De Wilde Studio

BORDER PRISONERS

“The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.”

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The border region between the U.S. and Mexico is flooded with violence and drug smuggle and it got worse under the Trump administration. This prison design on the border seeks to initiate a peaceful contribution to the solution to these problems for a safer future. It brings the people together: Mexicans that are in prison in the U.S. and Americans that are in prison in Mexcio for border related offences. Border Prisoners.

U.S. and Mexican prisons are flawed and dysfunctional. Together with the border wall they are an integral part of the problem that constitutes volatility, drugabuse and violence in the region.

The border should connect instead of separate. Mexico and the U.S. share a history, culture and people. The border wall forcefully seprates the two for political and economic reasons.

The Border Prison aims to rehabilitate people instead of merely excluding outcasts from society. Only when prisoners get the opportunity to improve themselves, we can start working on an inclusive and better future for society as a whole.

The Rio Grande in El Paso and Ciudad Juáres marks the border between the U.S. and Mexico. The building is fully emerged in the profile of the canalized Rio Grande. The dikes on both sides of the river prevent that the building can be seen from the outside. The only thing that can be seen from the outside are the entrances to the underground parking from the highway and two small pedestrian entrance buildings. These small buildings lead to the central entrance in the building.

It is important that prisoners have a calm and clear state of mind, because this allows them to focus better on preparing themselves for life after prison. This means that they should have a sense of comfort and normality in prison; they should be happy. Their environment plays an important role to achieve this. Human scale is therefore an important factor in the design. The building always feels relatively small and comfortable. This effect is established by creating a high level of architectural variation. At the same time the architectural form is consistent to create a harmonious and calm arrangement of building volumes that will not distress the prisoners.