This book establishes a new framework for prison design to promote the health and well-being of all prison users. Based on international research in Norway, Finland, the USA, and Chile, and drawing on the expertise of key international advisors, this book uniquely reveals the perspectives of both designers and prison authorities concerning well-being in prison architecture. It is the first book to compare perspectives between prison models while providing essential guidance for the design of prison environments to promote the rehabilitation of inmates and their desistance from crime.

The promotion of health and well-being of people in prison is vital to enable rehabilitation. Traditional prison architecture severely weakens both rehabilitation efforts and opportunities for desistance. Only a handful of prison systems in the world have shown significant changes in their prison designs. Underpinned by Critical Realism and the PERMA theory of well-being, this book reveals significant new insights to inform prison design. The author presents international case study research with interviews with prison authorities and designers from four countries and the three different prison models, as well as key international United Nations advisors. For the first time the visions of prison designers are contrasted with those of prison authorities, bringing a new synthesised understanding of the differences and similarities in their approach to the health and well-being of both inmates and staff from which to generate a new framework for design considerations.

This book illuminates new directions for prison design and is essential reading for policymakers, academics, and students involved in the study and development of criminology, corrections, and penology. It is also an indispensable source of up-to-date knowledge for prison authorities, public health officials, architects, and designers involved in the design of prisons and any other type of coercive detention facilities.

About the Author

Alberto Urrutia-Moldes holds a PhD in prison architecture from the University of Sheffield in the UK. He also has a BSc in Industrial Engineering (2008) and a BSc in Construction Management (1993), both from the University of the Bio-Bio in Chile. After graduating as Construction Manager, he started working in the construction industry for private companies until 1998, when he was appointed head of the regional office of infrastructure at the Bio-Bio Regional Directorate of the Chilean prison service in the city of Concepcion. In this capacity, Alberto was responsible for addressing the needs of the 24 prison and parole facilities across 14 cities in the Bio-Bio region. He was later appointed as the head of the projects and planning office at the same regional directorate. In tandem with his job in the Chilean prison service, he has worked since 2006 as a part-time lecturer in construction management at the School of Construction Engineering at the University of the Bio-Bio. In 2012 he co-organised - with the Faculty of Architecture at the University of the Bio-Bio - the first conference in prison architecture held in Chile, and then co-edited the book 1st Seminar of Prison Architecture for Social Reinsertion, which contains the main presentations of the two-day conference. In 2014 he moved to the UK, where he started his PhD programme, being awarded a Doctoral degree in March 2020.

Reviews

"Health and Well-Being in Prison Design is an overview of how prison architecture and design can support psychological and ethical principles to enable offenders' rehabilitation. I highly recommend this book to those who want to develop the prison system."

Pia Puolakka, Project Manager of Smart Prison project, Criminal Sanctions Agency, Finland

"Health and Well-Being in Prison Design is an academically grounded plea for more humanity in prison design. Prisons are not containers for holding human beings securely. Dr. Urrutia-Moldes reminds us that well-designed prison facilities are essential for the enhancement of inmates' health and well-being. A much-needed guide for prison designers and policy-makers, this book pinpoints key human factors affecting well-being in prison and, ultimately, the prisoners' rehabilitation chances. The important message is that there is no need to choose between security and well-being in prisons. Security can be strengthened by improving the inmates' well-being, also through careful and considerate prison design."

Piera Barzano, former Senior Interregional Advisor (Penal reform), UNODC, Vienna

"In this book, you will identify the philosophies behind architectural models of prisons, which focus on repression, security, rehabilitation, or hybrid approaches. By disclosing the physical and psychological aggressors on the well-being of inmates and prison staff, this monograph emerges as a critical tool to make evidence-based decisions, particularly for developing countries, to promote positive and lasting change."

Alberto Urzua Toledo, Director of the Centre for Public Innovations for Latin America

"Dr Urrutia-Moldes has written a comprehensive, must-read text on how the justice system can contribute to a more civilized society through improved design of prisons. His analysis of the pathways to intelligent and humane prison design is excellent. This book will serve as a wake-up call for prison designers as well as correctional authorities.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in the development of our prison systems. It will give you a rare insight into prison design, whether you are a government official, social scientist, designer, or first-year student. I hope that this book will be a required curriculum in education, from prison staff to students of architecture and social sciences.

Health and Well-Being in Prison Design by Dr Urrutia-Moldes is a good read and highly relevant for designers not only of prisons but also of other social institutions for vulnerable citizens."

Stein Erik Laeskogen MSc., Principal Engineer, The Norwegian Directorate of Public Construction and Property (Statsbygg)

Book Information
ISBN 9780367765637
Author Alberto Urrutia-Moldes
Format Paperback
Page Count 276
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 453g