Architects and design of solitary confinement

Architects / Designers / Planners for Social Responsibility has led recent efforts to boycott the design of prisons and to ban the design of spaces intended for executions and prolonged solitary confinement. They propose that the current discussion under way among members of the American Institute of Architects on the ethics of solitary confinement can help to inform debate on the topic at APHA. Their work addresses pressing questions such as: Is “humane” design possible for spaces intended for execution or prolonged solitary confinement -- activities condemned by the international human rights system? What role should professionals – and professional associations – take when asked to participate in the development of spaces intended for such purposes? In the U.S. context of mass incarceration, is the design of new prisons part of the problem or can it be part of the solution? What are the ethical responsibilities of architects in relation to prison and jail administrators, workers, and inmates?