Blueprints of Justice Vol. II:
The Weaponization of Space Against the Body
Spatial Justice Research, Proposal
MIT SAP/Stanford Legal Design Lab _2022
Researcher, Co-Speculator
Instructors: Oana Stănescu and Nóra Al Haider
Teaching Assistant: Myles Sampson
Students / Researchers:
Christopher Hassan Allen
Zekun Fan
Vijay Gautham Rajkumar
Mariana Medrano
Tristan Searight
Amanda Adaku Ugorji
In memory of co-creator Virgil Abloh.
Blueprints of Justice Vol. II: The Weaponization of Space Against the Body includes research on the landscape of abortion access in America, abortifacient plant studies, and proposals for existing clinics, future clinics, and alternative clinics.
The excerpts selected show a proposed analysis and renovation of a women's health clinic located in an abortion-hostile state, where a ban on abortions beyond six weeks is set to go into effect in the event that the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, which we have now seen come to pass. Our conversations with the providers and administrators of the clinic, as well as our visit to the site, informed us of areas where the experiences of providers and patients could improve and where obstructions to the efficient flow and circulation of the clinic occur. Additionally, anti-abortion protesters harass both patients and providers at the clinic, posting gruesome signs just outside of the property line of the clinic, using megaphones to hurl insults at the clinicians and patients alike, trespassing, vandalizing, and destroying clinic property. Identifying storage methods, waiting room design, and defensive landscaping as strategic points of architectural intervention, this project offers a series of retrofit, renovation, and redesign proposals for addressing both the internal and external challenges facing the clinic, which can occur within the bounds of the existing building and landscape.
This specific excerpt is co-authored by Christopher Hassan Allen and me.