Pushing the envelope – challenging the status of female-led prison design

A chance for change

Each year, International Women’s Day sheds light on gender equality across all forms of society. For many, it is an opportunity to celebrate inclusion, raise awareness and spotlight to what extent gender parity has been achieved. Falling at the same time as the annual Women in Policing conference, it is often a hallmark for the event, now in its tenth year, to encourage more women into the justice sector, as well as explore female-led issues affecting the industry.

At Pick Everard, we work closely with leading organisations in the justice sector, including the Ministry of Justice. Part of our role is aspiring to a culture of continuous improvement for its prison estate across the country, making sure we are pushed to develop designs that build not only an inclusive and healthy environment for staff and colleagues, but also a gender responsive and trauma-informed space that accommodates the specific criminogenic needs of prisoners.

One huge area of concern for us is the complex interplay of architecture and rehabilitation. Traditionally, prison design has been slow to uptake the specific needs of individuals, with focus aimed squarely at a mentality of punishment, with grey, dark and uniform design. However, with the rise of critical thinkers in the area, such as criminologist Yvonne Jewkes, more attention has been paid to responsive environments, incorporating salutogenic design with mental health and wellbeing at its core, to propel prison architecture into the 21st century.

From punitive to sensory environments

Often, as architects, we look to inspiration from around the world to influence our design methods. Since as far back as the 1970s, Scandinavia has been at the forefront of reformatting the prison environment as one of stimulation. This was based on the region’s concept of open prisons, where inhabitants left the grounds of facilities each day to undertake maintenance work within a local town or area, under the close supervision of staff.

Its progressive thinking, designed to inspire and give back to communities, eventually paved way to design principles too. Today, many facilities in Finland more closely resemble a university dorm than a prison hall, with bright pops of colour adorning walls, along with feature TVs and mini refrigerators in communal areas. This approach, combined with new responsibilities and awareness around mental health and sustainability, has seen sector organisations such as the Irish Prison Service take what’s come before and accelerate change in a huge way.

One such progressive facility is Limerick women’s prison in Ireland. Taking cues from Scandi design, the building has thought about the specific needs of its inhabitants, and put architectural innovation, sensory stimulation and gender-specific and trauma-informed design ahead of cost or conformity.

It features a bright, open reception area, expansive living spaces and no bars on any of its large windows. A staircase connects two levels of an accommodation unit, bending towards a huge oval cut-out recess, revealing a skylight which floods light into social spaces below. Furthermore, prisoners are given bedrooms, which look on to a curvilinear garden with wooden seating and lush planting.

The idea challenges the stigma of what a prison environment can be; but pleasingly, it also responds to inhabitants in a way that acknowledges their gender-specific journey through it.

Making mental health the focus

According to World Health Organisation research, approximately 80% of women in prison have a mental health diagnosis, far more than male counterparts. This is why academic researchers have developed the concept of trauma-informed design, which is rapidly gaining precedence in prison design practices, infusing aspects of therapy and safety into architecture.

For example, at the Limerick prison, its visiting room has a glazed wall, which overlooks gardens with outdoor space and a play area for children. Inside, it has seating in cosy booths to allow private conversation. It is also decorated in bright colours and is essentially ‘normal’ in feel – all with the intention of helping women feeling relaxed in their environment, promoting social interaction and limiting any sense of dehumanisation that can occur with incarceration.

What is fascinating about some of these new rehabilitative-led environments, is just how much that can be achieved design wise, even in limited, city-set environments like the facility in Limerick. Here, the prison is integrated within the city centre, yet it still finds inner space to create a green sanctum, filled with allotments that responded to specific prisoner requests.

While we are always encouraged by examples such as Limerick, we know at Pick Everard that the sector has a long way to go to be transformative on a global scale.

However, this can only be achieved with collaboration, education and spirit in design, which is why it is such a privilege to attend the Women in Policing conference this week on behalf of Pick Everard. If institutional organisations in the prison sector, academics and architects can all work together to realise the ambition of gender-responsive, trauma-informed and salutogenic design, promoting mental and physical wellbeing, then together we can build a bright and profitable future for all. For the latest news, please go to our insights section, or contact us to discuss your justice projects.