The Lock Down City and the Utopian Program of Open Interfaces

As a spatial-material and figurative configuration, architecture has always had major significance for aversion of hazards and the creation of security. Not only do buildings literally shield from external dangers, they impart experiences which can create feelings of security for the recipient. Architecture as a symbolic form of communication is traditionally marked by connotations which relate to stability and reliability. Looking at its conditions for production and creation, they are integrated in negotiation and decision processes in which security interests of individual social groups as well as of political and economic institutions are articulated. The present article takes this perspective and addresses current concepts and perceptions of urban security constituted and represented by specific types of architecture. The selected examples are significantly marked by the policy of internal and external security of the past two decades and they provide insight into what is regarded as a social threat. Here the issue will be explored as to whether and in which way they can be understood as being manifestations of a new security policy designated as “preemptive”. The policy of the preemptive presupposes that there are more and more existential, uncontrollable security threats which increasingly require security measures. From this perspective almost all public spaces, urban infrastructures and buildings are declared security-critical zones and for this reason are to be planned and designed in such a way that they prevent the emergence of any potential risks, thereby eliminating the risk of damage from the start. Their materializations are regarded as speculation toward future risks of any kind.