Internally, however, the cells were built to resemble the “house of penitents” found in certain monasteries-bare rooms with a solitary window and a door that enabled inmates to be seen by their jailers.Įven modern prison advocates have adopted qualities of monastic architecture, including concepts beyond that of the Spartan cell. Externally, many of the early prisons resembled fortresses, and some-such as the Bastille prison in Paris-were in fact converted fortresses. Roch, Lisbon (1578), with its cellular design typical of early prison architecture, support the idea that church and monastery buildings served as the template of early prison architecture.Ĭomparable to the architecture that characterized buildings from 1298 onwards, the earliest prisons were distinguished by thick walls, round arches, sturdy piers, groin vaults, large towers, decorative arcading and symmetrical plans. Similarities between architectural plans of NewGate Prison, London (1800, shown above) and the Church of St. This introduction of imprisonment into law by Boniface VIII replaced brutal punishments such as executions and amputations, which had been practiced since the reign of Emperor Draco in 400 BCE (Morris & Rothman, 1998), but it also likely had an effect on the development of prison architecture. In 1298, Pope Boniface VIII published Liber Sextus Decretalium, therein authorizing imprisonment as punishment in the general community. John Climacus documented a sixth century confinement of a monk to a monastery or “house of penitents,” not to be released until there was evidence of divine pardon (Johnston, 2000). History of prison architecture and functionīecause the early Catholic Church frowned upon the death penalty and other punishments directed at the body, early prison architecture appears to have been modeled after monasteries. Prison architecture is therefore a likely undervalued but important contributor to prisoners’ health.
Because security considerations and austere living conditions are the values that drive modern prison development, little attention is paid to the healthy living environments for prisoners. The implications of prison architecture, however, encompass far more than the mere idea of punishment, including effects on the health of inmates and custodial workers. While early prison design reflected modern imprisonment’s origins in monasteries-a result of the early Church’s stance against the death penalty-modern prison design derives many of its foundations in modern concepts of punishment, such as deprivation of liberty through austerity and lack of privacy. Prison architecture continues to evolve based on each society’s social climate and sociological demands. The architecture of a building thus reflects its function prisons are no different. of all true manifestations of the head, of the heart, of the soul, that the life is recognizable in its expression, that form ever follows function” (Morrison, 1998). As expressed in Louis Sullivan’s famous quote, “It is the pervading law.
From ancient Rome’s Mamertine dungeon complex (built under the city’s main sewer) to the humane cellblocks of Norway’s modern Halden prison, custodial architecture reveals much about how a society sees fit to discipline and rehabilitate those who contravene penal codes. Prisons and their many variants are built environments whose intended purpose is punishment, deterrence, rehabilitation and incapacitation (Reasons & Kaplan, 1975). 1578 (right)Ĭreating the built environment, the surroundings that provide the setting for human activity, draws on multiple disciplines, including architecture and law. “First we shape our buildings then they shape us”Īrchitectural plans for NewGate Prison, London, c. Disciplinary architecture: prison design and prisoners’ health January 29, 2017
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