“Introversion's security simulation is an intriguing fusion of capitalism, architecture, governance and morality. Perhaps even with advance notice as an alternative to the current dysfunctional system. “Prison Architect can be a simple and powerful tool for observing the dynamics of prison life from multiple perspectives. Attractive aspects very meticulous management, the ability to follow up when something goes wrong… Enjoy the next opportunity to watch disaster after fix.”.

A selection of these images from the archive illustrates this book.Prison Architect is a game with its own characteristics. The team was allowed to go anywhere, photograph anything (except where this could compromise security). The Prison Service granted the project team unprecedented access to all its establishments, allowing the completion of an archive of more than 5,000 images and 250 research files. Over 130 establishments that make up the current prison estate and over 100 former sites that have surviving buildings or extensive documentation have been investigated, institutions ranging from medieval castles and military camps to country houses that have been taken over and adapted for penal use. It traces the history of the purpose-built prison and its development over the past 200 years. ‘English Prisons: An Architectural History’ is the result of the first systematic written and photographic survey of prisons since the early 20th century. However, more than 60,000 people now live in our gaols, some serving their sentences in buildings with Victorian or more ancient origins, others in prisons dating from the last twenty years. For most of us, the prison is an unfamiliar institution and life 'inside' is beyond our experience.

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