NCJ Number
167867
Journal
American Jails Volume: 9 Issue: 5 Dated: (November/December 1995) Pages: 76-78,80-82
Date Published
1995
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article describes the design of the new Poschwies Prison in the Swiss Canton of Zurich.
Abstract
The prison was dedicated and began operation in February 1995, even though the final building program will not be completed until 1996, when the old panopticon-design prison has been demolished and new facilities are built on that site. The Poschwies Prison is remarkable for its "pavilion" design, its "Group Enforcement" prisoner management program, its "everybody works" program, and many other design and management features. The most remarkable feature of the prison is the small capacity housing units that are used as the basis for the Group Enforcement prisoner management style. Typical housing units have 24 individual occupancy cells with shower rooms on the second and third levels and a dining room, a common room, a unit management office, a telephone room, and janitor's closet on the ground floor. Natural light reaches the second floor circulation area from skylights in the roof through light wells in the third floor circulation space. These facilities comprise a "pavilion" that is used as the basic prisoner management unit for the entire facility, although some other special units are smaller. The small unit size was deliberately chosen to foster development of a "sense of community" between staff and inmates, a goal believed to enhance prospects for successful reintegration to normal social living after discharge.