Design and Architecture
Should Architects Design for Solitary Confinement?
Raphael Sperry calls on architects to ban the design of cells for solitary confinement? Terry Karges explains why the Petersen Automotive Museum is changing gear.
By Frances Anderton • • 28m ListenA hunger strike in California state prisons calls for an end to indefinite solitary confinement in Security Housing Units, known as SHUs. Raphael Sperry has challenged fellow architects to ban the design of SHUs. Beverly Prior responds, reflecting on a career designing for incarceration. Joe Day sees societal values mirrored in the growth of both American prisons and museums.
Back on the Miracle Mile in Los Angeles, Terry Karges talks about the Petersen Automotive Museum’s plans for a face-lift.
In this episode
2 storiesPrisons
Even though the client, not architects, determine the program for prisons, Raphael Sperry argues that just as prison doctors refuse to participate in execution so prison architects can refuse to be party to torture, and in doing so, can show leadership in a rethinking of incarceration.
Read the story23 minPeterson Automotive Museum Accelerates the Changes on Miracle Mile
Just a few weeks ago, LACMA unveiled its proposed “inkblot” by architect Peter Zumthor that would replace four early buildings. Now, just yards away, the Petersen Automotive Museum has announced its own dramatic overhaul, reconfiguring the interior, and wrapping the building in “ribbons” of steel conceived to evoke speed.
Read the story6 min