Team Element Human Rights is one of

Explanation the topics available for

the Team Project. The
Topic  Human rights issue of hostile
architecture sits within
Issue Hostile architecture it because it is about
people’s rights to
Aim We aimed to promote awareness of hostile architecture by
occupy personal
helping other students at our school understand how it
spaces, versus people’s
impacts society and by introducing different cultural rights to use
perspectives on this issue to help them decide whether or architecture to control
how much they support its use. a space, raising the
possibility of systemic
Outcome To achieve our aim, we created a documentary film that
discrimination.
introduces the issue and its impact on society. This video However, if the project
also showcases local, national and global perspectives is presented under this
through interviews and survey statistics. heading it would be
Link to our documentary: nice to see more
https://www.youtube.com/watch? reference to human
v=QwfOJzMkjek&feature=youtu.be rights vocabulary and
concepts.
How our We found that different countries use hostile architecture
exploratio for different purposes. Some countries use hostile The documentary film
n of architecture to create safer public spaces and discourage is a suitable Outcome.
different loitering (Lo, 2017). Other countries use hostile The students should
cultural architecture to discriminate against the homeless and ideally have mentioned
perspectiv keep the poor population away from public areas its screening and
es (Atkinson, 2015). In this project, our group investigated distribution, since they
supports the different cultural perspectives and impact of hostile were also part of the
the architecture in Hong Kong compared to overseas. Outcome.
Outcome
Through our research, our group concluded that the
problem is that many people are oblivious to the issue of
hostile architecture. Our survey data shows that only 65% Approving and
of students at our school are aware of this issue. disapproving
Furthermore, half of those who are aware do not know the perspectives are
full extent of its impact. During our interview with expert communicated. It is a
Paul Zimmerman we learned that, despite its great impact, little simplistic to
the existence of hostile architecture in Hong Kong is attribute them to “some
extremely subtle and often goes unnoticed. countries” and “other
countries”. The
Therefore we believe that awareness of discrimination students should try to
against marginalised groups in society could be effectively show how these
improved at YCIS with our documentary about the perspectives relate to
hardships and alienation that hostile architecture in Hong culture.
Kong can cause.
278 words
 This is also a
perspective. Students
communicate the level
of
awareness/ignorance
at a local level.

An expert perspective
helps to represent the
local (city) policy on the
issue within a global
context.

Four cultural
perspectives are clearly
communicated in the
Outcome, and are
shown to be relevant
“in attempting to meet
the project aim”.

Works Cited

Atkinson, Rowland, “Defensive Architecture: designing the homeless out of cities,” The Conversation, 30
December 2015 [Online]. Accessed 26 February 2018.
http://theconversation.com/defensive-architecture-designing-the-homeless-out-of-cities-52399

Lo, Andrea, “The debate: Is hostile architecture designing people -- and nature -- out of cities?” CNN, 22
December 2017 [Online]. Accessed 26 February 2018. https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/new-dean-
harvey-james-furzer-hostile-architecture-debate/index.html

  Outcome and Explanation 4 3 2 1 0

Clearly and fully

Communicated Communicated
In attempting to meet the project communicated
AO in in
aim different cultural perspectives in Limited  
3 Outcome and either Outcome or
are Outcome and
Explanation Explanation
Explanation

The Outcome is a video which elaborates on these perspectives:

 The “Missing Seats” Campaign aims to point out the lack of welcoming public architecture in Hong
Kong. A collection of pictures from Hong Kong illustrate this in good detail.
 A perspective supporting hostile architecture is represented in the video: 
 public space in Hong Kong is often designed from the perspective of those managing properties
and spaces, whose priority is to maintain a sanitised environment
However, the students could represent this perspective more fully by presenting more arguments in
support of hostile architecture to improve the balance of the overall analysis. This reminds us of the
need for students to practise playing devil’s advocate and learn to avoid straw man arguments.
 Some… / others… is a weak way to represent perspectives, called weasel words. 
Some claim that hostile architecture is specifically aimed towards getting rid of homeless people.
Others say that that hostile architecture is simply the result of poor design consideration.
Who says so? – The students could improve their analysis by characterising and/or locating these
perspectives. To communicate the perspective “fully”, they would need to elaborate on their claim that
hostility in architecture might be a byproduct of careless design. How/why?
 The students clearly represent their personal perspectives on the issue: 
...we believe that ... hostile architecture is ... a very ill representation of society, and as civilians
[citizens], we should provide support to the homeless, not hide them or put them away.
 The interview with Paul Zimmerman certainly helps to represent the local perspective “fully”. They quote
insights such as:
If you want to enable people to walk, you need to make sure they can sit.
and ask a very good question to help position their own city’s use of hostile architecture relative to the global
standard:
Student: Compared to other countries, where does HK stand in terms of using hostile architecture?
Zimmerman: I think its high…

Overall, the group element should certainly get at least 3 marks out of 4 on this criterion. There is probably
enough depth in places to earn a full score of 4/4, but going into more depth in the representation of
perspectives in the video would help to ensure it. This might be achieved by, for example, presenting the
situation in a country that uses hostile architecture very aggressively, and contrasting it with another country
that has a different policy for its public spaces. Also, and perhaps most importantly of all, the perspectives
required in the Team Project are cultural perspectives, so the students should try to relate the views they
represent to the cultural background which gives rise to them. For example, the managerial perspective
presented could be explicitly described as coming from a corporate culture which values efficiency,
standardisation, orderliness, and (in a highly capitalist society like Hong Kong) the high priority given to
business. The “missing seats” campaign could be described as arising from the local Hong Kong custom
(especially among the elderly) of sitting in public spaces to meet neighbours, play mahjong, etc.

  Collaboration 6                      5 4            3 2             1 0

Active & committed Throughout Most of the time Some of the time  
AO
3 Evidence of Effective teamwork Effective teamwork most of Basic teamwork some of the
teamwork throughout the time time
 
The teacher observed engagement, commitment and reasonably effective teamwork throughout the
project. Although the students write about minor shortcomings of their process in their Reflective Papers,
this need not detract from their score, as it is natural for people with high standards to be critical of
aspects of their own work.