st Century Policing" commissioned by President Obama.
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8 Comments
"Genius" has really gone to her head
This what a community center in a police state looks like.
Where is the designated snitching area?
With the right program it could be a good idea...It's refreshing to see a 'starchitect' challenging program and typology...I think this could actually be an effective way to remind police daily that the community is filled with regular people and not only criminals...
I hope this becomes a reality somewhere. A friend of mine in Seattle was campaigning for something similar
The "problem" with this project is that there's not enough of it on the street. There needs to be more social presence that is diversified. A barber shop and basketball court(arguably patronizing moves) just aren't enough.
I do hope that the project becomes a catalyst for these types of social and economic activities.
Police don't know how to talk to people. People are afraid of the police. Solution? Build a Community Jail?
This is too centralized. The problem is people aren't shopping at the police station? Architecture won't solve this.
What happened to the PAL? Golden Gloves? Police living in the community?
You want to restore trust? Either get rid of police unions, or bring back Civilian Review Boards, and wrest from the union their power to make prosecution of police a political poison pill.
Do those things, and maybe people will want to play ball, or get a haircut at the police station.
Oh fuck it. Architecture is cheaper.
I find it strange that a respected architect is presenting half baked doodles to the public--and that "design media" presents narrative as fact. It's an interesting discussion to think about how architecture could bridge the gap, but these sketches look like a first year student project-in both idea and execution. "Police station as community center" oh ok!
If you believe architecture can bridge the gap, show us architecture, not these narratives that you can chat about at the next urban design conference. As for the design, whatever this is, why not use ARCHITECTURE to create a clearly defined (and well designed) public space and adjacent (well designed) police building, not merging the two (very problematic). Nobody is going to be tricked to hang out at the police station.
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