ABSTRACT
The redesign of Sandy Hook delivers the latest in high-security without the bunker aesthetics by nesting risk design within resilient design. Risk design anticipates more gun violence in the near future and, consequently, endeavors to “harden” schools, re-conceptualized as “targets.” Resilient design draws on romantic tropes of childhood to make the space feel welcoming and contemplative after gun violence has already occurred. Rather than stake a position on the side of either (1) retreating behind defensive architectures or (2) remaining naively open to the wider world, “embedded security” purportedly makes it possible to move between contradictory worldviews as circumstances dictate.
