The USA incarcerates more people per 100,000 of population that any country in the world – 655 per 100,000 compared with 172 in Australia, 139 in England and Wales, 63 in Norway and 51 in Finland. The concerns reflect the fact that American prison design is perhaps the most extreme example of architecture as punishment. It can also be controversial – a group of architects in the USA, ADPSR (Architects/ Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility), even petitioned the American Institute of Architects to amend its code of ethics to prevent members from working on prison projects because of fears over human rights. It will never make you a household name and your creative thought will forever be stifled by inflexible security rules and budget constraints. We look at prison design around the world and how architects must balance the need for both security and humanityĪs a field of expertise, prison design is not glamorous.
