Editing Critical Prison Design book
The publication shows the newly built Mas d’Enric penitentiary, by AiB arquitectes and estudi PSP arquitectura, that sparks a series of reflections on architecture’s role in the problematic subject of prison design.
Mas d’Enric Penitentiary
The prison is an uncomfortable institution and its architecture is often subjugated to technocratic criteria. This servility forces the prison out of the socio-cultural realm where it belongs, thus erasing it from public discourse. Mas d’Enric is a new penitentiary that overturns preconceptions and posits architecture as a medium to critically rethink contemporary prison buildings.
As the editor of this book, I intended to address two questions in my presentation: why has an entire book been dedicated to the penitentiary Mas d’Enric? and what should we expect from the book’s content?
The discussion is enriched by contributions from a number of influential architects and architectural theorists, and is complemented by original work in film, photography, literature, sculpture and visual arts, with a long list of contributions: Roger Paez (author of the project as well as the book), Keller Easterling, Adrià Carbonell, Lluís Ortega, Juan Azulay, Juan Elvira, Ramon Faura, Èoghann MacColl, Camí, Angela Kay Bunning, Jordi Bernadó, José Hevia, Paula Arroyo.
Have a look at the videoart piece Hic Sunt Leones, shot in Mas d’Enric, directed by Jordi Bernadó, produced by 15-L Films, with the collaboration of Roger Paez.
Published by Actar Publishers, 2014.
Click here to view a PDF extract.