Chron Prison
Designer
Zoey Sheng
Instructor
Jeremy Bowes
Michael Lee Poy
I want to demonstrate,
a social, civic manner
to approach prisons.
Otherwise,
packing people into cells like shoeboxes,
returning after a short incarceration
would be meaningless
Ascrime rates continue to escalate during the epidemic, balancing incarcerationand rehabilitation is a constant issue for prison architecture. Can thelow-security, rehabilitation-oriented institutions that are so evident intoday's society in a humanitarian spirit fulfill the original definition andresponsibility of prisons? This project argues, through a narrative of prisonrenovation, that a prison can turn into a filthy, violent hellhole overnighteven if the architects design it with the best intentions, reflecting theinextricable link between prison and society as well as the high ethical normsof the justice system. When these prerequisites fail to be fulfilled, prisonswill inevitably fall into the role of confinement.
Site Location/ Site Plan
Photo Essay
Site History
Urban Texture
Icon Model & Concept Model
Atthe beginning, when Icon model was first thought of, what came to mind wasforest, a tree, perhaps not very big, half of which was pruned, reinforced withwooden strips, brushed with white wood glue to protect it from insects, andguided by wire in the direction of growth; while the other half grew freely andwildly, without order, perhaps growing into a rugged, collapsed mill-like. Andso is the human, as the proverb: It takes ten years to grow trees, but ahundred to rear people; we have been to the trees to compare people. Themeaning of prison is to re-prune the branches that were not educated innately,to the incorrect growth direction, and put them into the growth model acceptedby society. But on second thought, trees belong to nature, should we reallydecide how they grow? Only trees born in cities and green belts are treatedthis way, but trees in the wild also have their own unique beauty.
SoI was then reminded by a friend to think of steel, from the Soviet writerNikolai Ostrovsky who wrote a long novel, How Steel is Made, in which the maincharacter is subjected to life's trials and tribulations and eventually becomesa resilient, upright and kind person. But I think the beauty of human nature islike the frosting on the skin of the fruit, is fragile and needs to becarefully cared for, no one can guarantee that this beautiful quality will notbreak under the hammering of the end of the day. This leads me to the materialof my final icon model, ceramics.
Ceramicsis an object made of kaolin fired with a glassy glaze or painted exterior, thatis formed by firing in a kiln at a high temperature (about 1280°C to 1400°C),and the color of the glaze on the surface of the porcelain will undergo variouschemical changes due to the difference in temperature. Our lives are subjectedto a variety of different trials and experiences, and the role of the prison isultimately back to the furnace to recreate, re-heated at high temperatures,into a soft liquid, poured into the appropriate social grinder, to become apeople who follow the law. But after all this, theend result alsoneeds to be placed in an inclusive manner, just like ceramics, afterresharpening if treated in a rough manner will only shatter.
Thefinal icon finished product in the collocation of broken porcelain cups at thesame time, adding paper, one to indicate that broken things can not berestored, there are always missing pieces; the second is to suggest that theprisoners as broken porcelain in the prison recovery, paper reshaped a sociallyacceptable shape. And although the characteristics of paper itself is alsofragile but is soft and resilient, to depict the qualities needed to adapt tosocial life after prison.
Theplacement of clay in the cup is a possibility to transform the utility of thecup into the utility of the flowerpot. And clay is the raw material forrefining porcelain, but also represents people on the side, we start as smallparticles of clay, want to become good porcelain by being fired, but thefinal result isstill by our own choice, their own composition. As described in the Chinese ZenVajra.
“Subhuti,what do you think? If there were as many Ganges Rivers as the grains of sand inthe Ganges, wouldn’t the amount of sand contained in all those Ganges Rivers begreat?” Subhutisaid, “Extremely great, World Honored One. If even the number of the GangesRivers is innumerable, how much more so their grains of sand?” “Subhuti,now I tell you truthfully: If a good man or good woman fills as manytrichiliocosms as the grains of sand in all those Ganges Rivers with the sevenjewels, and gives them away in charity, wouldn’t this merit be great?”“Extremely great, World Honored One.” The Buddha said to Subhuti:“If a good man or good woman is able to comprehend and follow a four-line verseof this sutra and teach it to others, their merit will be far greater.”
Inthe previous icon model, we frequently mentioned natural elements such as soiland trees, from which we can speculate that nature reflects humanity. Hence,the main building of the concept model is transparent and will include muchglass material, aiming to reflect the forest around the hillside outdoorschool. The reason for using acrylic as the material for the transparent partis also related to the icon model "It takes ten years to nurture a tree,but a hundred years to train a man." Acrylic, as a sub-branch of the resinmaterial, is used to fit nature more closely and to represent a growingrelationship metaphorically. The transparency here is also analogous to the zoospace next to the site, where innocent animals are still locked in cages, notto mention the criminal people. The transition from the transparent acrylicbridge to the white corrugated paper wrapped by the transparent acrylic, andthen to the wooden material at the back, represents a state of socialintegration of prisoners after receiving humanized education and incarceration.
Thesquare shape balances the conflict between the "new" and the"old" in the modern and historic building and gently changes theprocess; just as the remodelingand transformation of the prisoners are gradual, the conversion is not a suddenand drastic contrast. The zigzag route on the plan and the twisted acrylicabove the building echo the rouge river, which is used to connect the new andexisting buildings, a bridge over the river, and a link between the new and theold, either architecturally or for the prisoners. The height of the buildinggradually decreases towards the zoo and morning side community, and slopes tothe west, also to express the beautiful vision of inmates moving from ruralarea to community and returning from prison to society step by step.
Situation Collages
Q&A
Some people's crimes are not serious enough to go to jail, and they can participate in community work to make up for their faults
Firstly, Canada's sentencing guidelines are very lenient. Judges impose light sentences when they were able to, and will try to use alternatives to incarceration such as parole, fines, restitution, etc. Aggravating and mitigating factors are carefully considered by judges. Judges will generally increase the penalty if the offender is a principal, a planner or direct participant, used a weapon or violence, participated in a criminal organization, showed discrimination, prejudice or hatred, targeted a special population such as spouses or children, or used a special status such as trust or authority. And if the offender is well-behaved, overaged, seriously ill, with good character, and the crime is not severe, he or she can be paroled early. I trust the judge's decision and that the person entering prison needs to be incarcerated. So the existence of prison as a purpose of confinement is necessary.
The second point, the rebuttal about community work, is that after parole, the judge will require them to come to court regularly to report to the parole officer about their life work, they may not drink alcohol or be involved in drugs, and they may not possess weapons, and they must support their families, and providing community service. So community work here is a post-parole requirement rather than a demand for prison time.
Why don't you go design community work centers or design buildings for restorative justice centers?
After seeing Deanna Van Burn's presentation, I think her contribution to reintegrating inmates into society and preventing people from going to prison is significant, but it doesn't stop crime and it doesn't replace the need for prison. Architects need to design for these details, but the problem of crime cannot be solved at the source, because these reasons are wrapped up in society, economics, family, etc. I want to build a place that is as fair as possible to the inmates and victims, neither overly humane nor malicious to the prisoners, and a universal place to take and calm the harm that the crime brings to society and others.
Why are you not so supportive of Scandinavian prisons?
People have learned how cruel, chaotic prisons can have bad effects, but that doesn't mean prison design should go to the other extreme. Scandinavian prisons cause further secondary harm to victims and their families, and there is no guarantee that inmates will be more likely to repent and be rehabilitated, at the expense of financial and material resources, which are high cost and high maintenance, with one guard prisons responsible for 1-2 inmates is not possible in many countries.
