1/24/2019 Architecture and prisons: why design matters | Working in development | The Guardian

Interview
Architecture and prisons: why design matters
Imogen Wall
Prison expert Isabel Hight talks about the challenges of building jails that meet
humanitarian standards in countries where ‘large scale imprisonment is seen as a western
concept’
Wed 28 Sep 2016 12.19 BST

W
hen 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 sell; sewers, for example, or prisons.

But the world’s prisons are home to an estimated 10 million people globally (pdf)
and this number is rising. 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%.

These people are not necessarily hardened criminals. Around a third of prisoners globally haven’t
even been found guilty – they are on pre-trial detention. They are likely to be drawn

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disproportionately from the poorest and most marginalised groups in society, and in some places
there are even children living in prisons with their parents (pdf) in their thousands. In developing
countries, they are typically crammed into buildings that are old and uncared for, neglect that
leads to tragedies like the fire in 2012 that killed over 300 prisoners in Honduras.

There are many issues of concern when working with prison populations such as access to legal
services, prevention of torture and justice system efficiency. But also key is the design and
construction of the buildings where prisoners will spend their time: the prison itself. So what
makes a good prison, and why is it is so important to get the design right?

Wearing their distinctive pink uniforms, people suspected of

involvement in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide line up before re-entering
Kigali’s central prison from a day at work in the fields next to the
prison. Photograph: Karel Prinsloo/AP

Isabel Hight has spent over 35 years advising on prison development and management in East
Timor, Liberia, Sudan, Rwanda, Afghanistan and Congo for organisations like the United Nations
and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Having recently retired, below she reflects on
her work.

Why is the architectural design of prisons so important from a human rights and humane
treatment perspective?

Architecture sends a silent message to everyone walking into any place. It tells you what to expect
and where the limits of behaviour are. Prisons are the same. In my view, design is crucial to
creating an environment in which prisoners can live and not become institutionalised. This
means providing spaces for staying in contact with families, work, education, and playing sport.

How easy is it to persuade governments in developing countries to build well-designed prisons?

Governments generally recognise the need, but hospitals or schools often take priority. They can
be receptive to donor funding of new prisons. But large scale imprisonment is primarily a western
concept and donors can be tempted to build prisons similar to those in their own countries.
Historically colonial powers such as the Belgians, French and British built prisons that were
essentially replicas of what they had back home.

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Prisons, inspired by nineteenth century prison architecture, can be

found around the world. Photograph: Alamy

Is this what you see on the ground? Why are these prisons so problematic?

Yes, in Africa, for example, if you are familiar with nineteenth century British prisons you can
recognise instantly similar layouts in former British colonies. Large, two to three storey buildings,
long corridors, rather like you see on [the BBC series] Porridge. These prisons, designed based on
outdated ideas about incarceration and now very decrepit, are still in use – and their limitations
made worse by overcrowding. Living spaces built for 20 but holding two or three times that
number are not unusual.

Why is it important to take local cultural values into consideration?

What it comes back to is the purpose of imprisonment. If you want prisoners to lead a more law
abiding life when they leave, for example, then it’s essential to design buildings so they can keep
up with social practices and community life. This means factors like eating arrangements – do you
sit and eat communally, do you eat in isolation in your cell? To eat alone is socially unusual in
most communities, and can be quite alienating and institutionalising.

Congolese inmate displays her voter card in a detention cell in Geti

prison.
Photograph: James Akena/Reuters

Is developed countries using a design from home still an issue?

Yes, this is still a challenge. A prison I know of in Asia was built based on the design of a European
high security prison – it’s single cell and without heating. You can’t have a prison in that particular

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place without heating and single cells were alien to staff and prisoners. Prisons like that are
under-used or abandoned.

What do design teams and architects need to think about initially?

Choosing the location is the first issue. Prisons need to be where people are, near large population
centres: prisons need staff; prisoners need to attend courts, lawyers need to see their clients;
prisons depend on community services ranging from rubbish collection to health services;
families need to visit.

What sort of thing typically goes wrong when a prison is badly designed?

Inadequate water supply is a common problem. I know of prisons that have been built where the
water is, say, a kilometre away and that wasn’t factored into the costing so the prison is really
unusable. It’s a similar story with electricity.

The women’s wing of Pul-e-Charkhi prison on the outskirts of Kabul,

Afghanistan. Women are imprisoned for murder, child trafficking,
drug smuggling and running away from home. Photograph: Sean
Smith for the Guardian

What happens when infrastructure is badly designed or fails?

When the design doesn’t work, prisoners and staff try to find a solution. If the kitchen isn’t
working, for example, prisoners will organise supplies from outside, and start cooking in
unsuitable places like sleeping areas. This creates problems with hygiene and vermin. And like
anything limited in prisons, food can become currency. It will be controlled by prisoners or the
staff and that can lead to abuse and corruption.

How does architecture impact the mental health of prisoners?

It varies. What we do know is that very restricted environments where prisoners are isolated from
staff and each other quickly 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 I know of, companies have supported workshops in prisons, and prisoners
can then go on to work for them once released.

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Colonel Abdull Wahed, logistical director of Pol-i Charkhy’s prison,

smokes a cigarette as a prison cook prepares lunch for more than
300 prisoners at the jail in Kabul, Afghanistan. Photograph: Emilio
Morenatti/AP

You must have seen some very disturbing things in your career ...

I’ve seen the very best of conditions, some awful conditions and much in between. I’ve seen the
consequences of poor sanitation, insufficient food, lack of natural light, lack of fresh air,
dilapidated living areas, overcrowding. But in most places the staff are doing the best they can.
Doing harm is not what drives them. Of course repressive regimes, and prisons designed to do
harm, exist. But where repression is not the intent, poor conditions and treatment are usually the
result of a lack of know how and resources. Attitudes to prison design have also changed since I
started my career because of the greater possibility of travel. Donors often sponsor developing
country prison officials’ attendance at international conferences, training and study tours, all of
which can and have a marked impact when they return home.

Join our community of development professionals and humanitarians. Follow @GuardianGDP

on Twitter.

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Topics
Working in development
Infrastructure for development
Prisons and probation
Architecture
Human rights
features

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