Correctional Environments - Harm or Heal?

Melissa Farling (Gould Evans)
Jay Farbstein (Jay Farbstein & Associates)
Craig Haney (University of California Santa Cruz)
Eve Edelstein (Perkins Will - Human Experience Lab)

Correctional environments have powerful impacts on those who experience them – principally the incarcerated people, but staff as well. These environments have long been of interest to architects and environmental design researchers, in part because they exacerbate effects that are also observable in more normal settings, providing a kind of natural laboratory for study. These environments have also become more prevalent and impactful, especially in the United States. According to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics (2016), there are more than 2.2 million people in federal and state prisons and local jails in the US. This translates to a rate of 655 per 100,000 population, by far the highest of any large or industrialized country (according to the World Prison Brief). No official count exists, however the Vera Institute for Justice estimates between 80,000-100,000 inmates are housed in solitary confinement (also known as isolation or restricted housing) at any given time in the United States and there is abundant evidence prolonged solitary confinement can be mentally and psychologically traumatic. In addition, according to the National Alliance on Mental Health, it is estimated more than 2 million arrests in the US involve people with serious mental illnesses; many end upincarcerated (when community settings often would be more conducive), challenging jails to provide appropriate treatment and facilities.

The AIA Academy of Architecture for Justice (AAJ) has been promoting “sustainable justice” by looking at the broader impacts of these correctional and detention facilities in our communities. To further deepen our understanding, the AAJ has been exploring a variety of conditions in typical correctional and detention facilities that include lighting, solitary confinement, access to nature and addressing the increasing numbers of those incarcerated with serious mental illnesses. Importantly, there have been ongoing conversations about the ethics of architects designing jails and prisons – specifically, when solitary confinement units are involved. Much of that discussion has focused on the impacts of the physical and social environment on the incarcerated people and staff. Research has been limited, however, in part by the ethics of conducting research on subjects who are confined.

This workshop will provide a forum for review and discussion of the issues, theories and research findings associated with the physical design of correctional facilities and its psychological and behavioral impacts, as well as evidence-based strategies from other types of facilities which may be applicable. The session format will consist of brief presentations followed by interactive breakouts of workshop groups, with the goal of outlining a research model for these facilities.