The News
Three ominous Netherlands panopticon prisons are turning into arts venues.
The 1800s design of the Koepelgevangenis (“domed prison”) aimed to instill psychological terror in its inmates through its form: a giant circle with a central guard tower that made prisoners feel constantly watched.
A drive to cut the country’s prison population saw the panopticons close; one is now a cultural hub with cells turned into podcast studios and art school ateliers, while the others are being repurposed to host events and exhibitions, as well as hotel guests.
“As a prison, it used to be a space where you didn’t want to be and couldn’t leave,” one developer told The Guardian. “We’re going to turn that around. You won’t want to leave.”
AD