Understanding Behavioral Effects of Penal Architecture (An Attempt to Redefine Prison Typologies in India)

Prof. Alok Ranjan

Shruthi Andru

Department of Architecture and Planning,

Malaviya National Institute of Technology,

Jaipur

Abstract-

The concept of crime, criminals, prisons, and jails

have been viewed as taboo. There is a general stigma

associated with prisons, especially in India. Modern

prisons are the epitome of crude architecture, that are

specifically designed to inhibit and torture the

criminal mind for even small acts of misdemeanor.

Architecture has the unique ability to invoke thought,

feelings, and emotions. Our perception of space

subconsciously affects our behavior and

temperament. The research done via this paper

showcases the effect that the prison environment has

on prisoners through various case studies and tries to

develop a design strategy to imbibe humane

architecture into prisons while justifying the idea that

architects should be actively involved in designing

the blueprint of future prisons.

Keywords: Prison Architecture, Re-incarceration,

Correctional faculties, Indian Prisons, Psychology,

Prisoner Behavior

I. INTRODUCTION

The objective of this paper is to understand the

impact that the architecture of confined spaces has on

the psychology of the individuals. It also seeks to

develop a design strategy to imbibe human

architecture and to understand how to reduce the high

reincarceration rate. The author also aims to justify

the idea that architects play a central role in the design

and development of prions.

The paper is based on research acquired from

secondary data, drawing from the analysis of

respective books, journals, case studies, interviews

and other online resources.

1 An illegal action, which is considered harmful and dangerous for the society

and be punished by the law regulations.

Need for Study: The rationale behind this study is

to understand how ideas regarding punishment and

their reflection into architecture has changed, or

remained unchanged over a period of time. As

prisons are expected to last for decades, it is also

necessary to conduct this study in order to design a

built form that accommodates and evolves with

changing ideologies over time.

II. CONCEPT OF CRIME AND

PUNISHMENT

The idea of crime1 and punishment as a concept

have existed throughout the history of mankind in

every society and culture. The outcome of

punishment revolved around some form of

isolation, confinement and control resulting in a

space known as prison2.

A. History of Incarceration System in India

The history of Incarceration can be briefly divided

into three stages.

Ancient India: Punishment often involved hanging

mutilation and death. Prisons were damp, dark dens,

without any proper means of sanitation.

Medieval India: During the Mughal and Maratha

period crimes were divided into three groups namely

offenses against God, state and private persons.

Prisoners were detained in fortresses pending trial

and judgement.

Modern India: The modern prison system operates

as a legacy of the British Rule who developed prisons

with the primary motive of imprisonment being “a

terror to wrong doers”

2 A confined space within an institution where freedom is restricted as a result

of punishment

B. Crime in India

The Indian Penal Code (IPC)3 is the main document

which lists the criminal code of India. It registers the

various acts considered as criminal acts by the

government of India and means of punishment for the

same. It was enforced in British India during the late

1800’s. The Code has since been amended several

times and is now supplemented by other criminal

provisions. (Crime in India 2019)

C. Modern Incarceration Systems in India

The Prison institutions in India comprise of 8

categories of jails. The most common and standard

jail institutions which are in existence in all States

and Union Territories are Central Jails, District Jails

and Sub Jails. The other types of jail institutions are

Women Jails, Borstal Schools, Open Jails, Special

Jails and Other Jails. (Crime in India 2019)

III. ARCHITECTURE AND PSYCHOLOGY

Spaces tend to have a character and soul of their own.

Humans perceive theses spaces as a whole. Through

perception, memory, imagination and the use of their

senses such as haptic, auditory and smell they

remember and reimagine spaces. Architecture also

has the unique ability to evoke thoughts and feelings

through various elements within the space such as

material, texture and patterns.

Architecture can impact our emotions in a positive

manner. For example, in La Sagrada Familia,

designed by Antoni Gaudi, there is a hidden

underlying image of a forest portrayed through the

pillars which mimic tree branches. Similarly, it can

also impact us in a negative way. One such example

of this is the housing-built post WW2 4. Its repetitive

box like structures influenced by the industrial

revolution consisted of monochromatic colors,

absence of detail and poorly placed windows which

led to a deterioration of mental health.

3 A comprehensive code intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law 4 Post-World War 2, there was a need for mass housing to keep up the demands

of the rising population 5 This theory believes that people are intrinsically motivated.to seek positive

reinforcements and avoid negative reinforcement. It also states that a person

Additionally, there are various stimuli such as scale,

proportion, amount of light entering a space and the

color scheme of the space that also influences the

psychology of the individual. As an architect, we are

responsible for creating environments that reduce

mental fatigue by designing spaces that are open,

invoke positive feelings through light and other

aspects.

IV. PENAL ARCHITECTURE AND

BEHAVIORAL EFFECTS

Environmental psychologists have conceptualized

several theories to address the human- environment

relationship. Amongst which are two main theories

namely the Social Learning Theory5 and the Social

Identity Theory6 which influence prisoner behavior.

They are important when discussing the dependence

of the inmate on the predictability and structure of the

prison layout and system. It is also important when

discussing the prevalence of gang relationships in

prison societies. They help us understand how prison

architecture inadvertently hinders their reintegration

back into society.

Apart from social interaction; privacy, personal

space, overcrowding, stimuli and aesthetic characters

are also common problems of correctional

infrastructure.

Privacy and Personal Space: Privacy allows

humans to grow and emerge from traumatic events

through understanding and reflection. Thus, it plays

a vital role in the design of. correctional facilities. It

allows prisoners to accept and understand their

mistakes and move towards rehabilitation.

Additionally, humans also need to maintain optimal

levels if interpersonal space during social interactions

to function normally. In most modern-day

penitentiaries, the lack of privacy and personal space

becomes the defining concepts of incarceration,

stripping the individual of their sense of self. To

believes that the rewards and outcomes are determined by either luck or others with more power than themselves. 6 This theory is a social psychological analysis.of the role of self-conception in

a group membership, group processes and intergroup relations. It proposes that when acting in groups we define.ourselves in terms of our group membership

compensate for this loss, inmates become aggressive

and increase territorial behavior.

Light and Windows: Light affects melatonin which

impacts human’s circadian rhythm. Windows not

only regulate the amount of light but also provide a

view to the outside world which reduces stress. In

prions, windows tend to have a negative effect as the

inmate feels exposed. Often times these windows are

so small that they don’t allow for optimal ventilation.

Color and Exposure to Nature: They influence

one’s mood, behavior and their perception with

regard to the space, texture, temperature and odor

through psychological and.physiological effects. The

dull grey color of concrete walls often negatively

impacts the prisoner, encompassing him within the

space.

V. PROMINENT PRISON CONCEPTS AND

DESIGNS

Over the years Prison Architecture has evolved due

to the changing incarceration systems and methods.

Prison architecture can be studied on the basis of its

design and geometry namely lateral type, radial type,

cruciform type, triangular type, telephone pole

design, courtyard design and campus design. It can

also be examined on the basis of the various models

upon which the prison layout has been designed such

as the safety model, the repressive model and the

rehabilitation model.

Overall, there have been three major prison concepts

or institutions which have led to the to the evolution

of prison architecture today namely:

i. Bentham’s Panopticon

ii. The Pennsylvania Model

iii. The New Generation Design

VI. CASE STUDIES

The case studies are mainly divided into three main

categories namely, Prisons in India, Prisons in an

Urban Context and Prisons with Reformative

Attributes. The case studies analyze four aspects.

i. Morphology

ii. Architecture features

iii. Functional and Spatial Organization

iv. Level of Security (Emberson, 2016)

Prison Architecture Concept Effect on the prisoner

Bentham’s Panopticon Circular shaped structure,

consisting of 6 tiers of prison cells

and in the center is a tall

observatory guard tower

The idea was that the prisoners

would never be able to tell that

they were being watched, they

would always be visible to the

guards due to the architectural

layout

The idea of always being watched

over created a sense .of anxiety and

omnipresence over them. The idea

revolved around obtaining power

over the mind

The Pennsylvania Model The prison was designed to house

solidarity cells of 4.9 by 3.7

by2.3m with an 8-inch window for

light, 16 ft ceilings and an

attached exercise yard.

The major concept of this system

was to cut off the prisoners from

human contact, to provide solitary

confinement

The psychological principal of social

isolation was used which prevented

the prisoners from reintegrating back

into society.

New Generation Design Triangular shaped plan which has

26 stories and each floor was

divided into pods for 40-60

inmates. The guards lived with the

inmates

The major concept of this system

was direct supervision. There was

an attempt to establish greater

contact among officer and

prisoner

The increased contact between

prisoners and guards led to a positive

relationship and the staff recognized

violence and was able to respond

better.

Table 1: Analysis of Prominent Prison Concepts

Table 2: Analysis of Case Studies

VII. INFERENCES

A. Inferences from Case Studies

An analysis of the prison systems, from the case

studies, shows that depending on the justice system,

the prison environments tend to drastically change.

Within the Indian incarceration system, both

Yerwada Central Jail and Arthur road jail are prime

examples of a punitive model. The objective of both

prisons is based on incapacitation, isolation and fear.

The prisoners are kept busy in order to avoid conflict.

They are often kept in congested cells with

detrimental standards of living.

But what the government fails to realize is that this

defeats the very purpose for which the prison was

built for. The recidivism rate has risen over the years

and there is in an increase in crime and violence

within the prison. There are very little opportunities

available to the prisoner to progress in life, after he

has been released, in terms of acquiring education or

work.

At first glance, it may not be obvious but European

prisoners too are punished for their crimes. While

these prison layouts have designs that appear lavish

or ‘too humane’, they work by inducing remorse and

responsibility, which is found to be more effective

than those environments causing cynicism and

resentment. They are proof that punishment does not

have to be degrading and physical. (Fowler)

Here focus is placed on creating an environment for

reflection and rehabilitation while maintaining a

strict schedule. This allows the prisoner to reflect on

their crimes and solve underlying mental health

conditions.

For obvious reasons, one cannot expect to maintain

prison standards in India, at par with what are

followed in European countries. The prison

population and incarceration rates of India are ten

times that of Europe. Moreover, it has a completely

different prison culture; gang culture that exists in

India which is not present there. However, there are

still concepts of design that we can implement within

the Indian prison system.

B. Rehabilitation and Design Intent Inferred

From the case studies, a new model of prison can be

inferred and designed based on rehabilitation. As an

architect we can focus on some key attributes that can

be incorporated into new designs.

Location: The prisons should be moved from rural

areas to urban suburbs. This would allow for better

prisoner-visitor relationships and the prison can also

have access to facilities that are not easily available

in rural areas.

Autonomy: A certain degree of freedom should be

allowed within the prison campus. Instead of

maintaining control upon the prisoners through

overcrowded rooms and invasion of privacy,

vigilance can be maintained through the use of

electronic control devices. Interaction between

inmates and guards should also be promoted which

could lead to surveillance through trust.

Relationship of the cell with the campus: The

inmate cell should no longer be considered as a

central element in a prison campus. Instead, it should

work on incorporating facilities such as sports

complex, libraries, vocational centers and the prison

campus should be viewed as a reformative school

rather than a confined space.

Exterior Spaces: The exteriors of the prison and its

campus should be designed with suitable aesthetics

and with sufficient greenery, which incorporate a

range of outdoor activities and recreational zones.

Design of the Cell: The size of the cell should be

sufficient to maintain privacy and personal space,

with each inmate receiving approximately 6m2 of

space. Additionally, prison interiors should use bright

colors. Prison cells should avoid long narrow

corridors and instead designs should include

staggered plans increasing the inmate’s exposure to

natural light. (Bernheimer, 2017)

VIII. CONCLUSION

A society that is free of crime is a utopian dream, one

that seems nearly impossible to achieve. But a society

which promotes the need for reformation, where the

facility of rehabilitation is provided to offenders, is

possibly an easier and safer concept to grasp.

The construction of prison systems is influenced by

several ideologies. We cannot change the ideologies,

particularly those relating to aim and justification of

punishment, as there are several governing bodies

responsible for setting these standards. However, as

architects we can incorporate a new idea of

normalization within the Indian Prison Architectural

program. A system can be designed where the prison

facility displays some resemblance of a ‘normal life’.

We could utilize the modern tools such as technology

that is easily available to us to monitor prisoners and

do away with the notion of confined spaces.

Furthermore, we could encourage movement of

prisoners, utilizing design principles to do so. As

architects we have the power to change the spatial

program of an institution. We can add more

recreational activities, which would help prisoners

reduce anxiety and manage excess energy and

aggression. By incorporating passive and active

spaces within the prison facility, we can provide an

environment where the inmates can heal.

Hence, we should recognize the impact. that

architecture has on the human soul. and spirit, and as

architects we should utilize this favorably to design

prisons and concurrently accomplish both goals,

inmate retribution.and rehabilitation.

IX. REFERENCES

Bernheimer, L. (2017). Wellbeing in Prison Design: A guide. Matter

Architecture.

(n.d.). Crime in India 2019. National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of

Home Affairs.

DOKGÖZ, G. D. (2002). Prison Architecture: A Typological Analysis

of Spatial Organizations in respect to Punishment Systems.

İzmir Institute of Technology İzmir, Turkey.

Elisabeth Fransson, F. G. (2018). Prison Architecture and Humans.

Cappelen Damm Akademisk / NOASP.

Emberson, J. S. ( 2016). The Architecture of Confinement: Positively

Influencing Rehabilitation and Reintegration. University of

Hawaii, School of Architecture.

Fowler, M. (n.d.). The Human Factor in Prison Design: Contrasting

Prison Architecture in the United States and Scandinavia.

Iowa State University.

Hoffs, B. (2014). Begin again: new prison design which supports the

process of rehabilitation. B. A. M, Eindhoven University of

Technology.

Raju, D. ((2014) ). Historical Evolution of Prison System in India.

Department of History and Archeology, Tumkur University.

Vessella, L. (2017). Open Prison Architecture:Design Criteria for a

New Prison Typology. Italy: University of Florence.