A law without enforcement is simply a suggestion. Despite strict building codes and state architectural licensing boards sanctioning bad practitioners, violations still abound. Just walk around any city for a few hours and you will see steps that seem too short, faulty wheelchair lifts, missing exit signs, and buildings that are falling apart. In some parts of town, these errors are simply noted but forgotten. In other places, abandoned buildings, vacant lots, and broken playgrounds can exist for years.
?Between States,” an exhibition at this year’s Chicago Architecture Biennial, displays some community-oriented ideas for underutilized spaces in the city. Proposals by 50 local designers will be on display in the Chicago Architecture Foundation atrium gallery until December 31, 2017. One of the architecture firms invited to participate is Future Firm. Their proposal for Chicago is the creation of an Office of the Public Architect.
?When you commit a crime, if you cannot afford a lawyer, you have the right to a public defender,? the firm explains on its website. ?When issued a building violation, should you also have the right to a Public Architect"? The proposal was inspired by the many calls that Future Firm received from residents looking to resolve building violations.
Due to a lack of funding, most of the tens of thousands of building violations that American cities issue every year go unresolved. In Chicago, they publish data for every building violati...