In 1966 I was invited to work in London with Christopher Alexander and Barry Poyner, formulating a theory which would later be known as A Pattern Language a system of objectifying the design of space and organisations based upon observed human behaviour. In 1967, the new methodology was trialled. The very first use of A Pattern Language was therefore here, in the design of a brief for Prison Workshops for the Ministry of Public Building and Works in association with the Ministry of Justice. It seemed like a straightforward assignment at the time - go into prisons, watch how the staff and inmates behave, and then design a pattern language (a set of behaviour-related spatial arrangements) that might lead to more therapeutic outcomes and to a reduction in the recidivism rate.

 

What we were not told at the time, was that the programme was designed to have the inmates "acquire the habit of work" so that they could get and hold a job when released. The real agenda, of course, was to reduce the prison budget by having the inmates work at low rates in repetitive-task jobs so that Corrections could compete with outside labour rates and make a profit. In other words, the therapeutic intent was a sham to mask the actual intent of the programme. Below are some of the programme diagrammes that came out of the study. Following these is a reflective comment written at the time. and following a visit to Pentonville Prison in London. 

 

 

 

 

 

The programming theory was based upon the resolution of "Conflict" between competing behavioural "Tendencies" (based upon models of Approach-Avoidance Conflict in Behavioural Psychology.Each conflict was resolved by formal spatial arrangements and these were gradually integrated into an overall "conflict-free" arrangement.

 

To review the reflective commentary on the Pentonville experience, click here. 

 

Five years after this piece was written, I was living in California and was busy writing research proposals into the design of Therapeutic Prisons. That research took me into several of california's correctional facilities. After one visit to San Quentin Federal Penitentiary, I wrote another piece, published in Architectural Design Magazine,entitled San Quentin Blues. To download that PDF click here .