IT’S WHAT YOU WANT
Everyone wants a safe(r) place to live, to work and to do everything in between. I’m sure you’re no different.
So how does architecture contribute to safety? And what is its connection with a person’s sense of safety? What role does architectural design play?
Safety is a really important part of what architecture can do. In buildings, your occupant should feel not only healthy and comfortable, but also safe.
That’s why I’m writing this article as the first of a three part series dedicated to architecture and safety.
LOOK AROUND
A good place to start with this complex topic is what I call the “surrounding area”. Your building’s site resides within a certain context: whether it be a neighborhood, urban city or other surrounding. As a designer you should understand the safety climate and design accordingly.
But how do you do that?
Well, what goes on outside, can be carried inside. This can be either good or bad. That’s why your building’s surrounding area is so important.
The way your architecture communicates through its exterior environment may call for you to ask specific questions regarding its shared exterior spaces, green-spaces, site plan, traffic patterns and so on.
Of course, as an architect you also need to be concerned with your occupant’s safety by designing with water, fire, barrier and accidents in mind. (1) But there is a core question which cuts to the heart of why your building might or might not illicit a sense of safety from the moment your visitors approach your building.
