A selection of projects from my time in the Master of Architecture program at the University of Washington.
Materials and phenomena can foster humanity in justice facilities. They place us in our time and location, they store memories, they connect to all of our senses- they can offer us consolation and safety in our loneliest and darkest times. Materials and phenomena do not judge, they connect.
Contemporary criminal justice practices across the United States vary widely but are largely exploitative and neglectful of human rights. To make matters worse, the majority of justice spaces were designed to alienate and store people, rather than elevate their lived experience and inspire them to greatness. Many design professionals ignore this sector because of its social complexity, others wish for this typology to be abolished immediately.
This thesis presents an approach to designing justice that is based in restoring the human connection to their bioregional homes through expressive, normative materials and therapeutic horticulture. I focused on a female population, as the greatest growth in justice-involved populations over the last 40 years has come from women. Additionally, in that same timeframe, small towns have seen dramatic and steady increases in lifestyle and survival-related crimes, and the increase in jail populations due to the pre-trial detention of asylum seekers. Rural New Mexico faces these challenges on a daily basis, and was therefore selected.
It must be stated, this structure necessitates a revolution in American justice. First, non-violent individuals will only be housed if their home lives endanger them or prevent prosperity. Second, asylum-seekers and individuals found to be in violation of immigration laws will not be housed in correctional facilities. Third, youth and individuals with limitations in their own care will not be housed in correctional facilities.
A big lesson from this study was that I cannot design a one-size-fits-all solution to justice needs, this is the failing of mass incarceration. Furthermore, this study provides only a theoretical framework, design tools, and examples for design teams and primary users to determine their justice needs.
Of paramount import was that sleeping rooms not be treated as cells (bereft of humanity, prioritizing economy and compliance). Material finishes should create a comfortable, pleasant, normative environment. A personal space that shows the residents that they deserve privacy, respect, and beauty.
Based on progressive healthcare sleeping rooms, these rooms feature grab bars, ample clearance, convertible furniture to accommodate visitors, private bathrooms en suite, and clear lines of sight for staff to maintain safety without violating boundaries.
Correctional staff have one of the highest rates of trauma and self-harm of any profession, living decades shorter than their peers. To be successful in work and life, they need quality, beautiful areas to rest. Staff should also be gender-responsive and trauma-informed so as to develop healthy and beneficial connections with residents.
Bioregional belonging is essential to the health of humans, non-human species, and their landscape. Stewardship of the land is also a great opportunity for residents to connect with their visitors or service animals.
For those who want greater privacy, require additional supervision, or in case of inclement weather, an interior visitation area that is uplifting should be provided.
These artifacts inform material selection, programmatic choices, siting, and other guiding design values.
Although many of us consider ourselves free, we are in fact imprisoned by fear, shame, anger, judgement, neglect… thoughts and feelings that prevent us from thriving. This palimpsest was generated over 15 weeks, from my own imprisoning thoughts- negative self-talk as well as hurtful things others have said that haunt me. The viewer is encouraged to confront their prisons so as to build compassion for others, and freedom for all.
This palimpsest was created with the help of a dozen people over the course of weeks. This panel represents a portion of a wall from a sleeping room. It is normal for people in moments of private crisis to write on walls, but carceral materials usually discourage this expression. In this space, people would contribute to a forum, people can feel understood or just get a laugh from a stranger.
This concept connected many accepted and emerging theories. I used these cards to spark brainstorms with colleagues about how these theories contribute to justice, I imagine other design teams could do the same.
For each theory, there are decisions made for intended outcomes. As needs will vary across projects, design teams can use these tools in client meetings to determine goals and opportunities to maximize impact.
Design of a healing landscape for a women’s prison in Washington state.
Over the course of 10 weeks, our group worked with incarcerated women and corrections staff to reimagine their existing landscape to encourage restorative rather than putative justice.
Women are disproportionately victims of crime and neglect, often in their childhood. Victimization during such development leads to higher rates of PTSD, severe mental illness substance use issues, and self-destructive behavior that can increase risk of offending. Removal from family and friends and prison life easily exacerbate these mental health issues.
One strategy for managing this impact comes from Therapeutic gardens- that is, gardens valuing equity, flexibility, restoration, refuge, acceptance, self-expression and goal attainment. This masterplan creates a therapeutic landscape emphasizing meaningful creative exploration as a pathway to self-esteem and accountability, as well as nurturing, compassionate, and challenging community. Intentional interaction with oneself, the community, and nature in dynamic artful form. We focused on the staff break area, the maximum-security recreation area, the medium-security recreation area, and the visitation area. These populations are in the most need and are therefore our top priority.
Inspired by Waldorf schools, we developed the core value of “art as a way of knowing the world”. Regardless of who or where we are, creativity provides interpretation and reflect our experience. Art is a universal language that gives voice and reason when nothing else can.
Creative arts used in therapy:
- Creates an environment for safe expression and release emotions and memories
- Initiates and supports healing
- Encourages self-awareness
- Engages traditional healing practices
- Creates a shared experience
Our design utilized art in 4 primary ways:
- Sharing of art as healing
- Art as a tool for exercise and play
- Gardening as the creation of art
- Viewing art for restoration
Project partners:
Lauren Iverson, MLA, UW
Wenshuo Zhang, BLA, UW
Michelle Koo, BLA, UW
Guided by fault lines that fracture a busy and rapidly expanding metropolis, the studio chose six sites where we intend to reimagine damaged parts of Mexico City and provide opportunities for resiliency through design.
Individuals displaced from the city center by housing shortages, economic hardship, and earthquake damage are heading to Iztapalapa in droves. Those who cannot afford a home, or lack the ability to move into an existing structure often resort to squatting in tents or sheds on the fringe of the informal neighborhood.
Although this self-built, “informal” neighborhood presents great opportunity, the residents still experience water disparity. This scarcity would be exasperated in times of seismic or political flux. It is vital to the resiliency of this development to be self-sustaining. Harvesting and treating water on site; to diversifying sustainable but traditional agriculture practices; capitalizing on renewable hydroelectricity and PV energy sources; to growing, processing, and selling their own produce are found at various scales.
Equally important to resilience was the need to edify a boundary between soft and hard scape with a catalytic and nurturing community.
Project partner: Dylan Cotton, MA, UW
Along Mexico City’s southernmost fault line, Iztapalapa was found to posses a combination of strengths the other sites did not. After speaking with sustainable design experts, we realized the site’s geology and topography were perfectly suited for a blend of surface infiltration and water catchment. The site also has great soil and access to sunlight that makes food production possible. With the land providing these resources, opportunity for education and economic growth is significant.
This map shows features of our site in Iztapalapa as well as our intervention proposals.
Building off Iztapalapa’s model of simple CMU masonry construction, single family and collective housing schemes redesigned to allow for vertical addition or interior horizontal partitioning to accommodate fluctuations in household size or need.
When not built-out, the flat roofs can act as rainwater catchment surfaces or communal patios.
