The Implementation of Trauma Informed Design in the United States Prison Campus: A Standardized Design Methodology

Author

Quille A. HughesFollow

Abstract

The concept of spaces for punishment has been a topic of conversation for centuries. Only now are members of the community touching the surface of concepts that rewrite the methodology behind the design of these spaces in the hopes of providing a different outcome: rehabilitation. Trauma-Informed Design as a concept is in its infancy, and therefore requires decades of research into the effects of its installation; there is no greater need for this consideration than in the United States criminal justice institution. This thesis will not attempt to cover the changes necessary to United States prison policy. It will instead endeavor to generate a clear standardized methodology for design in the hopes of creating prison environments that are less punitive and more rehabilitative. Through the use of materials, acoustics, lighting, biophilia, and programmatic landscape, it is possible to produce an atmosphere in prisons and other punitive spaces that can rehabilitate its inhabitants in a safe way. These methods will be tailored to inmates within the United States prison system that have experienced Substance Abuse Disorder and non-violent crimes. A standardized design methodology will be created under the principles of Trauma Informed Design to increase rehabilitation rates and reduce recidivism. Using interviews with relevant personnel, this standardization will be reviewed by members of the community directly associated with trauma informed care, substance use, and the United States prison system. It is the intention to be able to apply this standardization across current and future criminal justice campuses within the United States.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Prisons--Design and construction--Psychological aspects; Architecture--Human factors; Rehabilitation

Publication Date

12-12-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Student Type

Graduate

Degree Name

Architecture (M.Arch.)

Department, Program, or Center

Architecture, Department of

College

Golisano Institute for Sustainability

Advisor

Alissa De Wit-Paul

Advisor/Committee Member

Dennis A Andrejko

Recommended Citation

Hughes, Quille A., "The Implementation of Trauma Informed Design in the United States Prison Campus: A Standardized Design Methodology" (2023). Thesis. Rochester Institute of Technology. Accessed from
https://repository.rit.edu/theses/11619

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

Plan Codes

ARCH-MARCH