This project was originally created for a college class at UCCS. The assignment was simply to create a “sensitive intervention”—a public piece of art that interrupts your everyday activities. After running into logistical issues on much ore ambitious projects, I decided to place magnets on hostile architecture to bring awareness to the practice.
What Is Hostile Architecture?
Simply put, hostile architecture is when public utilities such as benches, ledges, and railings, are designed to be unusable by a specific group of people. The most common target of hostile architecture is homeless people. However, hostile architecture has also been known to prevent skaters, loiterers, and “normal” citizens from using these public utilities.
The Magnets
The magnets themselves are simply designed. I decided to make the message blunt but cryptic. “this bench is hostile” both tells it straight (this bench has hostile architecture), but doesn’t define what “hostile” actually means. The red lettering brings attention to that word, showcasing its importance to the overall message. Red as a color is also commonly associated with violence, anger, and other negative emotions. I chose the background to be black to blend in with most benches. The text itself almost appears to be part of the bench. The font used is Futura—best known as the font used by Barbara Kruger. The text is slightly italicized to give it a sense of motion and urgency. At the bottom right is the url to this very website.
Putting Them Up
Putting up the magnets proved a little tricky. I original bought some high-quality magnets from an online company; they have yet to arrive. Currently, I’m printing the magnets myself on some cheap inkjet stuff from Office Depot.
Bancroft Park
The first location I went to was Bancroft Park in downtown Old Colorado City. I was driving from park to park looking for hostile benches. I first tried Palmer Park, but there was an event going on and lots of people were there. There were two other parks I went to first. They were in the neighborhoods surrounding downtown, however none had any hostile benches (at least none that I could see). While at Bancroft Park, two homeless people were hanging around the park. One attempted to get some rest on a picnic table. The other sat at other table, laying his belongings on the ground.
Before placement 
After placement 
Closer-up 
Closest-up
Target Bus Stop
The next location was the bus stop in from of the Colorado Springs North Target, on N. Academy Blvd. This one was a bit easier to place since it was too late for much for traffic and it was quite dark. I targeted this Target because of it’s prime location for bus traffic. Along with a Target, the connected shopping center includes a Chuck E. Cheese, Safeway, GNC, Domino’s, and Safeway. There’s also a nearby thrift store and fast food.
Before placement 
After Placement 
Closer-up 
Closest-up
Library 21C Bus Stop
A lot of bus stops have hostile benches. This bench is in front of Library 21C, part of the Pikes Peak Library District. As a public library. it provides many resources to people from all walks of life. In addition to the usual books, computers, and mentoring, Library 21C also has two makerspaces, many meeting rooms, study tables, a photo studio, and other amazing resources unique to Library 21C. Anyone who can’t or doesn’t want to drive here will have to get off at this bus stop.
Before placement 
After placement 
Closer-up 
Closest-up
Walmart Bus Stop
Seriously, there’s a lot of bus stops. The first reason I chose this location was because of its proximity to the previous one. My second (more thoughtful) reason is the popularity of Walmart. And this isn’t any Walmart, but a Walmart Supercenter near the Chapel Hills Mall. Many people shop here, and any that take the bus or walk by bus stop will see the magnet.
Before placement 
After placement 
Closer-up 
Closest-up
The Website
Unfortunately, it does not seem like anyone has actually visited this website yet. The only traffic is from places like Russia, China, Oregon, Washington, and Georgia. They don’t stay long, and some come from other weird urls. Most likely, these are all bots. I’m not sure how to get real people to see this without placing more magnets.
The Future
So, I’m going to place more magnets. In fact, i’ve already placed more and added them to the database. There’s even one in Denver! I’m also going to create more magnets for more types of hostile architecture. Hopefully, I can figure out a way to sell them at-cost so more people join in!
In the meantime, you can get “design crime” stickers from a similar project from the United Kingdom here.
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