Reading Summary: 

In James Petty’s article,“The London Spikes Controversy: Homelessness, Urban Securitisation and the Question of ‘Hostile Architecture,” he explores the recurring issues surrounding ‘hostile architecture’, using the London spikes incident, which occurred in 2014, as an example of socio-cultural norms that are expressed through the public sphere of architecture. Hostile architecture consists of structures that are designed to keep out certain groups of people, including the homeless population and teenagers, from public areas. This type of architecture is a part of a larger system of environmental control, which incorporates urban design and city planning as a way to help to control the behavior of certain groups of people in certain areas. During the London spikes incident, metal studs were placed at ground level in public spaces as a way to prevent homeless people from sleeping in those public spaces. This caused much controversy and created tension between private and public spaces, leaving the public to backlash against the use of hostile architecture. However there are questions as to whether the public is resisting hostile architecture in support of the homeless population or simply because of their distaste towards both the regulating mechanism and the homeless population. Overall, Petty emphasizes how policies and regulations of hostile architecture in urban spaces need to be constructed in considerate ways, as we must be aware of the tension that has been created between public and private spaces. 

Building Interpretation: 

Fat Shack is a chain restaurant that is open late into the night, and offers a variety of different foods, such as burgers, wings, sandwiches, snacks, etc. One of the chains is located in Eugene, Oregon, only a few blocks away from the University of Oregon Campus, providing students a convenient late night snack spot. Eugene has a homeless population of more than 3,000 people, and many of these people use store and restaurant fronts as a place to sleep. While Fat Shack may not have spikes to keep the homeless population away, they do have very large amounts of glazing on the building’s facade that continue all the way down to the ground. This provides the restaurant with surveillance over the homeless population, and gives them the resources to see if homeless people are using their restaurant front as a place to sleep. Having this resource also allows the restaurant to decide how they want to regulate the homeless population outside of their restaurant. However, on the other hand, the late open hours of Fat Shack does provide the homeless with a place to reside or escape the cold/wet weather during later hours of the night. Overall, Fat Shack’s design could be beneficial and non beneficial for the homeless population depending on the owner or person in charge.

This image shows the exterior glazing of Fat Shack.