The institutional organisation of Belgiums cellular prison building campaign (1830-WWI)
| Author(s): |
Jozefien Feyaerts
|
|---|---|
| Medium: | conference paper |
| Language(s): | English |
| Conference: | 6th International Congress on Construction History (6ICCH 2018), July 9-13, 2018, Brussels, Belgium |
| Published in: | Building Knowledge, Constructing Histories [2 vols.] |
| Page(s): | 619-624 |
| Year: | 2018 |
| Abstract: | In the nineteenth century, Belgium attained a solid penitentiary reputation due to the rigorous implementation of the cellular regime and the deployment of a corresponding new infrastructure. Prison historiography generally focusses on the efforts of Edouard Ducpétiaux, General Inspector of Prisons from 1830 to 1861, who introduced in Belgium the new concept of the solitary regime. In order to facilitate the solitary system, Ducpétiaux advocated the construction of a specific cellular prison typology. His ideas on prison architecture, which were strongly inspired by Anglo-Saxon models, proved to be determinative for Belgian prison design; between 1850 and 1919 nearly thirty star-shaped ‘Ducpétiaux-prisons' were built. However, the unilateral focus on Ducpétiaux has disregarded other actors in the realization of this internationally renowned cellular prison network. This paper reconstructs the institutional context of prison construction between 1830 and WWI, which I consider crucial in the realization of Ducpétiaux' ambitions. |
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10078220 - Published on:
15/09/2018 - Last updated on:
05/03/2019
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