In recent times, a new vernacular has emerged in prison design; one of blandness and similitude. Yet, in other parts of the world, prisons are once again being designed as purposeful statements of penal philosophy and intent, often denoting that the jurisdiction in question does punishment differently to their near neighbours. In some cases, discourses of transformation, normalisation and rehabilitation have come to the fore in the briefs given to architects and in the new lexicon of prison planning and design.

So, to what extent can the architects of incarceration aspire to rehabilitate those in custody? Is the aspiration to transform prisoners’ thought and behaviour through environment a realistic one? Is it even morally justifiable? In this seminar, Professor Yvonne Jewkes will discuss what really matters in custodial design, including the individual and social consequences of ‘unhealthy’ prisons and the moral ambiguities that lie at the heart of progressive prison design.

Speaker profiles

Yvonne Jewkes was appointed Professor of Criminology at the University of Bath in September 2018. Prior to this, she was Professor of Criminology at the University of Kent.

She has been researching the topic of prison architecture and design for over a decade and has been the recipient of two grants from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC): one a comparative study of prison design in England and Wales, Scotland, Norway and Denmark, and one an investigation of whether prisons can rehabilitate through their design, management and culture. She has worked with numerous prison services and architects around the world on custodial design.