AUTHORITY
An exploration into the ideas surrounding the development of a juvenile detention center. This project begins to explore the effects of authority on teenage girls. Developed over a short summer semester the project rapidly gains momentum culminating in the creation of a formula of authority. This formula is used to create spaces where residents of the facility can learn to properly interact to varying authority figures before their release back into society.
Isaac Grayson C.Schwartz Arch 550 Summer 2013 Southern Illinois University at Carbondale School of Architecture
June 10
We began the semester by responding to essays that addressed different views relative to captivity. There are a number of moral and physical complexities to designing a juvenile detention facility, and we began our semester by exploring some of the moral issues. From the different scholar essays we were to analysis the information presented and synthesize it into our own thought with support from outside sources. Below are my analysis’ of the first four essays of the semester. 1. With the idea of a juvenile detention center, my mind goes immediately to the release. I see this facility not as a permanent solution for removing kids, that go against our established social norms, from society so the rest of us can breathe better at night. But as a sort of school to refocus and retain these individuals to perform to our desired standards. Currently it seems the way this is done is by confining these adolescents inside of cold white walls in hopes that the ex-military armored guards can scare them into behaving. But do these smaller boundaries really lead to reform? Or do these confined spaces provide an opportunity to become better practiced at establishing their own rules on a territory? Because where have these kids come from? Is living behind walls totally foreign to them, assuming most of them have emerged from the ghettos of our towns. Will enclosing a child, whose grown up in captivity, really be changed. Then by comparison how do you address adjustment back into a relatively more open society? There are boarders to every city. They were originally there as walls acting as a literal form of protection. But now our imaginary lines define taxes and access to water and cable TV. What interests me is the so called waste land between cities. A space we consider wild and uninhabited. Last summer I inhabited this space. Chasing a dream I broke free from traditional boundaries and began walking through the corridor of
wooded spaces between city boundaries. Walking along the Appalachian trail the only boundary I felt was the horizon. Then after five months of this reentering town I felt suffocated under the smog and destination less travel that defines being home. The invisible line that encompassed the city stifles my freedom but the ever present horizon beckons to be reached. If only the boundaries can be conquered. 2. Fear is a powerful thing. It can be use as a catalyst and a deterrent. While fear is something that is perceived on an individual, as designers we have the potential to play on these emotions. The subject of fear is one that is very heavily researched. Particularly in dealing with how adults perceive fear and the differences between men and women. This research carries with it catchy phrases, “broken window theory” and “social disorganization theory”i, to describe debated points of view as to how and why fear occurs in individuals particularly within finite boundaries. But there is little research into how a child perceives fear. Exposure to antisocial behavior, particularly at a young age, begins to change how children perceive safe and unsafe placesi. In the case of a juvenile detention facility are the people who are coming into the facility disproportionally from one type neighborhood verses another? I believe the facility has a huge potential to do more harm than good. With fear being learned and conditioned a facility of this nature seems to be more an antisocial/criminal behavior boot camp. How will one of these kids act when they are thrown back into a tough home situation? A scenario would be child goes back after serving their allotment of time. Then one night the police come banging on the door answering a domestic call. How will this individual react to being woken up in the middle of the night by police officers? Does this individual comply submissively because that’s how the correctional facilities taught them, or do they see these officers as rent-a-cops compared to their wardens and feel they can run right over them and
gain control of the situation? Can we condition these individuals to fear authority in a positive manor, and if so what other kind of conditions can be intuitively inquired through design interaction? Walls of Fear and Walls of Support by P. Marcuse discussed boundaries, but in a way that painted them more as physical walls, so as to greater understand some of the forces at play. In that article it does give fear as a reason for the construction of boundaries. But more evident from Bromley/Stacey is that boundaries keep as much fear in as keeping fear out. When they were asking kids what they were most afraid of there were three common answers one of these was darkness. Then in their open ended question the children suggested “that improved lighting would make unsafe places feel safer to them.�1 This has the potential to be a very powerful design tool. Could a correlation between safe and unsafe spaces be made simply with lighting standards, and could this further be implemented to define acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Then if such standards were achieved at detention facility level could they further be implemented throughout the community in places where ASB and crime more prevalent. Thus slowly erasing social and economic boundaries. But from my own experiences I find this to already to somewhat implemented. As is the case with most new upper middle class family subdivision I see being build they have no street lights. But the thought just occurred that while the children did fear darkness the number one fear was groups of young people1. In these same subdivisions that have no street lamps, often they have no sidewalk either. So could the boundaries of a sidewalk be enough to encourage group formations? While these observations into simple neighborhood boundaries may be exaggerated they don’t lose focus from how I see a detention center. And that is as temporary. Is it our intention to permanently lock these kids up, or are we to rehabilitate them? Then if we are trying to rehabilitate
them where these kids are coming from and where they will be returning to has a greater ability to influence them that any sort term detention session ever could. 3. Human behavior over the course of time seems to show an innate desire for us to measure ourselves to other individuals. We are not happy unless we are one rung higher than an individual. The easiest way to accomplish this is by dehumanizing an individual or group, usually through name calling. This technique has been used worldwide to dominate the Jews, Africans, Haitians, and most every other kind of demographic. And through this time there has been all different types of architecture practiced, but have any of them eliminated the hate? Today’s style of peace and prosperity will be tomorrow’s remembrance of time of persecution and strife. Can architecture, or more so can design solve the social problem and inequalities or is it all for nothing. I can design with the greatest intentions in the world, with great research and purpose. With a full understanding of all the forces that play into the matter at hand, but then the ball is passed. As we said today in our discussion the “user” controls how the building will be run and staffed. Providing spaces for A to flourish will only make it more difficult to do B, but it will not stop B from happening. As a designer how do you hand off your passions and theories to the buildings users? We must learn to sit back and watch in silence as the designs we birthed are used and abused for a purpose never intended. Some would say that a building being repurposed is a sort of compliment showing the all encompassing ability of your design to adapt to the times. But even if your design does not meet the needs of the current purpose will not the user molest it tell their needs and desires of their program are met? 4. The thought processes of individuals are far too complicated
for me to understand. But in doing my research I need to try and explore different theories pertaining to thoughts that lead to people’s actions and interactions. I found an article that presents two established theories on the thought process and how habits play a role in these thoughts. From a design perspective a juvenile detention facility has a great responsibility to invoke deep and reflective thought as well as to modify old habits and impart new ones. The journal did not go into the kind of spaces needed for thought, but suggested the deep inner thought were reached when perpetual motion of daily activities was stalled or slowed allowing us to perceive clearly the outcomes of our decisions1. Are the current cells and/or isolation chambers capable of slowing down the captives daily brain function enough to spark the destination of thought? The other theory was that thought is not reached though self exploration but rather through encountering your thoughts on a sort of journey where the thought does not manifest from within but is received from the outside1. How can a journey of thought be stimulated within the confines of the detention facility? Could a 360 media room flashing imagery relating to different topics have to potential to bring back thought and emotions experienced during the event of the crime? Different installments of this type of bombardment would have the potential to challenge the brain to the extent that the quick consistency of the cell could prove more restful. The journal also brought to attention the fact that achieving thought was a great work and would require rest afterwards. And that continual exposure to new thought could lead to exhaustion, were it not for the creation of habits. While habits can be a good way cope with new situations how do we change existing habits? The child psyche is considered delicate and so the mentality of break them down to build them up may not be the most beneficial. Then pertaining to establishing new habits how does an institution get these to stick outside the controlled environment where
razor wire no longer defines boundaries? This really related to today’s reading because the guards seemed to want to break the kids down, and then maybe perform some sort of building up. One story even showed how a guard reacted when a child an independent thought that conflicted with his own2. But also I wondered why the guards are responsible for mentoring them. That seems like the equivalent of sending out the police in full riot to perform peaceful negotiations with nonviolent protestors. With regards to thought it would be possible to view this facility not as one sided, serving only the needs of the youth, but also addressing the emotional needs of the guards and staff. And how would they be different? Beyond the age difference do people receive thought differently in confinement verses out of confinement? Looking at it this way it has the curious feeling of who is watching who, like going to the zoo are the monkeys the exhibit or are you the exhibit for the monkeys? I don’t believe the guards would appreciate this, because the article makes it sound like they have worked hard to mentally degrade the kids in order to do their job. But that was one way thought was achieved, through slowing the daily activities of life1. If we turned the tables on them it would look like they are the ones being punished for following society’s expectations. Playing a mental game with these juveniles could end up being a more challenging endeavor and potentially more harmful. It could be useful to research the criteria by which military boot camps run their training. These actions are all supposed to be done for the juveniles benefit. Are the current actions for the benefit of us or of the child?
Notes from Sketch Book: Modifying behavior through Design. For a juvenile detention center behavior modification is the corner stone for why this project is being undertaken. Choice: would a transition into a facility be eased by the illusion of a choice. Like a puppy could we drop the kids off, individually in a large pen with one door , an opening and allow the individuals, by choice, to walk in under their own power and choice.
How is a detention facility that much different from the hunger games? Nano House: Thames Hudson idea of a loft, sort of tree house to claim own space softness of mesh netting vs. chain link fencing for interior partitions concrete finishing techniques bringing natural sky view to interior Japanese Identities: Meditation: Japanese tea houses seem like a great place for
personal thought and meditation, reflection pools, gardens (but who maintains them), bridges. Cells step up, and leave shoes outside the cell, tea time meal schedule, even though being maintained does a natural setting create a greater feeling of peace Norwegian Wood: Elizabeth Tostrup could the rising trend toward norwegian style be that it plays beautifully with nature and provide a warm peace, an escape from today’s cold technology world? use of existing rocks, flowing with the existing natural elements no harshness of newness, but a worn well cared for warmth, can we offer a vacation on the lake? want to feel the sun from a shady spot addition of natural textures fragrance, can we teach apperception for simple things architecture of Wenche Selmer Man is never able to overcome oppression by design, because the oppressive environment is one where man oppresses man Emproving the environment or complementing it? open plans and multi use spaces lead to bleakness No Child Left Inside, green space [to] foster social interaction and there by promotes social support
Swiss children respond better to a group of their peers, regardless of family life Restorative Justice: connect victim and offender, offender to feel responsible for crime, restore community and revive offender How do you deal with kids in facilities when its their mother who is incerated Can the facility be female staffed Are there accurate screening’s for mental health Are girls truly with mental problems or are they just different from boys? How can an art gallery be clean white and industrial but not feel prison like, would an overnight sentence in a museum feel like a prison “Our ultimate objective in learning about anything is to try to create and develop a more just society.� -Yuri Kochiyama Community Architecture = Hippie Commune The authority and domination of spaces makes women feel inferior and does not facilitate a healing atmosphere Modification of behavior to provoke team orientation and self reflection for healing Sexual abuse healing center community between those living it now and survivors
Use of a nest as a teaching tool to recreate the womb “He who grasps too much squeezes little.” -Spanish Proverb Research Consistently identifies women’s experiences of physical, sexual, and emotional violation as the first step along the pathway to juvenile and criminal justice involvement As a designer we assume we are able to modify peoples behavior through design interaction. What interactions push people to empowerment and self reflection? Blame environment for social problems as well as success or failure of home affairs not fix the disorder but get them functioning like normal Poverty breads antisocial behavior, affluence produces indolence, violence vegets violence, compassion grows out of understanding
Architecture cannot change society... but it can underwire and enhance the basic activi-
ties of those who work in it...Architecture acknowledges their plight and affirms their worth. Using juvenile facilities to treat abuse, Why? Juvenile on Justice: Richard Ross you can’t get around the fact that a prison cell is a prison cell is a prison cell psychology of eating, how food can not be a meal, personal experience on the trail, where eating becomes a chore non secure detention centers techniques for leveling with these kids, when interview kids for this book he would sit on the floor so he was never over the kids making him less dominating and the kids the authority of the situation sailing confinement and punishment (2 years before the mast) Disipline and Punishment - Michel Foucault “it is intended to apply the low not so much to a real body capable of feeling pain as to a jurrdical
subject”pg13 What kind of facility would this have to be? Is this low enough to not need security, what is the difference between our facility and a group home? could this be strictly be a rehab place like holly’s house? can we put Tv’s in the cells with cameras on the guards? My second year working on a trail crew for Rocky Mountain Youth Corps I met Martina. She was serving as field manager over eight different crews strung out over the entire state of Colorado. She was the problem solver the individual who came out solve disputes between crew member and take note of the crew moral, and share her life experiences with us. She has worked previously for some troubled youth wilderness expedition company, whose focus was the rehabilitation of youth through wilderness emersion. Remembering a summer of conversation with Martina and knowing a little of her background I decided to ask her impute regarding the building of a proposed all girls juvenile detention center in a natural setting. Conversation started Thursday June 13, 2013 3:44pm -Isaac Grayson Hi Martina, haven’t talked in a long while. I hope everything is going great with you. I’m sending this to get your insight. For a project in my masters architecture program we have to design a small (18 bed) low security juvenile detention facility in an outdoor wooded setting. This is a fictions project, but we are proposing that it would be an all girls facility. For this region the focus would be on drug rehabilitation and abuse/neglect therapy. I was thinking you had done some
work like this in an outdoor setting. But i was hoping to get your insights into what is the best way to reach this demographic, what kind of setting is most beneficial and provides the most healing. And then how do you begin to change their daily routine with out destroying them in the process? I hope this isn’t to much. Any help is appreciated -Martina Volfová Hi Isaac, nice to hear from you and hope you are well. wow, sounds like a cool project, even if it’s fictional... Let me think on this for a bit, ok? Will write soon. Martina Volfová Hi,Isaac, So, I am no expert in this, but here is my two cents: 1. I think all girl facility is a good idea, as the presence of the opposite sex always creates too many distractions. Plus, most likely, you won’t have to worry too much about secret rendezvous in the middle of the night ( a problem especially if they are underage) - although, it can still happen. 2. I would say it would be ideal if the place was remote, as much away from civilization as possible - again, partly because of distractions and partly because creating a space that is so very different from their everyday experiences has the potential to evoke a sense of a place where healing happens and where it’s safe to open up and talk about one’s troubles. 3. I think it’s important that there is support and a sense of a healing community among the participants, but it is equally important that people have an opportunity to be alone and self-reflect. There should be a mixture of common spaces where they all meet and do things together and private spaces where they can reflect. 4. Some sort of art creating might be great, so having a studio would probably be beneficial. 5. I think having a community garden where everyone works and learns about gardening could be incorporated into promoting healthy lifestyles - learning about good food and healthy cooking would be beneficial. Working in the kitchen should be a part of it. Raising chickens, goats,....???
6. More on promoting healthy lifestyles: having a space for yoga, meditation, a place where workshops and guest talks could take place would be great as well. Guests talks could be on various topics such as sex ed., family planning, women’s health, education and career planning, environmental issues ... 7. I went to a retreat in Peru once, and they had these “solo huts” that were further away from the main complex and people would go there for a number of days, or weeks to hang out on their own. Maybe something like that might be fun. The hut had a little kitchen and bathroom and supplies were quietly brought in once in a while. 8. There should not be TVs, computers of phones there!!! Selected helpful books yes. Ok, these are some of my ideas. it’s kind of nice to think of all these things without worrying about a budget I already have a picture of this place in my head. Hope it helps!
June 19
As a class we had the opportunity to visit Kansas City. There we got to visit the Johnson County Juvenile Detention Center, and other architectural landmarks like the Atkins Museum and Kauffman Center for performing Arts. The Johnson City Juvenile Detention Center became very influential in everyone’s design development. The Missouri model for juvenile detention focuses more on rehabilitation and education which proved to be a more positive spin on this difficult issue.
While visiting the Atkins museum I was struck at the notion of white wall not being a prison. This is a space that is sufficiently lit, but often not with natural light, but people enjoy coming here. What could be the difference, is it the space to roam, freedom to leave at will, or the art? It makes me wonder what it would be like to spend a prolonged amount of time in this space against my fill would I feel the same? Could a detention facility interface in a public setting in the same way this museum is?
July 9
I did several different case studies to learn different strategies that others had employed with varying degrees of success. One in particular that I found most interesting was Alvar Aalto’s, Paimio Sanatorium. It was built as a sort of detention center but in response to a tuberculosis outbreak. Similar to our own situation, these individuals were shipped out of the towns and into these rural settings. At the time natural light and fresh air were the best way to help reverse the symptoms of tuberculosis. I was most struck by the height of the building. Most of my class mates and my first reactions were to create a low one story building. But looking at this it showed me that the natural setting is very capable of responding to a rather tall building, of about six stories, and still not be dominate over the tree, but provide more opportunities for natural views above the usual scope of individuals senses. The building is also intentionally places to absorb the early morning sun into the patients rooms, with roof top patios for prolonged sunning.
July 16
August 1
One of the strongest influences on behavior is the presence of authority. People slow down when they see a police car, crime is more prevalent in the dark shadows of narrow city streets, and interrogation rooms spotlight the criminals.(Paulsen) All these instances we have associated with a particular outcome and adjust ourselves to avoid those outcomes. Teenagers identify three major sources of authority in their life, Parents, Teachers, and Police (Nihart). Teenage girls view each of their authority figures in a different way. Often they have a more positive view of their teachers and police officers. (Nihart) There are two possible reasons for why this is. First, would be that during the time of adolescence teens need to challenge authority figures to begin to develop their own sense of authority. (A Parent’s Guide) And second, “Research consistently identifies [women’s] experiences of physical, sexual, and emotional violation as the first step along the pathway to juvenile and criminal justice involvement.” (Lind, 78) Most often these experiences are brought on by family or neighbors (Lind). Consequently teenage girls will tend to feel safer under the authority of their teacher or the police, rather than their own parents. Authority is not always power And power does not give you authority (Power)
Architecture has power and architecture can convey authority, but what are the tools used to convey these messages and change people? Traditionally the architect has relied on symbols developed in ancient times to depict abstract feelings of power and authority. In general these symbols no longer carry any meaningful weight to the general public. So the objective will be to create a spacial formula of authority that can be utilized to vary the level of authority people feel. For this all girls juvenile deten-
tion center it will be important to match the effects of different authoritative spaces with the perception these teenage girls have on authority. A juvenile detention facility must act as all three authority figures for the youth residing there. Outside of this facility the girl’s authority figures are separate people and to keep a similar atmosphere there will need to be a separation of authority figures spatially with in the complex. Each space needed to have its own identity reflective of the authority’s characteristics. To accomplish the characteristics of each authority figure were determined and then translated into the desired spacial relations to create a formula of authority that can be used to dictate the behaviors of the adolescent girls. A facility that brings the three authority figures from a girl’s life into their daily routine will have the potential to more easily maintain control. Along with the benefits it bring to the security and administrative staff, these separate positive authority influences can begin to heal the individuals and prepare them for reentry into the community. It is also important that through the use of curriculum that we help identify the positive authorities these girls can look up to and use to replace those they were under in the detention center.
The Touch of Nature (TON) Site covers some 3100 acres south of Carbondale off Giant City Road. The site maintains a long history of use as a summer camp environment for a wide range of individuals. In keeping with the goal of engaging youth in nature for rehabilitation, there is a proposal to place a juvenile girls detention center on the site. With a guided tour of TON we were steered towards a site near the former stable house. Along with this I identified three other potential sites. After examining all these sites with considerations with this I identified three other potential sites. After examining all these sites with considerations given to traffic flow, ease of public access natural land formations, and micro climate concerns I decided upon site number three. The existing infra-structure at touch of nature is not capable of the larger traffic loads a detention center would bring. The only road in is a narrow black top strip without curbing, as well the winding paths make way finding difficult. To this access point would have to be significantly beefed up to accommodate daily vehicular traffic and increased clear signage throughout the TON complex. Paralleling Both Giant City Road and Okios road are overhead power lines.
It would be advisable to put these underground near the road corridor to minimize power issues resulting from ice storms and downed trees. There were a couple opportunities for access to Little Grassy Lake. I had concerns about sitting close to the lake, and ultimately I felt the negatives outweighed the benefits. The entire perimeter of the lake is protected by the federal government under National Wildlife Refuge. The care needed to protect this environment from harmful site runoff and land development seemed to be too much of a fuss for the scope of this project. Lake access would also call for an increase in staff, and in a facility that already has a large staff to resident, I didn’t find productive to further increase this ratio.
Walter Windler: you’re getting close on that parking lot. but why didn’t you put a side walk on the strip of parking farthest from the door? the way it is now they have to walk across traffic to get to the sidewalk. Whenever possible you want to give people the option of not having to walk with traffic. also your paths work but I would of done something more linear. But over all a nice project. Just fix that sidewalk, even if they don’t use it you should put it in. -No matter what I said I couldn’t justify not putting that sidewalk in. I purposely didn’t put it in because I knew it wouldn’t be used in reality and was trying to illuminate the need for excess concrete. And with today’s culture of big box stores and strip malls walking a short distance in a parking lot, even across traffic is not to uncomfortable. I also believe the 90 degree turn right before entering the parking lot will tremendously reduce the speed at which people will be entering this space. And because these spots are furthest away from the building they will be the last to be utilized, because people prefer to circle and see how close they can get to the front
entry. Windler’s points were valid, even if a little excessive, but when they were pointed out the graphic had already been produced and it wasn’t worth the trouble to fix this minor detail. The important thing is that the parking lot is designed in such a way that it shouldn’t destroy any marriages. Alan Taska: How would you expand your facility if future expansion was needed? -I hadn’t given this much thought but my first reaction would be mirroring both levels of the pod around the southern wall of the existing pod. That way staying on a fairly level surface and not destroying the circulation of the building. Also if needed on the North side of the yard, a separate building could be added to facilitate additional education needs, or extra programs. Andy: your thesis on authority is very good, but I feel you have only developed part one, the next step is to show how implementing these authority figures into the facility will produce functioning adults. -I understand what he is saying, proving that this would work and not just posing a suggestion. But from our point as students can we setup tests to prove our theories or are we just at the mercy of scholarly journals that have wrote about similar points. As architects it seems we don’t really do our own research but rather react to the research of other and implement where we deem necessary. Andy: getting real technical on the floor plans, I don’t think your hotel rooms are large enough in the conference center, because you haven’t included and desk or sitting area. Also your food prep are on the second floor is probably too large to just preparing donuts and coffee like you suggested, you should give that space back to seating, also be sure to include a sink in the food prep area. The tables in the breakfast area are too close together, there needs to be 3 feet between the
back of each chair when there is someone sitting on them. The couch in the lobby area is just floating and awkward, also you should in clued a vending machine in the breakfast area. I know those pieces of furniture are just place holders, I’ve been in your place before, but you just need to be aware, because these are the things clients get caught up on, they’ll blow past your concept and overall looks and make sure they can fit the people at their tables comfortably. Don’t worry one year in practice and you won’t make these mistakes any more. - thank you , Wish you would have had some interior perspectives -yep Andy: The glass façade on the retreat center need to address the sun, currently there is going to be tremendous heat gain from the south and west in the late afternoon that wasn’t addressed. Also your parking is not efficient. you should reduce the park in the middle to just a strip of trees, any time you have a row of parking you want it to be accessed from two sides to minimize the need to paving and reduce runoff. Do you guys have to do run off calculations? -… Andy: You need to make a stronger connection between the conference center and juvenile detention center. Why would anyone want to book a conference at this facility, its just a reminder that we are incarcerating children. You can justify having it there you just need to do it. I also think you should have challenged the program more. I don’t think you can justify the cost this facility would cost compared to the population it would house. Having the conference center next to it will help justify the cost for a better quality building, but for 19 girls, the money invested in this facility would probably be better utilized by investing it into an existing facility. currently I don’t think the population of the facility justifies the cost of the facility. You also need to prove that this is a worthy investment. What is the recidivism rate vs. other facilities, and use these figures to help persuade that it is worth spending the extra money.
-I thought I had challenged the program by removing the day program and replacing it with the conference center. I understand that you think the building is to big for the population, but if I increase the population I think I would have to increase everything else as well. On top of that having a smaller population simplified an already very programmatically intense facility. But the notion of business in architecture seems very complex to me but very important. I would like to learn how to do this cost per occupant calculation as well as practice cost per square foot calculations, to build my skill set and have stronger arguments in my final thesis project. Andy: you need to take notes when someone is giving you criticism - I will do that, but I don’t like writing when someone is talking to me I feel like I miss the second thing they say when I’m writing down the first. Andy: I appreciate that you put windows in your plans -Isn’t that what your supposed to do?
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Zumthor, Peter, Maureen Turner, and Catherine Schelbert. Thinking architecture. 3rd, expanded ed. Basel: Birkhäuser, 2010.
Reflections
The prospect of designing a juvenile detention center was both exciting and a little frightening. Initially I thought of maximum security facility where code and regulations would dictate most design decisions. But the parameters of the project being for a lower security facility at a small scale provided more opportunities for design exploration in a juvenile detention facility. Locating the project at touch of nature I immediately began to reflect on my outdoor experiences. I initially wanted to mimic my time with the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps. Their model was Linking Community, Education, and Environment through Service. The beginning of each year we were separated into teams, ranging from eight to ten people. These teams become our families for the summer, the people we are with everyday and share responsibilities with. This type of living environment seemed to mimic the pod setup for correctional facilities. `To bring the work aspect into the facility I was thinking of incorporating a goat farm to teach responsibility and business management, while producing a product that would appeal to the growing niche market of the Southern Illinois region. Further investigation revealed that goats located near regions of heavy deer populations pose health problems to the goats. With ticks transmitting severe neurological disease from deer to goats, a cheese production facility would be difficult for the juvenile detention center to run. After this I moved away from the development of a working program, and chose a different path of diving deep into thesis development. This is a area I usually struggle with. Most often I deign focusing extensively on the function then I attempt to blanket a generic thesis over the entire project. This usually makes my projects weak and difficult to defend. And now beginning graduate school I felt I needed to challenge myself and push this project further. This began the difficult process of developing a formula of authority. I had a large amount of research that covered a wide range of information relating to crime and child development.
Analyzing this information down to a couple of bullet points began the start of my authority formula. The breakthrough came when I graphically demonstrated the information from a paper comparing how youth view different authority figures, then back up this information with my other research. This formula was finished the night of the pre-midterm review and proved to be very strong building block. Using the formula of authority I started developing a form based on the criteria of the formula and while keeping in mind the requirements needed for a juvenile facility. From here on the form began to develop with a little difficulty and proved to be a fairly strong project. There was a strong thesis foundation, and some good for real life construction aspects. There were aspects of the plan that I wasn’t completely satisfied with, but had to go be satisfied with, to meet the time constraints. Looking back I feel that my project was good but short of the graduate level work I expected. Particularly I wanted to see more thought given to the construction aspect of the project, without sacrificing the theory part. Undergrad was a time to explore these to areas individually to gain understanding. But now that I’ve moved to the next level I need to learn how to juggle these two aspects to create a harmonious outcome. Along with these two areas of focus I didn’t even begin to touch on any aspect of sustainability. So often I see this as a thesis in itself, one that often dictates more design decision that the functionality of the project. Which can be good, but I feel that too often sustainable architecture has a style unto itself. All told this was a good project to introduce my graduate career. There were innumerable complexities that required extensive research and analysis. I struggled a lot with this project, and I think that was a good thing. I really helped reintroduce me into architectural design and prep me for the upcoming semesters as I begin to develop a thesis and work to defend it.
Isaac Grayson has a Associates Degree in Architectural Design and Drafting from Vincennes University. As well as a Bachelors Degree in Architecture from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. And he is currently working on his Masters Degree at SIUC. During the summers Isaac pursued his love for the outdoors by working on various trail crews in Colorado. Most recently he took five months and hiked 1900 miles on the Appalachian trail.
ARC 550 SIUC