In Defense of Ugliness: The Role of Technical Presence in Critical Infrastructure System Endurance

A poorly studied aspect of Critical Infrastructure (CI) performance involves the ways in which stakeholders understand and relate to the material form of the system. Using the New Orleans and Dutch levee system as an example, we argue for greater appreciation by CI designers of the important role system aesthetics play in signaling the system's importance, vulnerabilities and social significance. We present one possible method by which this qualitative relationship between system design choice and public perceptions of the system (the interaction between the two factors we call "Design Voice") can be better understood as part of disciplined analysis versus the traditional primarily anecdotal approach to the topic.