Places of Politics
In all of our built space in the United States, there is probably no space more 'political' than the space designed and developed in Washington, D.C. This identity is two-fold: it is the physical embodiment of the politics of the nation, being that it is the capital of the Federal Government; it is the place for the 'spiritual' representation of the politics of the people. Throughout much of the spaces supported throughout the built environment here, it is a borderland of conflict.
Many of the spaces have been designed to quell attack from other enemies, with the overall grid and organization made to be as confusing as possible. As a result, this space also becomes hostile to protests against the government. But ultimately, this doesn't prevent people from expressing their political dissatisfaction or disappointment with their current representation.
With this complex border of political conflict and expression, it does beg the question: how do we design spaces intended to be political to also be protected? Various "failures" over the year have shown a politically fractured landscape eventually becomes physically manifested. There must be a balance between providing critical protection, and suppressing political expression.
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