PREMISE

Vigiles Urbani was the force that used to guard the city of Rome and is said to be the origin of today’s security guards.
Security guards were called watchmen during medieval times and them forming a company to serve people by protecting their properties was invented in the 1850s by Allan Pinkerton.

For ages, their roles have been of significance from protecting important personnel to protecting possessions and without their contribution, a lot of our history would have been lost.

They risk their lives in ways that might not seem significant and their sacrifices go unnoticed often. They change shifts and spend half the day working and the other half rests. It is our responsibility to provide them an efficient work shelter.

Of the several ways their lives can be made easier and efficient, projects often put their station design on the back burner and let it affect the way they function and their health too.

BRIEF

If cost is the excuse, let’s find a way to negotiate it with good design.

The challenge here is to design a compact and safe 4m x 2m x 2.5m security cabin/guardhouse that can be built near construction sites and can be dismantled and relocated when needed. The cabin is procured at a lease/rental for project tenure and sent back once its job is complete.

The aim of this exercise is to deliver a universal design regardless of the project budget. The design does not imply to induce riches or costly comfort, but rather bringing more dignity to the daily lives of this security personnel.

Space can be situated in any site or project that would require a security cabin of that scale. Material selections/configurations are kept unrestrained for this challenge and are placed on participants to freeze these based on the above premise.