Designing Justice: Inside-Out Students Envision Restorative Justice Architecture

• In Event: The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program: Starting and Teaching a Class

Abstract

The architecture and design of justice buildings communicate messages about the justice philosophy in use and victims’, offenders’, and community members’ roles within the administration of justice. The increasing use of restorative justice in the criminal justice system calls forth the need for a new justice architecture consistent with restorative justice goals and values. This talk introduces two Inside-Out courses that invited students to explore restorative justice as a philosophy and set of practices and trained them in basic design/architecture tools. Through individual and group design work, students created new visions for a justice architecture that focuses on victims needs, accountability, and harm repair and is grounded in restorative values. This talk will discuss the course pedagogy and student reaction to design work as well as present student designs. The presenter will also discuss how the students’ design concepts are instrumental in creating a national dialogue about restorative justice and the design of justice spaces, including correctional facilities.

Author

• Barb Toews, University of Washington Tacoma