Hidden Strength

Recently constructed federal buildings are heavily fortified, but you'd never know it.

The elegant facade of the Oklahoma City Federal Building masks an abundance of security features soon to be common in government offices. It was one of the first construction projects to incorporate security guidelines adopted by the General Services Administration in the aftermath of the April 1995 bombing that destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.

The new edifice is fortified by blast-resistant glass, backup support beams and other unobtrusive protective measures.

The security guidelines are meant to encourage designs to deter terrorists and mitigate the damage of an attack, without stifling architectural innovation, says F. Joseph Moravec, commissioner of GSA's Public Buildings Service. GSA owns and leases more than 8,500 federal buildings nationwide. GSA encourages architects to draft "iconic and emblematic" federal buildings that will be "a source of pride for communities," Moravec says. "What we want to avoid is creating a climate of fear."

Before 1995, federal building managers introduced security measures on an ad hoc basis, and the level of protection varied. But the Oklahoma City bombing spurred more uniform precautions. President Clinton ordered the Justice Department to assess vulnerabilities. The ensuing review led to the establishment of an interagency security committee. GSA headed the group until mid-2003, when the Homeland Security Department took the helm.

GSA issued draft design protocols in 1997. The interagency security committee incorporated GSA's draft into security design criteria finalized in May 2001. These standards dictate precautions such as obstructions to vehicular access, but allow room to adjust details. Though the rules apply only to newly constructed buildings, GSA is encouraging security retrofitting of older buildings, Moravec says.

Homeland Security updated the standards in September 2004, to reflect post-Sept. 11 threats, and building managers have taken additional steps to protect against chemical and biological attacks. For instance, more care is given to the placement of the air intake units that supply ventilation systems, which often sat on sidewalks outside federal buildings. "With the war going on, we take the position that [government facilities are] a target," Moravec says.

But higher security imposes a cost. "You can spend as much money as you want on security without really reducing the threat," he says. But Americans understand the government can't protect them from everything, he adds.

The 350 or so employees working in the Oklahoma City federal building know that well. But they have reason to feel protected. The building, completed in late 2003, is a block west and a block north of where the Murrah building once stood. It's set back 50 feet from traffic on a slope, which affords natural protection. Parking is limited to a 76-car lot in a park a block north of the building. Large windows are layered and glazed with heat-strengthened and laminated glass. They're secured so they will crack and crumble inward, rather than dislodge, in an explosion.

Many precautions are obscured from view. Prairie grass hides some of the bollards-concrete posts to block vehicles-encircling the building. Visitors enter a three-story colonnade and walk up a wide, concrete staircase to a door at the end of an elliptical opening. To the right of the staircase, they look over a retaining wall at granite boulders with water flowing around them-a scene that conjures images of tranquil creeks. The long entryway and retaining wall, which is concrete at the core, further obstruct access to the building.

This is exactly what GSA had in mind in adopting the design standards: a look that is inviting, yet secure. "We're proud of these buildings and the way they reflect our open form of government," Moravec says.