Tenth International Conference on The Constructed Environment

Abstract

Criminal justice architecture has historically represented societal beliefs about how to respond to offending. Each new criminal justice reform called for new buildings and designs to achieve the intended goals – e.g., large congregate jails meant to detain individuals while they awaited a sentence of corporal punishment gave way to solitary cells meant to facilitate quiet reflection and penitence. After approximately two hundred more years of reforms, modern day justice architecture, especially that of correctional facilities, represents the retributive and punitive approach to justice embraced by society. The individual, interpersonal, and social consequences of this justice orientation and the corresponding mass incarceration are well documented, prompting another era of reform. Restorative justice theory and practices are gaining momentum in these reform efforts. Restorative justice is an approach to justice which prioritizes the needs of those harmed by crime and seeks to repair the harms in a way that facilitates healing for all. Such a justice orientation requires a new architecture and design that is consistent with restorative goals and values and provides the infrastructure for restorative justice practices, such as victim-offender and community dialogues. Participants in this interactive workshop will learn about the theory and practice of restorative justice, explore restorative justice-informed design concepts created by incarcerated individuals and victims of violence, and participate in design activities to create visions for restorative justice architecture that embody a healing approach criminal and social justice.