Schoolhouse Shock

Some problems, such as climate change and accessibility, can be mitigated with better architecture, but others evade architectural problem-solving. This essay was prompted by a conversation around the May 24 shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, but it could as easily apply to numerous vivid incidents of violence perpetuated on vulnerable, unsuspecting humans in public spaces that should not be militarized but are. For many liberal commentators, the obvious answer is gun control. Those on the right looking to scapegoat culpability for Uvalde found other targets. Some even singled out architecture as culpable for the horror.

Lt Governor of Texas Dan Patrick blamed the design of the school, just as he had done after the 2018 mass shooting at Santa Fe High School. Speaking to reporters outside the Uvalde school, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas identified “unlocked back doors” as the culprit and even suggested that the shooting could have been prevented by “having one door that goes in and out of the school [and] having armed police officers at that one door.” T…