Abstract
This article develops the notion that institutional places and spaces are layered with meaning and that their architecture and design have a profound psychological and physiological influence on those who live and work within them. Mindful of the intrinsic link between ‘beauty’ and ‘being just’, the article explores the potential ‘healing’ or rehabilitative role of penal aesthetics. As many countries modernise their prison estates, replacing older facilities that are no longer fit-for-purpose with new, more ‘efficient’ establishments, this article discusses examples of international best (and less good) practice in penal and hospital settings. It reflects on what those who commission and design new prisons might learn from pioneering design initiatives in healthcare environments and asks whether the philosophies underpinning the ‘architecture of hope’ that Maggie’s Cancer Care Centres exemplify could be incorporated into prisons of the future. The article was originally presented as a public lecture in the annual John V Barry memorial lecture series at the University of Melbourne on 24 November 2016.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 319-338 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology |
| Volume | 51 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Early online date | 21 Mar 2018 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Sept 2018 |
Funding
The article was originally presented as a public lecture in the annual John V Barry memorial lecture series at the University of Melbourne on 24 November 2016. The author warmly acknowledges the support of the Barry family and thanks Professor Alison Young and Professor Fiona Haines from the University of Melbourne for the invitation to speak at this prestigious event. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The author gratefully acknowledges the support of the ESRC (Standard Grant ES/K011081/2:‘“Fear-suffused environments” or potential to rehabilitate? Prison architecture, design and technology and the lived experience of carceral spaces’ (with Dr Dominique Moran and Dr Jen Turner), and the Foundation for the Sociology of Health and Illness for funding ‘Designing “healthy” prisons for women: incorporating trauma-informed care and practice into prison planning and design’ (with Prof Gillian Bendelow, Dr Melanie Jordan and Dr Serena Wright).
Keywords
- architecture
- design
- economy
- Maggie's Centres
- political
- Prisons
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pathology and Forensic Medicine
- Social Psychology
- Law
