The Best Designed Prisons From All Over the World

You might actually envy how awesome some of these prisons look.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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A recent hunger strike in California’s maximum-security Pelican Bay State Prison sparked a debate about the nature of prison design—what is ethical and how does design implicitly affect how prisoners aretreated? We don’t often consider that prisons—like sneakers, cars, album covers, and cans of energy drinks—can feature great design. It's because by nature, prisons are out of sight. We’re not just talking about functional, utilitarian design. There are some genuinely beautiful prisons out there. Whether for the purpose of structure, aesthetic, function, or social relation, beauty in a prison is a valid thing to contemplate. Here are The Best Designed Prisons From All Over the World that are fascinating to look at, contemplate, and imagine being locked up in.

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20. Tower Of London

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19. La Concierge

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18. Cellular Jail

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17. Metropolitan Correctional Center

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16. Presido Modelo

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15. Fort Boyard

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14. Canto Grande Prison

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13. East Jutland State Prison

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12. Central Prison

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11. Kakola Prison

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10. Eddyville Prison

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9. Port Arthur Separate Prison

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8. Allegheny County Jail

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7. Juvenile Pavilion

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6. Halden Prison

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5. Bastoy Prison

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4. Philadelphia Eastern Penitentiary

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3. Montgomery Burns Prison

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2. Justizzentrum Leoben Minimum Security Prison

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1. Yancheng Prison

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