Inside Halden Visual Investigation
A virtual tour of Halden Prison to explore the aesthetics of prison reform.
2020 – PRESENT · INDEPENDENT/THE NEW SCHOOL · 3D MODELING/STORY DESIGN
Inside Halden is an independent media project of mine that maps the progressive architectural design of Norway’s Halden Prison via a 3D model to immersively understand how prisons wield carceral architecture to control the people inside them.
About the Project
‘Inside Halden’ began as an idea during my time at Vera Institute of Justice. I had proposed it to the Deputy Governor of Halden Prison as part of a global learning exchange Vera facilitated that sought to raise awareness and increase understanding within the U.S. of progressive European carceral design solutions that might inspire large-scale prison reforms in the U.S. I left Vera for a new job at another organization before I could begin working on this project, and subsequently independently pursued the project, with an adapted objective, as part of my graduate research in the Media Studies department of The New School in New York City.
The prison itself is designed to resemble an idyllic college campus. But a close investigation of its surveillance practices reveal that the technologically-mediated progressive design of the prison functions not necessarily to challenge the prison’s security functions but to conceal and optimize them under the veil of a micro-society. The prison does not lock incarcerated people down, but rather mobilizes them, and encourages them move about. Guards do not always escort them because their movements are tracked via electronic monitoring through key cards and motion sensors. Carceral mechanisms are simply hidden in what has become known as one of the world’s first “smart prisons.” Halden, as a contained society that simulates freedom, has been described as an iron fist in a silk glove, confirmed by the prison’s own motto: “Punishment That Works.” This project explores the mechanisms by which progressive carceral reform might unwittingly reproduce oppressive practices in the “smart” age.
Employing architectural researcher Eyal Weizman’s method of investigative aesthetics, I worked on developing a virtual model of Halden Prison as part of my media research at The New School that investigates the different innovations in social control that might manifest through progressive notions of carceral design.
My Role
Virtual 3D Modeling
Story Design/Development
Interactive Design and Development/Coding
Disclaimer: The site is still in the process of being completed, so there may be bugs and mistakes as I continue building it out.
INSIDE HALDEN PRISON
To explore the neoliberal mechanisms of social control that were carefully designed into every aspect of Halden’s built environment, I aimed to reconstruct Halden as a virtual model from photography I took while on a study tour of the prison in 2019. Initially, the project was to be developed at Vera, but upon leaving, I decided to pursue it and develop it as part of my graduate research at The New School where I have been conducting visual investigations into carceral architecture as media, with the intention of building out a prototype of an immersive story for audiences to experience, inspired by the 3D/virtual reality journalism of The New York Times.
ONGOING PROJECT
Reconstructing Halden Prison to Explore How Architecture Shapes the Incarcerated Experience
INITIAL PROTOTYPE MODEL | HALDEN PRISON HOUSING UNIT (CELL BLOCK)
FINAL PROTOTYPE MODEL | HALDEN PRISON HOUSING UNIT (CELL BLOCK)
SCREENGRABS
‘INSIDE HALDEN’ IMMERSIVE STORY DESIGN
inspired by innovative visual storytelling projects by The New York Times, such as “Why Notre-Dame Was a Tinderbox” which transports readers around a 3D model of Notre Dame Cathedral as they scroll through the story, and “The Dangerous Flaws in Boeing’s Automated System,” which applies the same general style to a 3D model of a Boeing plane, I wanted to apply this journalistic style of visual storytelling to an issue related to criminal justice, prison reform. I thought it would be particularly effective at opening up the black box of prison to the public to help them understand the power of architecture through a visual investigation hat explores its impact on the everyday experiences of the people inside them who are subjected to it.
ONGOING PROJECT
Visualizing the Architecture of New Generation Prisons Through Scrollytelling