499.SUMMIT is a conceptual proposal for a futuristic high-rise urban penitentiary in Jersey City which seeks to challenge the conventions of traditional prison design. The project, a collaborative effort by grad students Andreas Tjeldflaat and Gregory Knobloch, was part of the PennDesign studio FUTURE PRISON DESIGN. — bustler.net
13 Comments
I didnt know Rem designed a prison...
We don't need more prisons
wow, jersey city's looking bleak these days!
I commend you on your renderings and your presentation. The two of you have a lot of talent.
However, I think you have managed to make the notion of prison even more scary than it already is. You are simply taking your precedents and reorienting them into a vertical form for the sake of, well, to me it only seems for the sake of form. These phased steps you speak of in prison already occur, and I would argue to say that your observations about closed isolation and institutionalization are made even more isolated with the sense of being locked up high in a tower. Its hard to even know what happens inside the tower spaces... perhaps a few more plans and sections than all those flashy tron-esque renderings could help soothe my skepticism...
Your arguments on cost savings also seem somewhat flawed... you bring up very very compelling points in laying out your arguments, but you can't justify cost savings through a building like this... its like when Greg Lynn says its sustainable to use plastic anywhere because its more economic to use plastic bottles opposed to washing reusable cups in the city of Los Angeles... its taking a super complex issue and dumbing it down.
Anyway, I really did enjoy this video, and I think it brings attention to some very fascinating observations. Your process was very fun to watch. I just don't think the solution is in high rise design, particularly in such a depressed area... Prison tower as the new cathedral landmark? I don't think so.
Thanks for posting!
Alex
With that, you can get a job at Rockstar Games or EA as an environmental designer/3D Artist -
Father: Alright kiddo, do you see these daunting structure imposing over the city?
Son: Yes dad.
Father: if you don't behave, you will be locked up in that place. Fear the prison!
Son: Scary and teary eyes.
That what I got from these images.
O! Caravaggio you're the cause of Apocalyptical architecture world. I blame you for the bleak images. Zack Snyder, 300 movie director, abuse you and the architects and students copied after him.
Interesting concept however a building such as this would project itself as a landmark. With jersey city trying to clean up its image, i do not think it would want a building such as this. It would not want a jail as a landmark.
then close it and charge admission to tourists like the do here in SF with the "Rock" jeez - biggest tourist attraction here is Alcatraz - it provides a lot of tax revenue - Ya Know, you got put a swanky bar on top, kinda of a Rat Pack type joint- a Casino - then people won't have to ride the F**kn bus to Atlantic City.
It's quite striking and the renderings are excellent. It's brave to approach this subject matter too. It's true that a city probably wouldn't want a prison as a landmark, but there is a triangular white-collar prison near the Chicago loop that is very distinctive (granted, Chicago is already a city of landmarks).
Pittsburgh put it's prison probably on some of the most prime real estate in the city. So realistically, it's not out of the question.
In terms of the vision and communication of the idea, absolutely outstanding.
Using these kinds of visuals for prisons can give contemporary design a bad name. The US prison system is not something we should architecturally celebrate. I'd prefer placing a more anonymous version of this building on the site of an existing prison.
tower jail already exists in Cambridge, MA as the top floors on a courthouse building:
it was a failure (i.e. deathtrap). The county has spent the past 20 years trying to figure out what to do with it.
oops - programmatic failure, and they have a huge asbestos problem. there are still prisoners in the jail.
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