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Transdisciplinary Higher Education pp 91–107Cite as

Integrating Architecture and Crime Science: A Transdisciplinary Challenge

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Abstract

The influence of products and urban structures on citizens’ security has been explored and exploited across civilisations. Rarely, though, has the research in this field been as vibrant as now. Examples of research and development work can be found in many disciplines and on various scales. They concern the design of street furniture to prevent bicycle theft, identification of urban topological structures that can reduce drug dealing, development of structures that can resist pressure waves from explosive devices, and improvement of buildings’ resilience to toxic agents. In spite of this breadth of knowledge, there is still a significant gap between architecture, design and crime science. To shed a light on the underexploited connections between these disciplines, we examine the cultural and methodological differences that characterise them. Using the problem-solving approach promoted by crime scientists as support for cross-disciplinary analysis, we then discuss its compatibility with architecture and design practices. Finally, we summarise our analysis with a list of recommendations for the development of postgraduate course curricula that support collaborative work in security and crime science.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    It is of interest to note that Alexander (1971) himself in the 2nd edn of Notes on the Synthesis of Form, which is one of the central sources for the design methods movement, explicitly objects to the movement’s tenets and apologises for any part his work had played in generating the same.

  2. 2.

    Krippendorff (2006: 108–114) here discusses constraints and affordances, and introduces the issue as: ‘Milk crates are intended to transport milk to grocery stores, but designers can hardly prevent unintended uses: as bookshelves, playthings for children, bins to store tools, dividing walls, stepladders, or bicycle baskets. For a homeless person, a milk crate can hold priceless possessions. Tied to a pole with its bottom removed, it is a basketball basket. In the hands of an angry person, it can become a weapon’ (Krippendorff, 2006: 108).

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Acknowledgements

Dr. Borrion received funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) [EP/G037264/1]. The project used as a case study for this article was funded under the European Union’s Framework Programme 7: Resilient Infrastructure and Building Security project [EU-FP7 242497]. Daniel Koch’s contribution was supported by the Swedish Research Council Formas, through the research project Architecture in the Making [2011–75].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UCL University of London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK

    Hervé Borrion

  2. KTH School of Architecture, Stockholm, Sweden

    Daniel Koch

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  1. Hervé Borrion
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  2. Daniel Koch
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Correspondence to Hervé Borrion .

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  1. Middlesex University, London, United Kingdom

    Paul Gibbs

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Borrion, H., Koch, D. (2017). Integrating Architecture and Crime Science: A Transdisciplinary Challenge. In: Gibbs, P. (eds) Transdisciplinary Higher Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56185-1_7

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