Immune Buildings - Using Ergonomics and Environmental Design to Create Safe and Secure Settings

Abstract

The horrendous events in September of last year, from airplane attacks on large buildings to bioterrorism in postal and other government facilities, raised awareness of the vulnerability many modern buildings to terrorist attack and the importance of designing safer buildings that impede terrorist activity and that can facilitate occupant egress at a time of crisis. This symposium will examine the role that Human Factors professionals can play in improving the design of Immune Buildings, designed to better protect occupants and minimize the risks of hostile activity. Four papers will be presented that will examine human factors contributions to new ways of thinking about buildings. The first paper by James Wise will describe approaches to de-opportunizing such undesirable behaviors and environmental design changes that can thwart vandalism, burglaries, bank robberies, physical and sexual assaults, and counterterrorist situations. The second paper by Jake Pauls will review opportunities for changing building designs to impede terrorist ingress and facilitate occupant egress in times of need. The third paper by Alan Hedge will review ways that building ventilation systems can be configured to minimize bioterrorist threats on indoor environments by implementing a concept of ‘smart furniture’. The fourth paper by Eric Neiderman will examine the contributions that human factors can make to improving airport security.