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A master's thesis from Aalborg University
Book cover


Nuuk Correctional Institution: a re-introduction of an original idea

Translated title

Term

4. term

Publication year

2013

Submitted on

Pages

205

Abstract

This master thesis concerns the design for a new and larger correctional institution in Nuuk, Greenland based on a competition brief made by the Danish Prison Service in 2009. This report is a presentation of a thorough analysis, an integrated design process and the final building design. The project aims to fulfill an intention of promoting the original idea of the correctional institution, the intention of resocialisation, by respecting the local culture and the climate in order to improve the conditions for the staff, the current inmates, the inmates to come, the community and the surroundings. In this the central question is raised: What is punishment? The answer is clear: The frames are not the punishment, the confinement is! The frames should support the intention of the stay, not work against it. And so three different architectures have been brought to focus; artic architecture, restorative architecture and additive architecture. With the point of departure in these 3 themes the project demonstrates the creation of a prefabricated, adjustable building system. A system accommodating the character of the arctic landscape, the changing population of inmates and also the present and future needs of the institution in an attempt to maintain architectural value over time and support resocialisation.