Critical Prison Design

Book excerpt: The newly built Mas d'Enric penitentiary sparks a series of reflections on architecture's role in the problematic subject of prison design. The prison is an uncomfortable institution and its architecture is often subjugated to technocratic criteria. This servility forces the prison out of the socio-cultural realm where it belongs, thus erasing it from public discourse. "Mas d'Enric" is a new penitentiary that overturns preconceptions and posits architecture as a medium to critically rethink contemporary prison buildings. The discussion is enriched by contributions from a number of influential architects and architectural theorists, and is complemented by original work in film, photography, literature, sculpture and visual arts.