Can Architecture Kill?

About Morality, Professional Ethics, and Human Rights. Michael Kimmelman Interviewed by Jan Kristek

The petition demanding that the American Institute of Architects (AIA) forbids design of spaces for “killing, torture, or brutal, inhumane and humiliating treatment” – specifically death chambers and solitary confinements employed in US prisons – has triggered a groundswell of controversies. AIA refused to change its ethical code at the end of 2014, arguing that it’s not meant to “create limitations of members’ activities according to specific building types”. The discussion still goes on: AIA has been considering the reassessment of its attitude since February.