Penitentiary
Architectural and design approaches to reimagining penitentiary systems and incarceration spaces.
Human Factory
We have examined three of these aspects and have influenced the results obtained in the design of the prison which includes: The philosophy of prison throughout history, The Impact of Progress and Time on Crime, Analyzing the personality of hackers. This approach has taken on new forms and structures over time. Based on the kind of attitude we examined the l
The Funnel
A new approach to challenge the hermetic and isolated penitentiary institution, catered to both users, the offenders and the general public. Its physical layout is designed to gather said groups together and give each other the chance to undergo transition via functional programs namely reflect, reform, reform, reintegrate and reborn.
Far out. That's intense.
Where is this location ?
The Studio for Redemption: Rethinking Incarceration for Intellectual Crime
A shortlisted prison concept replaces isolation with collaborative rehabilitation, turning inmates' technical skills toward societal contribution.
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HOT SPOT: Embedding a Prison Inside the City to Dissolve the Walls of Stigma
A shortlisted proposal reimagines correctional architecture as civic infrastructure, replacing isolation with urban integration and public engagement.
Future Prison: Circular Architecture That Treats Incarceration as a Rehabilitation Loop
A shortlisted competition entry layers private, public, and semi-public zones into a cyber-integrated correctional facility built for reintegration.
01 | Prison: Rethinking Incarceration Through Biophilic and Modular Architecture
A People's Choice Award entry reimagines the prison as a timber-lined rehabilitative landscape balancing security with human dignity.
Buro Nord Wraps a Dutch Penitentiary Warehouse in Timber Trusses and Sawtooth Light
A modular storage facility in the Netherlands pairs industrial pragmatism with exposed timber construction and passive daylighting.
The Funnel: A Prison Designed Around Rehabilitation, Not Isolation
A phased correctional facility that borrows from kintsugi philosophy to reframe incarceration as a process of repair and reintegration.
Reframing the Prison: Honeycomb Modules That Replace Cells with Houses
A shortlisted entry for Switching Prisons reimagines justice architecture through house-shaped modules arranged in a honeycomb collective.
Penitentiary Warehouse: CLT Timber in a Dutch Prison
Buro NØRD built a demountable CLT warehouse inside a Dutch prison, proving that correctional architecture can be materially honest and humane.
Human Factory: A Prison Designed to Produce Citizens, Not Repeat Offenders
A shortlisted competition entry reimagines incarceration through multi-functional spaces, nature integration, and hacker rehabilitation models.
Green Prison: A Self-Sustaining Mini-Town That Redefines Incarceration
Reinforced concrete, timber screens, and biometric security replace bars and fences in a rehabilitative correctional campus.
A Wall to live in
A Wall to live in consist in designing an innovative prison for new types of criminals. It is based on the themes of modularity, nature and human being. With crimes like the non-violent ones the rehabilitation is a fundamental part of the judgment and it's exactly this aspect that this project tend to improve.
Yes it does, because our idea was to create a village not a building that blends in the landscape.
Yes we have, we even went beyond that. In fact the part of the wall adjacent the meeting area disappear to leave space to nature.
The competition itself demanded a tight modularity in order to be possible to be replacated everywhere and easly. We focused on the person as a human being and not a module, that's why we reduced the number of inmates in the structure, and we let nature enter in all the areas possible. In any public facilities modularity is proved to be functional. Modularity does not mean that people become module themself, it works to help people in their daily duties and in this case in their rehabilitation.
A Botanical Exchange: A Prison Campus Where Agriculture Replaces Confinement
Strip barns, suspended pods, and Dutch dike walls reimagine incarceration as a landscape of rehabilitation for cybercrime offenders.
Babel Prison: A Cylindrical Tower for Cybercriminal Rehabilitation
Inspired by the Tower of Babel, this high-security facility reimagines correctional architecture for the digital age's newest offenders.
Green Prison
The concept of the modern prison comes down to creation of a green island of salvation that will turn a person to the right track again. It?s obvious that the design of prisons reflects the society?s attitude towards the convicts and penitentiary system in general, and it is our aim to change this attitude ? both in the citizens?
Solid ideas and resolution that provides a higher level of amenity than many would experience in society. It appears as a very urban solution that leaves me wondering how this would adapt to a more rural setting.
Nice scheme. Clearly recognises that punishment is removal from everyday society (loss of freedom). Would like to see this as a lower key solution in a rural setting.
Hello, if you mean the surrounding landscape, here we assume the placement of the prison both in the open area and in urban development.
COMMUNIVERSITY
NBRS Architecture submits an evolution to how prisons and incarceration are traditionally thought of. Our concept is called: COMMUNIVERSITY A reformative facility that uses educational principals to advance participants as well as providing social education by maintaining a heavy focus on community and interpersonal engagement.
Screen
The prison is designed to restore the man's Golden Light (i.e. personal restraint). Man has been darkened by the power of the Screen, and must learn to restore his Golden Light, by passing through the Filter, Reform, and Reflect Stages; creating a slowed-down version of the Screen. The prison does not absorb light like the Screen, rather, it restores Light.
Concept of light and architecture is an interesting idea
Simple but strong concept that allows one to be removed from the 'dark'
Light. Nice idea; get them out of the dark.
The Mending Garden
This prison imagines a future of reform leading to prison abolition. How do we handle people who have committed electronic crimes? Take them back to the earth.
Any chance of a more fluid approach to the accommodation? Those long corridors would be quite oppressive.
interesting graphics and easy to read
Interesting ........ perhaps make more use of the green space at ground level.
Interesting concept.
Glad it drew your attention.