An architect plays many roles in design.   From creating something that is aesthetically pleasing to appeasing all building codes and considering security, an architect literally considers every angle before finalizing a design.

When it comes to security and safety, commercial and residential architecture requires a balance of design and construction elements — all of which are established by the architect and before they are carried out by the building construction team.

The Architect’s Role in Personal Security and Safety

There are two broad categories an architect focuses on when ensuring their design is safe and secure: the design phase and the construction phase. A building’s security depends on the type of building, the location of that structure, and what needs to be secured.

An architect must assess what a building must be secured and protected from. While a security system will protect employees or residential occupants, the issue of “security” goes well beyond this and encompasses areas like access control, building orientation, building materials, and more.

3 Elements for Safe Design

1. Balancing Open Areas with Security: Open areas of the building must be secured, which requires an architect not only to consider access gates, but how the security systems will tie into the commercial architecture’s electricity, telephone lines, and Internet access points. Barriers could be used in landscape design to enclose the property.
2. Access: All egress and entrance points must be considered in the design. Layers of access control are implemented during the design phase. For example, the architect must have examined the number of access points, like doors, windows, and the size of these entry points that can be protected by human security patrols or electronic systems.
3. Orientation: The orientation of critical access points must also be considered during design. If the commercial architecture design involves a high-end security system, the architect must design the orientation of all access controlled points in collaboration with the electricity and telephone access lines.

3 Elements of Safe Construction

1. Building Materials and Techniques: In cooperation with a security expert, an architect must consider the building materials and how they influence security and safety. Certain materials, such as those that are combustible, could pose a security risk if a fire were to happens. Equally, certain materials for windows and doors are inadequate in a high-security building design.
2. During Building: While the property is under construction, the architect is on site to ensure their design is being constructed correctly, but also conducts security audits with security experts to look for potential issues that could be corrected during construction, reducing the costs of remodeling later.
3. Post-Construction and Occupation Phase: An architect must consider the security after the construction is complete, and how accessible and secure the property is for the resident.

In summary, an architect must think about the security needs of the building and its occupants, whether it is a high-security laboratory or a personal residence. Then, they must balance the numerous variables to ensure the building is safe. By implementing security and safety concerns from the start of the design, an architect can ensure a building, and its occupants and content, is adequately protected from start to finish.