ABSTRACT
The admission from an American architect that he is frequently discouraged from incorporating ‘architecture’ into correctional facilities, and is sometimes even encouraged to design in elements of bleakness or ugliness, reminds us of something so obvious that we take it for granted: environments are thought before they are built (Rapoport, 1980). This chapter develops the notion that prison spaces are layered with meaning, and that prison design has a profound moral and psychological influence on prisoners, prison staff, and the communities in which prisons are located. Mindful of Scarry’s call for an intrinsic link between ‘beauty and being just’ (1999: 58), the chapter aims to explore meanings conveyed by carceral spaces, interpretations of prison architecture, and the potential civilizing, rehabilitative role of penal aesthetics.
