Architecture Synthesis Essay

When a punch is thrown, the intended victim flinches. Whenever a threat is present, threat mitigation is soon to follow, terrorism is no exception. After a terrorist attack, officials look into why the attack was committed, and what can be done to prevent further attacks. There are many methods to counter terrorism, some obscure and quite technical. However, some passive methods are in plain sight, incorporated into daily life. Many of these methods are incorporated into the architecture around us. Architecture, over the decades, has adapted to the need of terrorism prevention and protection. Through the use design and styling, architects have managed to incorporate countermeasures into structures and complexes, while minimizing their evasiveness in daily life. As attacks happen, architects further adapt their designs for better protection. Philosophically, distance is an underlying variable of every attack, it changes the dynamic of the assailant and the victim. However, the farther away a victim is the safer they typically are (Rittenhouse).These previously mentioned attacks could have been, and were, mitigated through the simple use of distance. Distance is the first defense from an explosion; the variable of distance has a dramatic effect of the resulting devastation(Zineddin and Sherwood, 335). Allocated distance to protect from

They enforce the standoff distance between the targeted building and the potential bomb(Zinedinn and Sherwood, 336). Distance is a key factor in the effectiveness of explosives. By increasing this distance the shockwave is able to better dissipate. The shockwave’s dissipation is exponential, A few feet can have a noticeable effect. Two cases that can examine the usage and effectiveness of bollards, is the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing and the 2008 Islamabad Marriott bombing. The results of these cases are dramatically different, while similarly catastrophic in their own