The Social Logic Of 'Power' In Built Form
Zoeanna Upadhyay.
Foucault said “Power is not a thing, it is a relation”. It is dependent on several variables that are mediated by built form. Such mediations are inherently complex and non-deterministic; but they do play a role in influencing whether a structure is designed to give autonomy and liberty (Power TO) or surveillance and control (Power OVER).
Take, for example a variable like accessibility. In cities like Canberra and Washington; structures of power are often located centrally, making them the focal point of the city. They are often also elevated structures like the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena, which in addition to being a towering structure is also located on top of a hill, giving it visual access to its surroundings.
Giving access to certain groups of people (in this case the government), while keeping others disoriented is an example of how ‘power over’ can be given in the built environment.
Another example of this is in In Bentham's Panopticon Penitentiary, where the primary idea was to create a sense of one way observation. He wanted the governor, and his staff, and visitors to the prison, to be able to watch the convicts; but he did not want the prisoners to watch back.(Steadman, 2007).
This idea was later refined and used in Pentonville in the late nineteenth century. The result was that the inmates could see very little of the halls: while the guards can move freely without being so easily watched. This gives the visual permeability, and by extension control to the guards, while keeping the prisoners in a condition of being under surveillance. Thus the structure facilitates ‘power over’ the prisoners. The same concepts are also applicable in the design of schools, hospitals, asylums, factories or any other building.
In spaces designed to give ‘power to’ the same variables are used in different ways. For example, is the scale of the structure built to intimidate or reassure? Does it orient or disorient its subjects? Does it provide conditions of segregation that privilege certain groups? Who is being given privacy? Who is being given control of the space?
In an urban context, creating wide roads with plenty of light and less points of control, gives the public the freedom to orient themselves hence giving ‘power to’.
On an even broader scale, the links of 'power to' in reference to national identity are seen when emphasis is given to 'bottom up' processes like vernacular architecture, regional dialects and traditions. This is seen in Australia's indigenous peoples campaign for sovereignty and other rights.
References
1.Philosophy Overdose,(February 5, 2020)Foucault on Power (1981),[Video] YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYoub1mfk5k
2. Steadman, P (2007)The Contradictions of Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon Penitentiary, UCL Bentham Project Journal of Bentham Studies, (vol. 9). DOI: 10.14324/111.2045-757X.030
3. Marcello, F., (2020), ' Power 1,2,3', Learning Material on Canvas, Swinburne University of Technology, 26th of April 2021.
4. Dovey, K. (2008). Framing places : Mediating power in built form. ProQuest Ebook Central https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
5. Hillier, B. and Hanson, J. (1984) The Social Logic of Space, New York: Cambridge University Press.
6. 'Waitangi Day 1970s', URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/treaty/waitangi-day/waitangi-day-1970s, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 7-Jul-2014
7. Korff, J (2021), Aboriginal timeline: Protest, https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/history/australian-aboriginal-history-timeline/protest>, retrieved 27 April 2021.
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