Rob Walker has a terrific photo essay about the spiky metal cages designed to discourage people from sitting on standpipes.
By my count, sixteen of the thirty-six standpipes on the sidewalks of this block [W. 25th St. in NYC] are defended by spiky constructions that strongly discourage sitting. Not surprisingly, I chose not to test their effectiveness by actually attempting to sit on any of these things. I mean: Just look at them. The real design goal, I'd say, is to project such extreme potential discomfort that the passerby would not even think of using a defended standpipe for a rest, however brief. An effective Standpipe Defender is, in short, a visual threat.
Despite the unity of function, an impressive variety of forms have been deployed. You could easily organize a leisurely walking tour of this block, devoted to spotting, discussing and critiquing each anti-sitting design strategy. Which one, for example, displays the most aesthetically effective (i.e., immediately intimidating) formal approach?
Undefended standpipe: W. 25th Street
