Subverting hostile architecture
Description
Hostile architecture has debased the way in which city dwellers experience urban public spaces. Hostile design strategies intend to control the behaviors and actions of users through exclusionary and discriminatory means. By way of both additive and reductive methods, hostile architecture renders public spaces as unwelcoming and thereby unusable. These strategies affect society as a whole, but disproportionately target vulnerable and marginalized populations. Such public space management only comes in response to concerns over the aesthetic symptoms of deep rooted societal problems. Rather than offer long term solutions, hostile architecture literally pushes the problem farther down the street. Consequently, it also pushes away everyday members of society. These hostile trends require an architectural response that reclaims urban public spaces and employs design strategies that are centered on the needs of all potential users. Emerging strategies in the field encourage user participation to augment the relationship between people and space. This thesis constructs a future of design that prioritizes human needs by reclaiming public space and offering users opportunities for self definition and inclusion; an architecture of refuge and asylum.