This was the Final Project for the Principles of Sustainable Design class. We were asked to address any issue we considered to need a more sustainable approach
2. Explanation
This class is all about how we can move towards a sustainable society.
I could not help but think of the saying: a chain is only as strong as its
weakest link. So, to become truly sustainable shouldn’t we consider some
of our society’s weakest links? For this reason I decided to take a look at
today’s prison system.
3. What is it like now?
Prison Population
1.8 million Americans live in Prisons across the
country
More than 170,000 are currently incarcerated in
California
4. What is it like now?
Unsustainable, unsightly structures
Concrete, Steel, hard impermeable surfaces, gloomy cells every aspect of the design
emphasises punishment rather than rehabilitation
Correction agencies want the cheapest cage they can buy. This results in a straightforward,
industrial-like building design
They are eyesores for the surrounding communities but for security reasons it is
necessary for the surrounding landscape to be flat causing it to have even more visual
impact
5. What is it like now?
Huge Costs & Bad Health
Due to bad living conditions and severe overcrowding, medical and mental healthcare
has become substandard.
Nearly 2/3 of inmates in California are substance abusers, yet only about 2% of
them are professionally treated while in prison
The reason for this is lack of funds even though last year 9.7 million was spent on
the prison system, an Average of 35,ooo per prisoner
6. What is it like now?
Overcrowding & lack of work programs
With the use of tough-on-crime mandatory sentencing laws, the prison
population continues to grow and the inability to provide proper
rehabilitation means the recidivism rate is high
In California almost 2/3 of released felons return to prison within 3 years
of being released.
Despite numerous studies showing that education is the most effective
way to reduce recidivism, most prison extension classes have been
abolished. Other forms of job training have shrunk, and although an
estimated 70% of prisoners are illiterate, access to reading materials
and even exercise equipment is increasingly restricted
7. What is being done?
Bastoey Island, Norway: Minimum Security
115 inmates are housed in Bastoey Island low security prison which uses solar
panels for energy, produces most of its own food, recycles everything it can
and tries to reduce its carbon footprint.
Monroe Correctional Complex, Washington: LEED Silver
The Monroe complex received LEED silver certification for its intensive
management unit and segregation unit. The complex achieved sustainable
features points in all six LEED categories
Will Alsop: “Creative Prison”
In collaboration with Rideout (Creative Arts for Rehabilitation) and
UK prisoners, Will Aslop designed a student housing type prison
with the rehabilitation of the prisoner as the primary objective
9. What could be done?
Design - Site
Electric vehicles for Transportation and maintenance around
the prison grounds and on-site charging station will reduce the
need for fossil fuels
Native and drought resistant plants for landscape foliage reduce
the need for irrigation
Down lighting on the housing units and shaded landscape
lighting, in addition to individually operable Spotlights when
needed, reduce night time light pollution
Vertical Gardens along the exterior of the wall help break up the prison’s
visual impact on the landscape.
10. What could be done?
Design – Housing Unit
Natural light Solar PV panels
Passive solar
heating and cooling
Natural ventilation
11. What could be done?
Management/Programs
The prison should offer a range of activities to prevent boredom amongst the inmates, improve
their personal health and teach them valuable skills
Such activities could be:
• Tending to their housing units Garden
• Keeping bees
•Education
•Learning skills like carpentry,
electrical wiring, etc.
• Being trained for green collar jobs
• Recycling
• Yoga & Exercise
• Work release programs
• Substance abuse treatment
•Behavioural therapy
12. Sustainable Benefits
• Smaller ecological footprint
• Triple Bottom Line Accounting:
Profit: Energy and Labour cost savings
Planet: prisoners are contributing positively to the environment and are
learning valuable skills for sustainable living
People: Improved prisoner health through social interaction, outdoor activities
and less toxic environments
• Instil a sense of responsibility and prepare them for an eco-conscious life once they
leave prison, both to provide for themselves and their families as well as being able to
work in green collar jobs
Additional Benefits
• Lower recidivism
• Instead of reducing crime by incarcerating more people it is
reducing crime through education and rehabilitation
