Making barriers attractive and pedestrian-friendly

The General Services Administration (GSA) has developed a “kit of parts” consisting of benches, bollards, ornamental railings, and other elements that can help protect a building from attackers in vehicles and at the same time contribute to the building’s aesthetics. In 2002 the National Capital Region of GSA commissioned van Dijk Westlake Reed Leskosky to develop a prototype perimeter security concept for the Beaux-Arts Howard Metzenbaum US Courthouse in downtown Cleveland. Caroline R. Alderson at GSA describes the kit’s components as follows: • Traditional bollards installed at the street edge keep vehicles away but permit pedestrian access. Depending on the location, the bollards use some granite or bronze. • Smaller bollards are installed next to trees. • Benches are placed in front of a sculpture in an attempt to balance it and to invite people to sit there. In locations where loiterers might pose a threat, benches are not allowed. • Planters are installed so that pedestrians as well as vehicles are prevented from entering. Planters can be placed to deter jaywalkers. • A classically inspired screen wall has been designed for locations requiring a solid barrier. Fabricating those elements and installing them on all four sides of the Metzenbaum courthouse would cost $1.8 million, the designers estimated. Installation has not yet started. “We’re now disseminating the idea,” Alderson says. “It could be used in federal projects and in any project.” The designers also produced two other prototypes — one intended to complement a red brick Romanesque building from the 19th century, the other meant for a Modern concrete building from the 1960s. The project is included in Building Security, edited by Barbara A. Nadel.