The task of this studio was to better understand the boundary between Public and Private Space. The National Security Agency is an entity that operates under a shroud of secrecy and deceit. The NSA inhabits space that is either invisible (i.e. the internet) or far outside of the reach of the average person.

How does the buffer between the public and the government change when it is scaled down from miles to that of a city block? They inhabit hidden spaces normally, but how does one hide next to the largest public space in the City of Albuquerque? Do they hide at all?

Taking inspiration from the Benedictine Cloister, I aimed to design space for the NSA to inhabit. However, the public was also invited into the building. While the conflicting party’s spaces nest within one another, they never completely interact, with the exception of Cathedral of the NSA, the lecture hall. The building’s interior perimeter serves as home to the NSA’s servers. These servers hold the invisible digital presence of the NSA. Guarded by the information that we cannot see, making the cyber security visible. Representing the unseen. As you move further into the building, regular people can find themselves moving to the center of the building, ultimately find a courtyard, the blind spot of the NSA. People are able to inhabit space within the NSA. Because the NSA is so concerned with securing the world around them, they do not look to their own back door.