Brief
Create a concept for a virtual reality (VR) prison where inmates serve sentences within a modified VR simulation of Alcatraz Island, located in California. Your design reimagines the island prison typology, a longstanding method of separating prisoners into a distinct, isolated space. Although traditional prisons emphasized isolation from society, modern incarceration aims to foster rehabilitation, psychological reform, and personal growth. In a VR prison, the approach to prisoner experience could be significantly transformed. VR opens new possibilities for restorative practices, enabling inmates to interact more frequently with loved ones or engage in conversations with AI-generated representations of deceased family members or even with simulated representations of those affected by their actions. This approach could support emotional healing, encourage accountability, and offer a more profound path to personal transformation.
Design Generators
The design brief ephasized that capacity demands and operational costs makes it imperative to reduce the cell sizes as much as possible. The example of the humane prisons in Norway, however have polar opposite parameters. Safety is an obvious concern, not just outward, but inside the prisons – to avoid violence between inmates and that social interractions would influence them in a positive way.
The key design generators accordingly are
- reducing the space and the cost of operating the prison
- the use of VR to redefine social interactions and deliver rehab programs
- also, regardless that inmates are immersed in the VR world, they still have human physiological needs that need to be catered for.
This narrative connects to several film references, which influenced our design on both the conceptual and visual aspects.
The Concept
In this concept, inmates are incarcerated in sphere pods, human bubble balls, called zorbs, which are equipped with VR. While serving their time in the VR pod, engaging in social interactions and rehabilitation programs exclusively through VR. The pods also provide spaces for rest and sleep.
The prison chambers containing the cells are located inside a ring structure, that is built around the amenity facilities. Canteen, services, recreation and visiting facilities are equipped with isolated VR pod inlets, connected to the prison chambers via an optimized tunnel system. This system allows inmates to roll their VR pods efficiently between the chambers and amenities.
The amenity facilities inside the existing Alcatraz building are identified that will serve as attractors for the mold simulation. These facilities will act as the primary access points for the new structure.
Conceptual approach
The whole system is based on the Physarim polycephalum dynamic aggregation, a slime mold used to study the pattern formation and evolution of networks and spatial systems. In recent years, research on Physarum has become more popular after Nakagaki et al. (2000) performed his famous experiments showing that Physarum was able to find the shortest route through a maze. The behaviour of this mold is based on agents and food: the agents move and seek food, then release a chemoattractant to attract other agents. Given a defined environment, velocity, sensor distance, sensor rotation and deposit of attractor are the main parameter to control this dynamic aggregation.
Computational design methodology
The computational design methodology then followed with the definition of the 3D boundary of the new facility, definition of the cells as a ring aggregator, then
running several iterations of the aggregations to define the best shape, and finally to envelop it with a panelized skin.
Form Iterations
The definition ran 800 iterations based on our parameters to achieve the desired form. Each set of parameters produces entirely distinct outcomes, ensuring that every iteration is unique.
The Skin
The resulting point cloud was consolidated into a smooth volume, with the surface panelized using the central line of the ring as the attractor. Various options were explored to refine the outcome.
The dynamics are similar to bloodcells in the veins
Speed: 0.5 | Sensor Distance: 3 | Sensor Angle: 45 | Deposit: 2 | Time: 1200 | Cell population 344 | Panelization density by proximity to the center of the ring
Detailed Structure
The panelization adapts to functional requirements, allowing for wider or tighter openings to ensure structural stability, meet surveillance needs, and provide daylight for the inmates.
Plan
Sections
The sections show the relation between the buildings and the different connections
Perspectives
Aerials
