CookFox to convert former New York City prison into affordable housing
Local architecture studio CookFox Architects has unveiled plans to renovate a former women's prison in Chelsea into "100 per cent" affordable housing. More
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"Design can immediately and practically reduce the number of people in custody"
Architects who want a more equitable prison system in the US should focus on designing spaces that can help reduce mass incarceration, write Lori Coppenrath and Marayca Lopez. More
Josep Ferrando Architecture transforms Spanish prison into homeless shelter and soup kitchen
Barcelona architecture studio Josep Ferrando Architecture has converted a former prison in Tarragona, Spain, into the El Roser Social Centre. More
Schmidt Hammer Lassen and Friis & Moltke design "humane prison" in Greenland's capital
New photos show Danish studios Schmidt Hammer Lassen and Friis & Moltke's Corten-clad prison overlooking a fjord in Greenland's capital Nuuk. More
AIA bans design of execution facilities and solitary confinement spaces
The American Institute of Architects has banned members from designing spaces for the US justice system used for execution, torture or confinement of imprisoned people, as part of a commitment to "dismantle racial injustice". More
"A whole lot has to get built to end mass incarceration" says Deanna van Buren
Architects need to be designing new building typologies to replace prisons that "were built to hurt people", says architect Deanna van Buren, who established her non-profit firm to bring an end to mass incarceration in America. More
"Architects aren't going to change it all but they can certainly help" say commenters
Readers are debating Michael Ford's statement that architects who want to really impact the fight for racial equality should stop designing jails and prisons, and sharing their thoughts on other top stories in this week's comments update. More
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"Stop working on spaces which disproportionately impact African Americans" says architectural designer Michael Ford
Architects should stop designing jails and prisons, which are representations of systemic racism in the US, if they want to really impact the fight for racial equality, says Michael Ford. More
Prison clad in perforated weathering steel has pastel-coloured sports court
Local Architecture Network has built a minimum security prison with a perforated metal facade of weathering steel in Nanterre that has a sports court in pastel hues. More
Central Saint Martins students design prison cell furniture
The Cell Furniture project sees product design students at London's Central Saint Martins create flexible furniture for prisons, which will be made by the inmates. More
"New York's new prisons will be more than just places of incarceration"
New York's plans for replacing Rikers Island jail will require input from design's brightest minds if the buildings are to integrate with their neighbourhoods, and conditions for inmates and staff are to improve, says Aaron Betsky. More
Twelve Architects to turn the ruins of Bodmin Jail into a hotel
An abandoned and bat-infested 18th century prison in Cornwall, England, is being turned into a hotel and tourist attraction by Twelve Architects. More
SCI-Arc students propose self-growing park and parasitic housing to adapt former LA prison
Dezeen promotion: students at the Southern California Institute of Architecture have suggested ways to transform a former jail in Los Angeles, including a park controlled by artificial intelligence and building models designed by 3D printers. More
Combas uses natural stone to build "warm and robust" juvenile detention facility in Marseille
This detention centre for minors in Marseille offers an alternative to oppressive prison architecture through its muted material palette of natural stone and board-marked concrete. More
University of Bergen students design furniture for prison inmates
An embracing chair designed to soothe anxiety and a lamp that anyone can be taught to manufacture are among items of furniture designed for prisons by students from Norway's University of Bergen. More
Forensic Architecture forms digital reconstruction of Syrian "architectural instrument of torture"
Forensic Architecture has created an interactive model of a notorious torture prison in Syria, using the eye- and ear-witness accounts of survivors (+ movie). More
Deborah Berke to turn former New York prison into women's rights headquarters
New York firm Deborah Berke Partners has won a competition to transform a correctional facility into a permanent home for the girls' and women's rights movement in the city. More
"Prison Architect is a graveyard for the utopian spirit where noble ambitions go to die"
Opinion: controversial computer game Prison Architect offers a grim lesson for real-world architects, whose good intentions often count for nothing, says Will Wiles. More
Karl Lenton designs egg-shaped movable therapy pods for prisons
Karl Lenton of UK company Safe Innovations has designed these mobile therapy spaces to give prisoners better and more comfortable access to healthcare. More
US student Kai Lin designs furniture for youth prison cells
New York 2015: Brooklyn industrial design student Kai Lin has created a contemporary furniture set for jail cells in juvenile detention centres in the US. More