saftey & the school
MASTERS THESIS PROPOSAL | SHELLY CHIPIMO ARCH 7140 MASTERS DEGREE PROJECT SPRING 2019 | PROF. TIM LOVE NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
Photo Credit: Christoph Theisinger
Profiting off fear School-Security Companies Thrive in the Era of Mass Shootings
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$2.7b
Active shootings happen in schools and businesses, according to FBI data from 2013.
The amount security equipment and services generated in revenue in 2017, according to a market analysis by IHS Market Jim Dearing, a senior analyst at IHS.
62%
13%
The percentage increase of public schools reporting the use of security cameras. (19% in 1999-2000 to 81% in 2016-16.)
Increase in schools with an plan in place for procedures to be performed in the event of a mass shooting. 79% in 2003-4; 92% in 2015-16
PHOTO CREDIT: RUBEN RODRIGUEZ Data source: National Center for Education Statistics| https://nces.ed.gov/programs/crimeindicators/ind_20.asp
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My thesis problematizes that fear is a form of marketing sold to the public by security companies and government agencies in order to implement “hardening” techniques in schools on a national scale. By the numbers, each major school shooting has helped expand a multi-billion dollar industry that sells hightech surveillance products which need to be managed indefinitely. It’s like schools are buying a life-long subscription to endless, incremental “safety improvements”.
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In the grand scheme of things, there is a great need to upgrade these facilities. Arguably, traditional classrooms make students more vulnerable because they create a captive audience behind closed walls. On the contrary, a totally open classroom environment - even spilling out to outdoor workspace - is less of a target.
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THE DESIGN a school where the physical space is the most important tool for educational development.
LITTLE MEADOWS ACADEMY Improved Learning By Design: The Importance of Architecture in Schools
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Straight lines of sight are essential for navigating, keeping the peace, and maintaining safe areas of passage. -Classrooms are structured as living rooms for learning with flexible seating arrangements that provide opportunities for focusing on special themes and projects and also allow for many types of learning styles. -Each classroom looks out onto a vast recreational courtyard that is anchored by a corresponding set of classrooms to enhance surveillance and comfort within school grounds.
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"The prototype fundamentally aims showcase that an emphasis on social collaboration and recreational spaces outside the classroom can create better learning and teaching environments in schools. " -Modern schools can provide the necessary opportunities for young minds to use their critical thinking skills and become self-motivated, independent learners. -Modern schools can also have far reaching impacts in terms of improving childhood development. Children are known to act adversely to negative conditions, so it is important that the environments they grow up are nurturing in character.
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The homeroom is the most important space within the school prototype “Think of the importance of play in your own life. As a child, you probably engaged in active play like riding bikes, climbing trees, or jumping rope. You probably also engaged in quieter play like drawing pictures, playing board games, and constructing elaborate structures. You learned a lot from these experiences, including building your strength and imagination. You learned how to take turns, and follow rules and problem solve. Many of us can appreciate the value of play for children. As a matter of fact, play continues to be important even for adults�
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A TYPICAL CLUSTER
PROGRAM & SPATIAL RELATIONSHIPS
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A TYPICAL CLUSTER
EMBEDDED SECURITY ELEMENTS
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ALL GATES CLOSED
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Perimeter gates closed
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Public corner sectioned off
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The cluster at a site scale Architect Oscar Newman, author of Defensible Space: Crime Prevention Through Urban Design, argues that when groups of people come together, they automatically have a beneficial impact on each other because they become, in effect, each other’s supervision. “It is healthy to have built-in supervision in a public place,” Newman says. Rather than isolated buildings in a residential neighborhood, for example, it is better to have many doorways and windows looking out. This has the effect of many people monitoring each other all the time.
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A TYPICAL CLUSTER
ABLE TO BE SECTIONED OFF BY GATES 4 CLASSROOMS, SELF CONTAINED
The prototype is based on modular clusters that are designed from the classroom outward. Classrooms expand to open spaces for inquiry and discovery. Windows look out onto other classrooms to display their learning environments and a singular, yet expansive opening helps stimulate the childrens’ imagination through visual access to the landscape.
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A TYPICAL CLUSTER
ABLE TO BE SECTIONED OFF BY GATES 4 CLASSROOMS, SELF CONTAINED
The prototype is based on modular clusters that are designed from the classroom outward. Classrooms expand to open spaces for inquiry and discovery. Windows look out onto other classrooms to display their learning environments and a singular, yet expansive opening helps stimulate the childrens’ imagination through visual access to the landscape.
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RECREATIONAL FIELD
ABLE TO BE SECTIONED OFF BY GATES MONITORED BY FACULTY
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CAFE & SCHOOL RECEPTION
INTERNALLY SEPARATE PROGRAM ACCESSIBLE TO PUBLIC
Magnolia Cafe is that “third place” outside of work and home that residents of the South End can go to simply to relax or to meet new people. Whether you are someone who just moved to the historic South End neighborhood after enrolling your child in Little Meadows Academy, or a newly appointed member of the school itself- Magnolia Cafe is a trendy new spot adjacent where you can work, relax, and meet other parents or and members of the community.
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CAFE & SCHOOL RECEPTION
INTERNALLY SEPARATE PROGRAM ACCESSIBLE TO PUBLIC
The generous cafe is meant to encourage more active parent involvement with the school. This involvement of parents in the life of the school enhances communication and helps parents become aware of the people and environments that surround their children. Additionally, the space awards the school the opportunity to schedule activities in the evenings and on weekends. This way the school can signal that it is a community facility. Keeping the school open after mid-afternoon creates a safety net for those students who choose to stay later. If the school is a constantly active place, children won’t be isolated or left feeling vulnerable. Furthermore, the cafe provides an enjoyable place for parents to wait while students finish up class or after school programs for the day. 20
MULTIPURPOSE SPACES
ABLE TO BE SECTIONED OFF BY GATES ACCESSIBLE TO PUBLIC
By forging these personal bonds and involvement in this school neighborhood, members of a society can protect themselves from outside threats and police their own community. This is a favorable approach for reducing the causes of crime without relying exclusively on law enforcement or “hardening” techniques such as barriers, metal detectors, and CCTV typically found in schools.
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“Making a school more than just an educational facility that closes at 3 p.m. is one way to make it safer for students. A school that is considered a civic building and valued by adults throughout the community is seen in a special way and treated that way--as a city hall or police building or court.”
CAFE & SCHOOL RECEPTION
INTERNALLY SEPARATE PROGRAM ACCESSIBLE TO PUBLIC
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THANK YOU
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