Conclusion

 

 

After researching this topic in depth it is clear that prison design can contribute to the rehabilitation process but it is by no means the sole contributor to successful re-integration. Moreover, the extent to what prison design does to the well-being of the inmates is currently un-quantified due to the relative and recent phenomena of well-being in relation to interiors.

 

 

It is evident from psychological research that the therapeutic benefits of light, windows, natural views and colour are profoundly significant to the well-being of inmates in institutions. Exposure to these interior features can help reduce tension and stress amongst inmates and should therefore support their rehabilitation in a positive way. The question that remains to be answered is that are inmates who are deprived of these interior aspects at a greater risk of suffering from psychological issues such as depression and more likely to find it harder to reintegrate into society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Historically, prisons were designed to solely punish. It is now recognised that a focus towards rehabilitation is extremely important in order to enable successful reintegration into society and lower the chances of re-offending. Therefore, the balance between punishment and rehabilitation is key whilst designing prisons to enable prisoners to understand the consequences of their committed crimes as well as reforming them to prevent reoffending. English prisons have experienced little change to their construction primarily due to the costs this would incur and subsequently have not been generally successful at creating interiors conducive to the well-being and rehabilitation of inmates. This can be displayed by the high recidivism rates of 45% and the recent announcement of the closure of 9 inner city prisons.

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However, the traditional Victorian radial layout has remained constantly throughout the evolution of prisons which reveals certain aspects of historical English prison design have been effective. This suggests that although ideas and understandings towards prisoner rehabilitation are changing, fundamentally the traditional Victorian prison designs are slow to respond.

 

 

If England’s future prisons want to diminish reoffending, it is essential to take inspiration from rehabilitation prisons such as Halden in Norway. The success of Norway’s prisons can be proven by the low reoffending rate of 20%. This suggests the UK can therefore learn from Norwegian prisons about the importance to rehabilitate through design methods in order to lower the risk of reoffending. However, funds will restrict this ability to a certain degree due to the expensive nature of re-designing/re-building prisons and the high volume of prisoners in the UK.

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In future designs, purpose made spaces to facilitate and aid rehabilitation should have a positive impact on the inmates reforming progress. This compares to Victorian prisons where rooms have been allocated a purpose, which may not be suited to that specific activity.

 

 

There are currently no statistics to show that prison design can improve inmate rehabilitation and re-integration as changes related to rehabilitation have not been going on long enough to make a concise conclusion.  However, through researching the therapeutic qualities of interior conditions and rehabilitation prisons such as Halden, it is clear that prison design is able to impact to the rehabilitation process to an extent.

 

 

 

Design Brief

 

'Foucault went on to argue that the Panopticon principle was not limited only to application in prison design.  In fact, he argued that the system that Bentham was striving to perfect was an apt metaphor for many different types of social organizations and structures:  schools, factories, and governments, for example. 

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Now we live in an age where modern technology has made it a simple thing to effect a powerful Panopticon such as the one that Bentham imagined and that Foucault decried. 

 

It’s worth thinking about the fact that the very same tool that Bentham prescribed for the control of prisoners in jails is one that we’ve now perfected using the Internet.

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Many of us are building a “state of conscious and permanent visibility” for ourselves, and it doesn’t seem to be unwitting.  Of our own free will, we build personal Panopticons.  The physical walls that surround us and give us refuge and privacy have been rendered completely transparent by our own use of our computers and our smartphones'. (Physcology Today, 2012).

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'Transitional spaces’ and ‘boundaries’ relating to prisons has inspired my design studio project. I am hoping to create a transitional space where members of the community are able to turn away from the technology reliance and learn a traditional skill (textile production and design).

 

The users will be able to transition back to traditional methods of textile production combined with a natural algae dye process. The two processes will unite in the space.