crime and architecture???

[leeroddick]

ok so at last i got a thesis topic.... but now i need sources.. anyone who can help me with this?? it would be very much appreciated... thanks in advance... c",)

[nipesh]

Hi!
You see you can do a lot for the topic crime and Architecture.
For instance most commonly, if you go for a jail.....you are not expected to provide luxurious comfort, but on the other hand after leaving a jail, "criminal" should have a new improved state of mind.......Going to jail is a punishment and punishment increases if jail is not good but the purpose of going to jail fails if it can't change a criminal to normal person. Beside the psychology, jail is for many people so space organization is really needed and as per the security its a bit tough to create a circulation.
Hope I have helped.....kindly be more specific of what you want............


BEST OF LUCK

[annutalreja]

Hi there
Now, crime and architecture can be related in many different ways. Firstly, as nipesh said something like a prison: a building which is meant to confine criminals and at the same time create an environment which physically does confine them but at the same time, aids to their mental and spiritual refor. Its one of the most difficult design problems, I died the same for my thesis: and very interesting too.

Secondly, you can focus on creating a normalised human habitat and focus on how thru environmental design you can cut down crime and induce a sense of security amongst the users.
I did this research for my dissertation : UN is doing a research on something called CPTED , ie, crime prevention through environmental design. YOu can find a lot of data on the net.

Read both of them very carefully; one is where the criminal are the users n the environment is for their reform. Second is where the user is the general public and the environment is to b created to keep out criminals. Both are very interesting. Take ur pick. N do keep in touch for ny kind of help n also letting me know whts ur progress with the wrk. I am quite interesting in this topic

All the best

[leeroddick]

thanks to both of you... for replying.... anyways, ive started my thesis already... i focused on annutalreja's second suggestion which was also my teacher's suggestion... crime prevention through environmental design.. im currently doing my 1st draft which is the introduction and review of related literature...

if you have anything in mind for sources regarding my focus please do tell me..

thanks again...

[builttolast]

similar topic is my friends thesis topic also. he has called it rehabilitation centre for criminals.
one thing is sure for their rehabilitation, they have to be kept busy with activities that enhances theire talent and also in some way they should be kept in touch with the society and not isolated.
do let me know if u have links for the same.

[maxmoy]

Hey, when I read your post, I thought about all those horrendous structures some architects have made... especially those which have absolutely no respect for their context. Those which symbolise oppression = injustice = crime. This could be a nice way of showgin that you've thought about all the possibilities that "CRIME ARCHITECTURE" may imply.
cheers
max

[maxmoy]

Do check Koolhaas's SMLXL for the topic on the PANOPTICON PRISON. It explores a very particular concept of jailing the "unwanted".

[annutalreja]

hey
u could look into this book called 'architecture of incarcernation'. dont remeber the author but its got some really interesting penetiaries designed on reformatory module. also , theres an architectural record of i think 1975 august or so, has a good survey on prison typologies and the new concepts in prison architecture.

all the best

[Architorture]

another angle you might look at is structures that were once used as places of rehabilitation...such as former prisons or asylums...and how over time the practice of rehabilitation has changed and continues to change... maybe you should consider how your building could somehow adapt over time so that it wouldn't have the face the same fate as many other structures...

the time it takes for theories of rehabilitation to change is far shorter than the lifespan of a building...so i think its important to either make your design adaptable or maybe even make it easy to destroy once its usefulness has run out

[VWall]

Consider the typical downtown business district, with its highrise offices. At 5 PM all the people in those buildings go home, leaving the district populated only by bums and prowlers. Since there are no witnesses we don't know what they do, except when the cops have to clean up one of their messes.

Now consider the simple addition of ground floor proprietor owned businesses to some of those buildings. These businesses stay open in the evenings, so there are lots of witnesses strolling about. Proprietors are very keen about maintaining order near their places of business. So the crime rate is reduced by simply thinking about the people who will use your design. Not just the client and employees, but ALL the people.

Now let's consider a wider aspect of your question. Notice that all the respondents slipped from "crime" to "designing prisons". Architects are probably the worst group to present this question to. It takes a lot of effort to learn to be an architect. Little time is left for considering the finer implications of the business. A genius might find time to think about the real effects of a building on the people who use it or pass near it, but everyone else just works on the basis of whatever their school taught them and whatever the client demands.

There was a fad of "vernacular architecture" in the seventies, and you would do well to look up and read some of the published works from that era. The Last Whole Earth Catalog has a ton of thoughful insights. That is where I found the idea above. It was published in 1980. Domebook and Domebook II (about 1975, I think) presented a fad, but the authors eventually realized that domes were not as nice as they had originally thought, so they published Domebook III as a chapter in Shelter. It was a revisitation of some of the domes in the first two books, analyzing their various failures to serve their occupants. A really beautiful book was Handmade Houses. It shows that what people want in a house is very, very different from what architects and lenders want in a house.

Back to your question about crime. Bear in mind that people think and speak in cliches. If you mention "crime", they will answer according to whatever cliche they relate to that word. You should figure out what your cliche is, and what exactly you want to do about that. That will determine how you persue your goal. Architects often present some sort of "low cost housing" that they think will "reduce crime", but they fail to consider that there is no connection. What they are actually doing is designing monuments to their cleverness. "Reducing crime" is only a cliche they throw out to make it seem more worthwhile. You see a lot of that. Don't let it get you down.

[Anulanaidu]

Hi there,
Im sure this is hitting you late, but better late than never, talking about Crime and Architecture, its significant to note that the social planning of a place in a community scale should always address on crime floors, For example when riots broke out in Ahmedabad recently, the features which were efficient on service grounds proved equally good for violence preparations. It was reported that most of the crimes happened at the central courtyards that can be attacked from almost any side, the service lanes that are littered and deviod notice and the pol arrangement that eases segregation. The city proves to be a good case study.
All the best.
Anula Naidu

[VWall]

Another thought just crossed my mind: The streets of Paris were made very wide so that rioters could be dispersed with machine guns. Today those streets are admired by everyone, and the original purpose is forgotten. Cities with narrow streets are feared by tourists, even if there is no crime problem there.

Go for functionality first, and for beauty as a close second. Those two things by themselves will go a long way toward reducing crime.

[shahar]

I didn't read all of the replies, so this may be a repeat, but

FOUCAULT, Crime and Punishment

There is the famous panopticon essay.

A quick sentence about it is that Foucault describes how the design of Benthem's panopticon can be used as a psychological and physical prison...this is broad brushing it, but just to give you an idea of the topic.

I heard someone reference Koolhaas's panoticon prison, which I am sure was partially derived from this essay and the original panopticon by Benthem (sp?).