How a Sustainable Building Embodies Humane Treatment and Promotes Hope and Healing (PID127)

11am – 11.30am EDT, 24 October 2023 ‐ 30 mins

Workshop Session

The humane innovations in the care and custody of people confined in psychiatric hospitals, jails and prisons require a new narrative about the buildings that shape their every day experience, and high performance green buildings provide a compelling metaphor for restoration. As we seek to heal the planet, we should too seek to heal those damaged by neglect and trauma, as they daily arrive at the doors of the justice system. We now know that harsh conditions only create violent, unsafe facilities that magnify anti-social behavior, deepen cynicism and hopelessness, and that we can do better.

High performance green buildings can act as therapeutic vessels for programs that heal and restore hope, while helping to helping to restore vibrancy to urban settings and marginalized communities. Our panel will present exemplars of this linkage between sustainability thinking, design excellence, and progressive correctional practices, both completed and underway.