Picketing sides : fence as social service urban device

Abstract

Architecture has often been described as a reflection of society and its current human condition. The converse opinion states that architecture continues to play a major role in constructing that very same society, long after it is built. These statements are most evident where architecture has been intentionally used as a tool of dominance and control. Within a new democratic South African society, the invisible walls of Apartheid have been replaced by physical fences used to ensure ‘the public’ of their safety and security. This has resulted in the fence fetish. The fence fetish is a common phenomenon around the world, as global architecture trends promote autonomy, object buildings and the urban bourgeois. Reinterpreting the notion of the fence as a series of thresholds, allows architects to use design as a tool for disclosing accessibility to the public realm, intentionally fostering democratic, collective and interpersonal space within the emerging urban landscapes.