The architect behind the ‘most humane’ maximum security prison in the world has said his luxury lock-up – which features spacious bedrooms, grass lawns and modern kitchens – is designed to lower re-offending rates.
Newly opened Storstrøm Prison – near the town of Gundslev in Denmark – has been created to feel like a university campus, with a minimalist Scandinavian look modelled on a traditional Danish village.
Costing over £100million and taking five years to build, Storstrøm can hold 250 prisoners in its 40 square foot cells – each of which comes with a fridge, 22-inch TV, large window and wardrobe.
The newly opened Storstrøm Prison – near the town of Gundslev, Denmark – has been created to feel like a university campus, with a minimalist Scandinavian look modelled on a traditional Danish village
Costing over £100million and taking five years to build, Storstrøm can hold 250 prisoners in its 40 square foot cells, which come with a fridge, 22-inch TV, long window and wardrobe. Pictured: One of the communal living spaces prisoners share near their cells
The cells (right) resemble dorm rooms rather than the bare, small and intimidating rooms usually associated with prisons, with each one coming with a private, modern bathroom (left)
Inmates get a comfortable bed, desk with reading lamp, private bathroom and a share in communal kitchens where prisoners can make their own food. Pictured: The main building at night
The intention of the designers is to give the prisoners – most of whom are locked up for violent crime – as much of a normal, free life as possible in a bid to accustom them to life on the outside. Pictured: One of the spacious common rooms
Mads Mandrup, a designer at CF Møller Architects, said the jail was created to lower crime levels – something ‘traditional, less humanistic prisons’ fail to do. Pictured: One of the prison’s sports areas
Mandrup explained: ‘We truly believe, and evidently the statistics support us in this, that a hard and less-stimulating environment creates more re-offenders.’ Pictured: An indoor sports area at the jail
Prisoners also have jobs at workshops on the site, alongside a church, grocery shop, library and playground for visiting family. Pictured left: Wooden floors in the prison. Right: A tranquil place to pray
During their downtime, the prisoners can wander about the campus – the size of 18 football fields – and enjoy study sessions, exercise, art classes or time praying. Pictured: The church
But Mandrup said it will take more than a well-designed prison to keep down re-offending rates, adding that it would be ‘naive to think that architecture can achieve this alone’. Pictured: A basketball net outside the prison
Mads Mandrup, a designer at CF Møller Architects, told Co.Design the jail was created to lower crime levels – something ‘traditional, less humanistic prisons’ fail to do.
He explained: ‘We truly believe, and evidently the statistics support us in this, that a hard and less-stimulating environment creates more re-offenders.’
The cells resemble dorm rooms rather than the bare, cramped and intimidating rooms usually associated with prisons.
Inmates get a comfortable bed, desk with reading lamp, private bathroom and a share in communal kitchens where they can make their own food.
There are also colourful common rooms for the criminals to socialise.
The intention is to give the prisoners – most of whom are locked up for violent crime – as much of a normal, free existence as possible in a bid to accustom them to life in the outside world.
Hundreds of CCTV cameras surround the isolated prison – which is also on an island – as well a 20-foot wall that goes around the complex (pictured)
Denmark’s re-offending rate, however, is fairly low at 27 per cent – lower than the US’s rate of around 43 per cent. Pictured: Streetlights show the way at the prison in Denmark
The ‘most humane’ maximum security prison in the world is designed to lower re-offending rates. Pictured: The exterior of a building on the prison campus
Prisoners even benefit from sculptures in the recreation area of Storstrøm. Pictured: An inmate rubs his chin among five black statues
The prison comes with football pitches, running tracks and basketball nets among other spaces for sport. The hope is that the inmates will become accustomed to normal life and be less likely to re-offend when they are freed
Pictured: Two inmates enjoy some downtime near the basketball hoops outside one of the main buildings
The prison is surrounded by farmland, giving the inmates a bucolic view of the Danish countryside out of the large windows in their cells
They also have jobs at workshops on the site, alongside a church, grocery shop, library and playground for visiting families.
During their downtime, the prisoners can wander about the campus – the size of 18 football fields – and enjoy study sessions, exercise, art classes or prayer time.
But Mandrup said it will take more than a well-designed prison to keep down re-offending rates, adding that it would be ‘naive to think that architecture can achieve this alone’.
Hundreds of CCTV cameras surround the prison – which is also on an island – as well a 20-foot wall, Inhabitat reports.
Denmark’s re-offending rate, however, is fairly low at 27 per cent – lower than the US’s rate of around 43 per cent.