SYNOPSIS FOR

PROJECT IN ARCHITECTURE

SUBMITTED BY-

VIRMA SINGH

ENROLL. NO. A8304015019

SEMESTER-IX

ASAP-AUUP
 REDESIGNING THE INCARCERATION ARCHITECTURE
(REHABILIATION CENTRE FOR WOMEN OFFENDERS)

ABSTRACT
When it comes to infrastructure development in developing countries, there are projects that instantly appeal –
like hospitals or schools, and then there are those that are a much harder for example prisons. But according to
the survey, world’s prisons are home to an estimated 10 million people globally and this number is rising every
year. The world’s prison population has gone up 10% since 2004, and in some countries, such as Indonesia, the
increase has been as high as 183%. The dissertation includes issues and related research which have come to
dominate discussions surrounding incarceration and a response to the commonly asked question: should
incarcerative facilities be moving toward rehabilitation rather than punishment?

INTRODUCTION

The review provides an account on the issues relevant to prisons today and the contrasting views of how they
should be dealt with. Prison design that achieves the successful rehabilitation of offenders is crucial for the welfare
of both offenders and the broader community.

Theory of rehabiliation
The theory that offenders could be imprisoned and rehabilitated then returned to society as productive law-abiding
citizens first emerged in the early 1900’s. It is an idea that has since been debated for almost a century, as
recidivism rates are often disappointing in the face of optimism.
Most prisons are not conducive to rehabilitation because of their harsh environments with settings that have
proven to have negative effects on the individual’s behaviour. The psychological benefits that the architecture
can provide is not adequately considered by architects and other entities involved in correctional design.

Traditional aspirations of incarcerative institutions include: punishment, retribution, deterrence and

incapacitation. However, rehabilitation is the primary intended outcome of imprisonment as it is the main driver
behind successful reintegration.
Newer prison design attempts to focus solely on rehabilitation without the influence of these outdated aspirations.
Women and men are intrinsically different and therefore more is required to effectively address the specific issues
relevant to them and ensure that correctional facilities designed for women are not merely an adaptation of those
considered appropriate for men.
It is therefore necessary to rethink prison environments in order to establish an outcome of positive change.
Architecture can be highly influential on the mind and behaviour of the offender, thus it is imperative that the
behavioural consequences of design decisions be taken into account when designing prisons.

AIM
To analyze the guidelines for creating a gender-responsive facility through architecture as a tool for effective
rehabilitation of female offenders for a successful re-entry into society.

OBJECTIVES
The primary objective is:
1. To understand the current situation of incarcerated female offenders in order to facilitate positive change.
The secondary objectives are:
1. To determine the types of environments that would aid in facilitating the successful rehabilitation
process.
2. To establish how female offenders’ specific rehabilitative needs can be accommodated for within the
programme and structure of the facility.
3. To determine how adverse psychological effects of imprisonment can be addressed through the built
form.
4. To establish how the gap in transition between prison and society can be narrowed to better facilitate re-
entry.

NEED OF THE PROJECT

Most crimes committed by women offenders are non-violent crimes therefore women offenders are considered
less violent than male offenders, most countries use standard security measures on the entire prison including
the women’s section. Many of the imprisoned women are being held in security greater than needed. This
implies unnecessary costs which could be redirected to a better cause.

HOW DOES ARCHITECTURE IMPACT THE MENTAL HEALTH OF PRISONERS?

Prisioners are sent to restricted environments where they are isolated from staff and each other which have a
negative impact on everyone. It’s really best to design the flow of movement of staff and prisoners so there is
contact between them. Providing activities also helps. In some prisons like the Sabarmati jail in Ahemdabad,
companies have supported workshops in prisons, and prisoners can then go on to work for them once released.
METHODOLOGY

RELATED ARTICLES AND THEORIES

 Women, emotion and crime

Baroness Corston considered three categories of vulnerability when discussing women affected by the
criminal justice system, particularly those women who are sentenced to a custodial sentence:

First, domestic circumstances and problems such as domestic violence, child-care issues, being a single-
parent; second, personal circumstances such as mental illness, low self-esteem, eating disorders, substance
misuse; and third, socio-economic factors such as poverty, isolation and unemployment. (Corston, 2007:15)

Her report indicates that there are many women in prison, either on remand awaiting conviction or serving
sentences for minor, non-violent offences, for whom prison is both disproportionate and inappropriate.
Corston (2007) advised that fundamental differences in the gendered experience of involvement in crime led
to overly punitive outcomes for women. Corston advised that many women in prison experience poor
physical and mental health or resort to poor coping mechanisms, such as substance abuse and self-harm;
such is the damaging nature of the male-designed institutions where women are imprisoned. These
complexities require time to understand and, arguably, more time to address. Women’s centres around the
UK are well aware of this issue and state that development of trust over extended periods can help women
to ‘grapple with often seemingly insurmountable problems in their lives’ (Jones, 2014). It can take time to
develop a professional relationship, and a trusted connection with a practitioner helps women to develop the
skills and strengths to cope with emotional situations linked to crime. Within her autobiographical account
here, O’Dowd writes of the limited time and opportunity to develop any professional relationship with
probation supervisors; she had to wait to find the ‘investment of time, empathetic understanding and
empowerment from women with shared lived histories’ before she was able to take control of her life and
situation.

A high proportion of women affected by the criminal justice system have experienced domestic and/or
sexual abuse or have had abusive childhoods (Hooper, 2003; Norman and Barron, 2011). Research shows
that abuse and discrimination exert a devastating influence on negative emotions (Sun et al., 2016).
 Motherhood, pregnancy, substance misuse and poor mental health are all issues that require specific
acknowledgement when working meaningfully with women in a criminal justice context (Baldwin, 2015).
This knowledge is vitally important, as each of these issues results in significant emotional contexts to
address when considering the process of making positive change: of enhancing confidence and self-worth.
Women surviving abuse and trauma carry invisible scars of their emotional healing (Abrahams, 2010). They
may experience overwhelming feelings of fear, powerlessness and isolation in these contexts and many
resort to behaviours such as risk-taking, self-harm or self-medication (Abrahams, 2010). Given the multiple
and complex emotional needs of women involved in criminal justice contexts, working with the emotions of
women must be at the heart of practice (Corston, 2007; Baldwin, 2015). Furthermore, the depth of emotion
that women experience when involved in crime is such that it takes time to safely understand and cope with
the enduring impact (Corston, 2007). These are all critical elements to work with when making long-term,
positive changes to lifestyles, and they are specifically important given the interconnected nature of the
needs of women.

Women who commit offences tend to do so due to complex issues that are linked with multiple
disadvantages, histories of abuse and poverty, and they are characterised in the main by acquisitive rather
than violent offending. For the majority of women in prison – that is, those serving sentences for non-
violent offences – much of the risk associated with their behaviour has an impact on the women and their
families rather than on the public as a whole (Corcoran, 2011). Given this lived history of complex, multiple
disadvantages, any positive change, particularly sustained change, in the lives and lifestyles of women
affected by the criminal justice system is likely to take time and to vary according to the individual
experience of each woman.

 Changes takes time

 One key purpose advocated by the criminal justice system is to rehabilitate, and emotions are an important
aspect of understanding how an individual desists from future offending behaviour. Emotion and strength of
feeling are inherently important as motivators to either commit crime or cease criminal behaviour. This
change in behaviour, irrespective of what it might entail, is generally a process rather than an event and is
not linear. However, there can be a dissonance between how quickly a woman can make positive and long-
term changes in her life and how that timeframe is in variance with that of the practitioner’s organisation.
As Player (2013) argues, ‘ideological impediments’ constrain effective work with women affected by the
criminal justice process. The prioritisation of risk assessment and the retributive emphasis of our justice
system outweigh the welfare or non-criminogenic needs of those considered to be ‘offenders’ within our
communities. Change, or desistance from committing crime, is complex; it is ‘a long and winding road that
requires skilled navigation’ (McNeill, 2013:84). Desistance requires decreased negative emotions connected
to crime, increased positive emotions, and increased skill in regulating and managing emotions (Giordano et
al., 2007). Furthermore, for those working with service users, developing a meaningful relationship based
on trust, authenticity and care can also take time. If the priorities of criminal justice agencies are to survey
and monitor noncompliance rather than to fully engage with the individual woman and the complexities of
her life, then neither practitioner nor service user is likely to anticipate a working relationship of high
quality.

LITERATURE STUDY

1. HILARY COTTOM- THE LEARNING PRISON (UNITED KINGDOM)

The Learning Prison is a proposed prison model designed by United Kingdom designer Hilary Cottam .The
prison is made up of eleven houses, each of which accommodates an accountable group of thirty-six
offenders who are expected to form a small community. Cells are grouped on three floors around a central
atrium, ensuring a secure inside and outside space where the offender is continually visible and can move
around unescorted.
The main purpose of making the learning prison according to the Hilary Cottom were:
o Selling off out-of-date, Victorian era prisons on valuable urban land and building new ones designed
to reduce inefficiency.
o Spending more time on rehabilitation, providing “an end to the idleness and futility of so many
prisoner’s days”.
o Creating a system in which prison governors are “The way that Britain’s prisons are designed, even
after privatisation, has merely replicated the poor design of earlier prisons.”

2. BORONIA PRE-RELEASE CENTRE (AUSTRALIA)

The Boronia pre-release center is located in Bentley, Western Australia ten kilometres from the Perth central
business district. It is owned by the Department of Justice and has been in operation since May 2004.

CASE STUDY

3. SABARMATI JAIL, AHMEDABAD

4. OPEN JAIL FOR FEMALES IN TIHAR, DELHI