Prisons and Paradise

On this episode, Michael says:

Prisons are remarkable design environments when you think about it, because there are few experience that humans can have where every aspect of them — from the architecture to the lighting to the experience design to the social design — has been minutely worked out, minute by minute, inch by inch, to deliver a certain effect

He and Jessica discuss a few examples of the intersection of prison and design, from the Guardian’s VR story about solitary confinement to experiments with design thinking workshops for prisoners.

Also mentioned:

• Atul Gawande, Hellhole
• Design Against Crime Research Centre, Central Saint Martins
• Design thinking for prisoners in Fast Company and The Times of India
• Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility
• Paul Bloom talks about Why Empathy is a Bad Thing
• Richard Price, Clockers
• Drew Hodges, On Broadway: From Rent to Revolution
• the BBC series The Paradise based on Au Bonheur des Dames by Emile Zola
• Georges Perec, Life a User’s Manual
• A history of Prince’s unpronounceable glyph
• Containment

Thanks to Designers & Books for sponsoring this episode.

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