Abstract:
Scientific, physiological and psychological studies have demonstrated that previous and present incarceration programmes are fundamentally detrimental for the mental health of imprisoned men and women. Research has indicated that prison techniques, such as solitary confinement, have a limited possibility of successfully rehabilitating inmates into society and instead are likely to result in extreme levels of recidivism. Prisons should be a place where modern concepts of mental health, wellbeing and enlightenment are supported and encouraged. Therefore, the first step in the reduction of recidivism would be to integrate a prison into its local community, normalising the incarceration process instead of ostracising and segregating inmates from society altogether. Evidence continues to associate isolationistic prison systems with high rates of prisoner reoffending and rapid psychological deterioration. Regrettably, New Zealand prisons follow the traditional punitive approaches to criminal containment, such that the majority of prisons are intentionally located in rural areas, as a way to separate the incarcerated from the innocent through this rural-urban divide. This thesis aims to propose a blueprint for a connected, rehabilitative, enriching prison complex that can not only coexist in the urban environment, but moreover enrich the urban fabric of the community. Through this proposal, the question of whether a symbiotic relationship between prisoner and community can be maintained, is composed and the architectural strategies and designs that catalyse this reformation amongst a prison population is established and developed extensively.