How To Design Safer Schools In an era of mass shootings, architects are striving to create safe spaces for students without making schools into fortresses
January 17, 2024

by J. Michael Welton January 17, 2024 in The Assembly
On the morning of April 20, 1999, two students walked into Columbine High School in Colorado with a semiautomatic handgun, a rifle, and two sawed-off shotguns. They killed 12 students and a teacher, wounded 21 others, and then killed themselves.
A few weeks later, Ann Neeriemer graduated from North Buncombe High School in western North Carolina. Like the rest of America, she was shocked by the Columbine shooting, and its impact on her continues.
“I have never not thought about it,” said Neeriemer, a Raleigh architect who designs school buildings. “It’s always been present.”
Photo Credit: Unsplash Stephen Leonardi