RIKERS ISLAND PRISON
This is a project related to the current issues regarding race, prison statistics and the psychiatric effects of solitary confinement in America.
The purpose of this proposal is to provide a space centred to support and provide healing for prisoners who are victims of trauma. This will be achieved by inverting a prison space; turning it from a place of punishment into a centre for well-being. This project is based on Rikers Island, a prison in New York, and is focused on reusing the ‘X’ shaped prison buildings located on the original portion of Rikers Island turning, them into botanical gardens/memorials.
The primary focus of this proposal is to turn five prison buildings into botanical gardens designed to function as biophilic therapy spaces. additionally, I also designed four new buildings (rehabilitation centres), which will be located in between the five ‘X’ garden spaces. The gradual planting of nature within the ‘X’ prison spaces is symbolic of healing. Equally, the intentional removal of prison walls can be seen as a representation of taking away trauma.
According to American Law, anything beyond 15 consecutive days in solitary confinement can be classed as torture.
