A few years ago Washington DC got uglier, littered with hideous concrete barriers put in place to protect buildings from terrorist attack. But new designs incorporating security are proving that security can be attractive. “Ingeniously, the architects combined benches with that tired staple of curbside security, the heavy flower pot, to make the basic, repeating unit of their design. Measuring about 9 feet long by 4 feet wide by 3 1/2 feet high, this clean-lined unit looks very solid. Yet it is unquestionably attractive.”