The IUAV University of Venice has just launched a Master’s degree in security architecture, Campus Safe. The idea is that the peace of mind of people and cities depends on ‘safe and liveable’ environments. Because — as the organisers explained — it is important to ‘consider security issues right from the design phase of urban spaces’. In short, let us fortify ourselves first. Thus, the concept of security—understood as fear of the other—officially enters an academic programme. It is the crowning glory for those who want us increasingly shut away in our homes or our ‘protected’ spaces.
There is something about designing safe cities that does not sit right with me. I have always believed that safety and peace of mind are direct consequences of education and community values, and that they stem more from being together than from isolating ourselves.
She then recalled the Paris uprising of 1848, which erupted after university students protested against the cancellation of a course, and the events became clearer. The uprising ended badly, with violent repression, deaths and arrests.
During the uprising, barricades had been erected everywhere; five years later, summoned by Napoleon III, Georges Eugène Haussmann appeared on the scene. The task assigned to him was to make the city safer by designing wide avenues – the boulevards of today – where cavalry and artillery could be deployed in the event of mass gatherings.
Here we are, designing for the security of the powerful, of power itself. Does the Iuav course have a similar approach in mind? The fact that an internship is planned at the Prefecture – that is, where the law-enforcement agencies are coordinated – gives a clear indication of where this is all heading.
I have always believed that the beauty of the work of architects and urban planners lies in their desire to make the society in which we live better, more open and more liveable. I have always imagined them committed to creating communities, fostering their development and shaping their future by creating free, open spaces. A happy utopia.