Danish State Prison Design

I read an article about the winning design for a new Danish State Prison. It's a plan which really challenges traditional ideas about not only the layout and architecture of prison facilities, but the entire concept of incarceration. The article (which can be found here) details the proposal, which is planned to be completed by 2016. While one would normally think of a prison facility as a bare bones, metal and concrete cage meant to contain and punish the deviants of society, the Danish government takes a much more liberal and innovative stance towards rehabilitation. They hope that their approach to socializing inmates in a much more human environment will lead to a lower rate of repeat offenders, which is a big problem across the globe. Although critics point out that criminals should not be "coddled" in luxurious facilities, studies have shown that the current systems in countries including the United States are not effective at rehabilitation of inmates. Overall, I find the debate rather interesting, and can agree on certain points with both sides. The article really gave me something to think about, and the architectural proposal was pretty sweet too!